Fisher Excels at Both Ends of the Floor to Lead Patriots Past Guvs
| Perth Amboy Tech sophomore, Javon Fisher goes up for an offensive rebound in the third quarter against South Amboy. Fisher finished with a game high 18 points including a three pointer and a dunk while also blocking several shots in a 52-29 victory. |
SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–When it comes to Perth Amboy Tech boys basketball this season, much of the focus or attention is placed on the backcourt duo of Kyrie Byers and Pedro Gonzalez. Recently, against Highland Park, Byers had seven threes and scored 26 points while Gonzalez added two treys in a 57-39 victory. However, the frontcourt is also worth noticing. True, the Patriots front line may not be as big or as formidable as a year ago with the likes of Jordan Little, who is now playing at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, but there is a lot of potential.
The duo of athletic sophomore Javon Fisher, and junior Eric Negro have steadily improved during the course of the season, and last night was proof of that as both Fisher and Negro combined for 34 points in a 52-29 Amboy Tech win at South Amboy. Fisher did it all at both ends of the floor. On offense, he sank jumpers and threes as well as scored layups, alleyoops, and even an empthatic one handed slam with less than three minutes to play. Fisher, who finished with a game high 18 points, also crashed the boards and blocked several shots on defense. Negro chipped in with 16 while Gonzalez added 10.
Byers, who didn’t score a point until the final two minutes of the game, did a solid job orchestrating the offense, and distributing the basketball to others. Amboy Tech outscored South Amboy by a 15-0 margin from beyond the arc as Kyle Gregory (6 points) and Gonzalez each sank two threes while Fisher added a trey as well. The margin of victory could have been even bigger had it not been for many missed layups and shots up close by the Patriots, especially in the first half. South Amboy was led by Julian Munoz, who scored 10 points in defeat. Nobody else on the Guvs had more than five points. Perth Amboy Tech had five different players score while South Amboy had seven different players get into the scorebook.
Amboy Tech was 7 of 10 from the charity stripe while South Amboy was 7 of 15. The Patriots also outscored the Governors by a margin of 30-22 in points scored inside the arc. The Pats outscored the Guvs in every period including a 13-5 margin in the third, and a 14-7 margin in the fourth. With 3:17 left in the first period, South Amboy had a 6-1 lead following a score by Keahre Ford (5 points). From that point on until the end of the game, Amboy Tech outscored the Guvs by a 51-23 margin. The Patriots struggles early on quickly turned when Fisher as well as Kyle Gregory hit threes to highlight an 8-2 spurt to finish the opening quarter for a 9-8 lead. Gregory’s trey came right before the buzzer off a nice kickout by Byers.
The Patriots increased their lead to three points at 16-13 by opening the second period on a 7-5 run capped by another three by Gregory from almost the exact same spot on the floor as his first one to end the opening stanza. Amboy Tech then finished the first half on a 9-4 run over the last 4:10 including a transition layup by Gonzalez for a 25-17 advantage at the intermission. At the break, Fisher led Amboy Tech with 8 while Gregory and Negro each added 6, and Gonzalez chipped in with 5. South Amboy’s Julian Munoz had team high with 8 points while Ford added 5. In the second half though, the Governor’s offense had no rhythm at all. Both Munoz and Ford didn’t make shots, and were limited to a combined two points over the final two periods. With the Guv’s offense stuck in the mud, the Pats took advantage.
Over the first 5:21 of the third period, Perth Amboy Tech scored 11 of 13 points including a three by Gonzalez, and score down low by Negro at the 2:39 mark for a commanding 36-19 lead. South Amboy tried to battle back by scoring three of the next five points including Munoz’s final bucket of the game in the final minute of the third, but still trailed 38-22. Amboy Tech continued to pour it on in the fourth as it opened the final period on a 12-2 spurt including a layup from the left side by Fisher midway through the period for a 46-24 lead, a jumper from the right elbow by Fisher with just under three minutes left, and then a steal for a one handed slam by Fisher at the 2:47 mark for a 50-24 lead. From there, the Patriots cruised to the 52-29 final score.
With the victory, Amboy Tech improved to 13-6 overall on the season including an 11-3 mark for first place in the GMC Gold. South River also won yesterday over Timothy Christian (74-56) to stay within a half game of the Patriots. The Pats were 5-4 after losing to South Amboy (58-55) the last time these two teams faced off on January 8th. Since that time, Perth Amboy Tech has won 8 of 10 with the only losses coming to East Brunswick Tech (50-43) on January 27th and Perth Amboy (53-34) on Monday. Meanwhile, South Amboy drops to 8-10 including a 7-6 mark in divisional play. The Guvs have now lost five of their last six since a win at Highland Park on January 15th. Both teams are back in action on Friday night with Amboy Tech visiting Timothy Christian for a 6:30 PM game, and South Amboy traveling to Dunellen for a 7:00 PM contest.