Gonzalez, Byers, and Negro Score in Double Figures to Lift Patriots Over Tigers
| Perth Amboy Tech’s junior guard, Pedro Gonzalez elevates for a three pointer in the third quarter against Timothy Christian. Gonzalez led the way with 17 points as the Patriots defeated the Tigers, 63-49. |
PISCATAWAY, NJ–Coming into the 2015-16, much was expected of the backcourt combination of senior Kyrie Byers and junior Pedro Gonzalez of Perth Amboy Tech. With the departures of starters Jordan Little and Noel Garay, who are both now playing college ball at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, and Luis Rodriguez, the two were going to have to shoulder more of the burden, and bring more leadership this season.
The two haven’t disappointed. After a bit of an up and down start, the Perth Amboy Tech Patriots have won 8 of its last 10 games to move into first place in the GMC Gold entering the Friday night league contest with an improving Timothy Christian squad. Both Byers and Gonzalez have been at the center of the success. In a game against Highland Park a week and a half ago, Byers and Gonzalez combined for 9 three pointers as Byers finished with a game high 26 points including seven threes, and Gonzalez chipped in with 12 points including two treys.
Fast forward to two days ago when the Patriots took on South Amboy in a road game, and a rematch of Amboy Tech’s loss to the Guvs on January 8th. It was at that point that the Pats were only 5-4, and began their superb run of the last 10 games. After falling behind 6-1 to the Guvs early, Perth Amboy Tech finished the game with a 51-23 surge for a 52-29 win as Gonzalez was one of three players to score in double figures with 10 points while sophomore forward Javon Fisher had a game high 18 and junior forward, Erick Negro chipped in with 16.
Although Byers only scored two points on a drive late in the game, but he was a great facilitator as he orchestrated the offense, and got the ball into the hands of Fisher, Negro, and Gonzalez so that they could do the damage. On Friday, Gonzalez stepped up his game while Negro also helped out to lead the Patriots to another win, and one more step closer to its first outright division title since the days when Ferdinand Williams roamed the halls of the school, and guided the team to the GMC’s first Tournament of Champions appearance.
Gonzalez scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half including six in a key fourth quarter run while Byers added 15 and Negro chipped in with 13 as Amboy Tech defeated TCS by the score of 63-49. Like their game on Wednesday versus South Amboy, the Pats didn’t get off to a great start. Timothy Christian scored 12 of the first 16 points, and actually held a 16-6 lead late in the first period before Amboy Tech rallied with a 19-8 surge to take a 25-24 lead with 10.7 seconds remaining in the second after a steal for a layup off a TCS inbounds by Byers.
Pierce Kokosinski (6 points), who made his presence felt late in the first half, gave the Tigers a 26-25 lead at the intermission with a score just before the halftime buzzer. Perth Amboy Tech took over in the second half with a 21-5 surge over the first seven minutes of the third for a 46-31 lead. From there, the Tigers could only get as close as 52-42 on a 11-6 run thanks to scores by Robert Saydee and Tyler Mixson (11 points) before the Patriots sowed up the victory on free throws by Miguel Hernandez (5 points), Kyle Gregory (7 points), and Gonzalez, who also added a floater during an 11-5 run that put Amboy Tech up 63-47 with under a minute to play. Saydee finished with a game high 18 points for TCS.
Timothy Christian, which lost the previous meeting to Amboy Tech by only five points several weeks ago in Perth Amboy, came out blazing. After giving up the first two points of the game, scored 12 of the next 14 points including layups by Saydee, Mixson, and Will Clemmons (4 points), and a jumper from the right side of the key by A.J. Mhya (2 points) for a 12-4 lead at the 3:42 mark of the first. The Patriots then closed the gap to 16-8 at the end of the first after scoring 4 of the last 6 points including a follow by Fisher, who had 4 of his 6 points in the contest in the opening period. This late flurry by Amboy Tech sparked a surge lasting well into the second to retake the lead.
The Patriots opened the second by scoring the first five points including a Byers three from the right wing at the 6:15 mark after he picked up a steal moments earlier. Amboy Tech then added a free throw before Josh Alcoriza (2 points) got TCS in the board with a drive in from the right side for a floater at the 4:28 mark for an 18-14 lead. The Panthers then scored 9 of the next 15 points including a three pointer from the right wing by Gonzalez with 3:20 remaining in the first half to pull within one at 24-23 prior to a Timothy Christian timeout with 13.6 seconds to play in the first half. Following the timeout, Byers got another steal, and drove in from the right side of the court for a layup and a 25-24 lead with 10.7 seconds left in the half.
TCS responded by getting the ball to Kokosinski, who then scored just before the buzzer to give the Tigers a 26-25 lead at the intermission. At the break, Robert Saydee led TCS with 8 points while Kokosinski chipped in with 6 all coming in the second period. Byers led Amboy Tech with 9 points while Gonzalez added 6. The third quarter began with the Patriots scoring 12 of the first 15 points including a three from the right corner by Kyle Gregory, and a layup from the left low block by Fisher for a 37-29 lead at the 3:23 mark. Timothy Christian got a score to close within six, but then Perth Amboy Tech scored the next nine on back to back threes from Gonzalez, and Hernandez, and a traditional three point play by Negro for a 46-31 lead.
The Tigers scored the last five points of the third including a three point play by Mixson with 1.5 seconds remaining in the frame to narrow the deficit to 46-36 heading into the fourth. Amboy Tech scored 6 of the first 8 points of the final period including two free throws from Gonzalez for a 52-38 lead with 5:10 remaining. TCS battled back to within 10 again at 52-42 by scoring the next four points including a bucket by Saydee with 3:23 to play. The Tigers would get no closer though as the Patriots put the game away by scoring 11 of the last 16 points including two pairs of free throws and a runner in the paint by Gonzalez for a 63-47 lead with 30 seconds left. Louis Roche scored a layup for TCS in the closing seconds to finish the scoring in the 63-49 Amboy Tech victory.
With the win, Perth Amboy Tech won its 9th contest in its last 11 to improve to 14-6 overall including 12-3 in divisional play. Meanwhile, Timothy Christian dropped to 7-11 overall including a 6-9 mark in the GMC Gold. Both teams return to action next week with TCS traveling to Piscataway Tech on Monday for another league game at 5:30 PM while Amboy Tech hosts Bound Brook in a non-conference game on Monday evening at 5:30 PM.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Amboy Tech outscored TCS by a 20-7 margin from the charity stripe. Amboy Tech was 20 of 23 from the foul line. Timothy Christian was 7 of 11 from the foul line.
Amboy Tech outscored TCS by a 18-0 margin from beyond the arc. Amboy Tech was 6 of 16 from three point range. Timothy Christian was 0 of 5 from three point range. TImothy Christian outscored Amboy Tech by a 42-26 margin from inside the arc. Amboy Tech was 13 of 30 from two point range. Timothy Christian was 21 of 44 from two point range.
Amboy Tech connected on 19 of 46 shots from the floor for 41.3 percent. Timothy Christian was 21 of 49 from the floor for 42.9 percent. Amboy Tech had 6 different players score including three in double figures. Timothy Christian had 7 different players score including two in double figures. Special thanks to the TCS score keeper for a great job keeping track of things in the scorebook.