Patriots Hold Off Late Rally by Eagles to Notch Victory
 |
| Perth Amboy Tech’s Javon Fisher skies to put up a shot in the second half against Edison in a GMC crossover game played at the 2016 Rahway Summer League on Wednesday night. Led by Miguel Hernandez, the Patriots were able to hold off a late Edison rally for a 34-32 victory. |
RAHWAY, NJ–After winning back to back GMC Gold Division titles led by the likes of Jordan Little (Brookdale Community College) and Kyrie Byers, you would think that the Patriots of Perth Amboy Tech would be in position to fall back down to earth for the upcoming 2016-17 season. However, with the likes of Pedro Gonzalez, Javon Fisher, Eric Negro, Kyle Gregory, and Miguel Hernandez returning, expect Amboy Tech to be a strong favorite to three-peat as division champs.
Once again, the Patriots are playing in the Rahway Summer League, and on Tuesday night, they were in action against the Edison Eagles of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s White Division in the nightcap game at Rahway High School. In a game where both teams struggled on offense, Amboy Tech broke away from a 7-6 lead at the 13:32 mark of the first half with a 9-3 run to take a 16-9 advantage with 1:45 remaining in the half. After Edison pulled within three with two late first half scores, Hernandez ended the half with a three from the left wing for a 19-13 halftime edge.
Over the first 16:45 of the second half, both offenses continued to struggle, but the Pats found a way to put together a 13-10 edge for a 32-23 lead with a little more than three minutes remaining in the game. Edison wouldn’t go away, and led by soon to be senior, Justin Turner, rallied with a 9-2 finish that pulled the Eagles within two late, but despite having a couple opportunities down the last 33.5 seconds, couldn’t pull out the victory or force overtime as Amboy Tech hung on for a 34-32 victory. While most of the Patriots squad struggled to get the ball in the basket, Hernandez, a reserve on this past season’s team, flourished, especially from the perimeter.
Hernandez sank a three from the right wing at the 16:33 mark for a 7-4 lead. He then sank a trey from the left side of the key at the 5:33 mark to end a scoring drought that saw Amboy Tech only score two points over an 11 minute span. After capping a Patriots 4-0 run with a layup at the 1:45 mark, Hernandez put a halt to Edison’s late first half rally with another three from the left wing as time ran out for a 19-13 halftime advantage. Edison opened the second half by scoring 5 of the first 9 points to pull within five at 23-18 at the 14:22 mark, but couldn’t get closer. Perth Amboy Tech would score 4 of the next 6 points including a trey by Kyle Gregory with 10:33 left for a 27-20 lead.
After Edison answered Gregory’s three with a trey of his own from the top of the key to pull within four at the 10:17 mark, the Patriots scored the next five points including a putback at the 8:14 mark, another score, and then one of two from the foul line at the 3:15 mark for its largest lead of the game at 32-23. The Eagles would fight back though led by Turner, who ignited the late rally with a drive for a layup at the 2:57 mark. Following an Edison timeout, Turner struck again with a three pointer from the right corner at the 2:15 mark for a 32-28 Amboy Tech lead. Hernandez would get the only Patriot points down the stretch, but they were huge as he scored on a floater with 2:07 remaining for a 34-28 lead.
Edison would get closer though with two more scores including a transition layup with about a minute left to pull within two at 34-32. However, with a chance to tie, the Eagles missed two free throws at the 33.5 mark. Amboy Tech couldn’t put the game away though as the Patriots missed a pair of free throws at the 23.4 second mark and the 16.9 second mark. Edison got the rebound after the missed second free throw, and pushed the ball into the frontcourt before calling timeout with 6.8 seconds left. Following the timeout, the Eagles set up a play for a chance to tie or win the game, but the shot attempt in the closing seconds was blocked by Javon Fisher, and Perth Amboy Tech won the game, 34-32.
The Patriots of Amboy Tech return to action at the 2016 Rahway Summer League against Carteret on Wednesday, July 6th at 8:30 PM, and then return the next day to play Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Thursday, July 7th at 5:30 PM.