Patriots Sweep Season Series with Timothy Christian
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| Perth Amboy Tech’s Pedro Gonzalez follows through on a three point attempt in the first half against Timothy Christian on Wednesday night. Gonzalez finished with 15 points including three treys in a 77-72 Patriots victory. |
PISCATAWAY, NJ–Wednesday night’s game between Perth Amboy Tech and Timothy Christian was crucial for both teams. A win for Amboy Tech would essentially give it the GMC Gold title for the third straight year.
Meanwhile, a victory for Timothy Christian would keep the Tigers fading hopes for the division crown alive. The Tigers prospects were severely damaged in a 69-52 loss at Piscataway Tech last Friday. So, TCS was two games back in the standings with Amboy Tech holding the tiebreaker by virtue of a 61-53 victory on December 19th.
Not helping Timothy Christian’s chances was the fact that both point guard Josh Alcoriza and one of the top scorers, Will Clemons were not in the lineup. Clemons had been out since the South Amboy game, which was won by TCS (51-46). Amboy Tech also entered the game shorthanded with Eric Negro not in the lineup.
However, Carlos Morla was able to pick up the slack for the Patriots while Kyle Gregory turned in a superb performance and Amboy Tech had five players score in double figures to come away with a season sweep of Timothy Christian by virtue of a 77-72 victory.
Gregory finished with a game high 24 points including five three pointers while Pedro Gonzalez chipped in with 15 points including three treys. Miguel Hernandez added 14 points including two threes while Javon Fisher connected on 4 shots from the floor, and 4 of 7 from the foul line for his 12 points.
Morla’s effort was perhaps the most important of all. Filling in for Negro, Morla scored the first Amboy Tech points of the game, and finished with 10 points on five field goals. Mauricio Arias rounded out the Patriots scoring with two points on 2 of 4 from the foul line.
Pierce Kokosinski led Timothy Christian with a team high 21 points on 9 field goals and a three pointer. Rob Saydee, who now has 875 points for his career, chipped in with 20 while Louis Roche turned in a solid effort for 12 points including 4 of 5 from the foul line. A.J. Myha added 11 points including a four point play and a three point play.
Both teams combined for 14 three pointers in the contest, but Amboy Tech had the majority of them as it outscored TCS by a margin of 30-12 from beyond the arc. The Tigers outscored the Patriots by a margin of 48-32 from within the arc while the Pats were 15 of 26 from the line versus 12 of 15 by the Tigers.
Timothy Christian would get on the board first with a coast to coast layup by Saydee about 30 seconds into the contest. Amboy Tech would take control though by scoring 7 of the next 9 points including a score in the paint by Morla at about the 7 minute mark and a three by Gregory for a 7-4 lead with about five minutes left in the first.
Over the next 1:57, the Patriots scored 5 of the next 7 points all courtesy of Gregory including a floater from the left baseline and a three from the left corner for a 12-6 lead with a little over three minutes to play in the opening period. TCS battled back to within two by scoring 8 of the next 12 points including an unconventional four point play by Myha.
Myha was fouled as he connected on a three pointer from the top of the key with 51 seconds to play in the first period. He then sank the bonus free throw to close the gap to 16-14. However, Amboy Tech wouldn’t let TCS get any closer as it scored the last 8 points of the period including a coast to coast layup by Fisher for a 24-14 lead.
The Tigers continued to battle by scoring 6 of the first 10 points of the second, but Morla struck for two on a short hook off a pivot and spin move at the 4:28 mark for a 30-20 Amboy Tech lead. Timothy Christian scored 5 of the next 7 points to pull within seven before Hernandez struck for three prompting the Tigers to call for time trailing 35-25 with 3:06 remaining in the first half.
The Patriots came out of the timeout by picking up right where it left off. Amboy Tech scored 5 of the last 7 points including a Fisher layup from the left side just before the buzzer to end the half leading 40-27. After Myha’s four point play, the Pats outscored the Tigers by a 24-13 margin.
Both teams opened the second half with scores including a Miguel Hernandez steal for layup to give Amboy Tech a 42-29 lead at about the six minute mark. Then, Timothy Christian made the first of two runs it would have in the second half. The Tigers went on a 9-2 run that included scores from Saydee and Kokosinski as well as a three point play by Roche to narrow the deficit to 42-36 with five minutes to go in the third.
After an Amboy Tech score, Timothy Christian pulled to within five at 44-39 on a three from the right side by Nate Aviles with 3:05 remaining in the third. The Tigers continued to rally by scoring 7 of the last 12 points of the period including a transition layup by Myha off a feed from Saydee in the closing seconds to pull TCS within three at 49-46.
Timothy Christian then opened up the fourth with another score from the right baseline to pull within a point at 49-48 with 7:10 to play. Amboy Tech didn’t relent though, and prevented TCS from tying or taking the lead. Instead the Patriots scored 15 of the next 23 points including a jumper from inside the arc at the top of the key by Fisher at the 5:03 mark, and a three from the right wing by Gonzalez with 3:27 remaining for a 64-56 lead.
Playing a key role during the run was Hernandez, who hustled for loose balls and offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive that led to the scores by Fisher and Gonzalez. Timothy Christian would get a layup by Kokosinski with 2:50 left, and a turnaround jumper by Louis Roche with 55.6 seconds to play, but still trailed 73-67. Saydee added a three with 7.6 seconds left to pull the Tigers within four at 76-72.
However, it was too little, too late for TCS as Amboy Tech got a free throw from Fisher with about five seconds left, and then another offensive rebound by Hernandez, who ran out the clock for the 77-72 victory. With the win, Perth Amboy Tech improved to 10-2 on the season including a 9-0 mark in the GMC Gold.
Meanwhile, Timothy Christian dropped to 9-3 overall and 6-3 in divisional play with the loss. The win all but clinches the GMC Gold for Amboy Tech. Both teams returned to action later in the week with GMC crossover games. Timothy Christian visited Spotswood on Friday night while Perth Amboy Tech traveled to Carteret on Saturday afternoon.