Rams Overcome First Half Deficit to Win Title Behind Santos, Rodriguez and Grospe, 66-48
SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—There were some twists and turns to get to the Championship Game of the 2021 South Amboy Tournament. As a result of the latest COVID surge, South Amboy was forced to shut down for the first week of the season. In addition, Henry Hudson, a traditional participant in this tourney pulled out. Fortunately, Middlesex was able to come in as a replacement, and it reached the final before losing to South River.
The Rams, led by the likes of Lazaro Rodriguez, Jeremy Grospe, and St. Thomas Aquinas transfer, Roman Santos, have the look of a contender not only in the GMC Blue, but perhaps the county, and Central Jersey Group 2 come February and March. The addition of Santos was huge for the Rams since it provides them with not only additional size, but also another skilled big, who can take some of the load off Rodriguez.
Those benefits of having Santos in the lineup were prevalent during the course of this year’s South Amboy Tourney, particularly in the final round against Blue Division rival, Middlesex, an opponent not originally on the itinerary. Santos, who was a key cog in St. Thomas Aquinas’ run in the 2020 Perth Amboy Freshmen Tourney two years ago when the Freshmen Trojans defeated Colonia in the semifinals before losing to St. Joseph’s, earned MVP honors for the Rams as they defeated the Blue Jays 66-48 to win the title on Wednesday afternoon.
Santos, who averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in the tournament, registered a team high 17 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in the victory. Grospe, who was named to the All Tournament Team, chipped in with 13 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block while Rodriguez added 14 points, 7 boards, 2 steals, a block, and an assist.
Meanwhile, Middlesex, which made quite a game of it in the first half, and was still within striking distance midway through the third quarter was led by senior guard Michael Salvatore, who played a determined game attacking the basket for scores en route to a game high 22 points along with 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. Classmate Ty Nicolay chipped in with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
South River had seven different players break into the scoring column including four that scored in double figures while Middlesex had only 6 players score, and two in double digits. The Rams also had advantages in points scored inside the arc (42-34), points from long distance (12-6), and from the foul line (12-8). The Rams also had a 22-15 edge in rebounding, and a 22-7 advantage in assists indicative of their team play
Fans attending the game in the gym couldn’t have asked for a better played first half as Middlesex went toe to toe versus their GMC Blue rival. Led by Salvatore, Nicolay, and Matt Venutolo (6 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal), the Blue Jays gave the sixth ranked Rams all they could handle. Despite losing the likes of 1,000 point scorer Mark Brower and others from last year’s team, Middlesex showed it could contend.
After both teams went through the minute or two trying to get into an offensive rhythm, the Blue Jays took charge with a 7-2 run capped by a Salvatore layup at the 1:32 mark of the first quarter for a 13-10 lead. Middlesex then scored 5 of the last 9 points including a buzzer beating score from Salvatore for an 18-14 lead heading into the second.
Middlesex then increased the lead to six at the start of the 2nd, and led 23-18 before South River rallied with five straight points capped by a three point play from Santos to tie the game at 23-23 with under two minutes to play in the frame. The Rams then got a three from the left wing by Grospe off good ball movement with 1:18 left in the second for a 28-27 edge at the intermission.
The game continued to be nip and tuck early on in the third although South River still managed to increase its lead to 34-31, but then the Rams began to separate themselves from the Jays with a crucial 13-5 tear to end the frame. Alex Grospe and Rodriguez highlighted the run with scores at the two minute mark and the closing seconds of the frame to highlight the spurt that gave the Rams a 47-36 lead heading into the fourth.
At the beginning of the fourth, Middlesex tried to fight its way back into the game by scoring 4 of the first 5 points of the final frame to draw back to within single digits before Alex Grospe struck from three off a skip pass from Jeremy Grospe to go back up by eleven at 51-40 with 6:55 remaining. The Rams then scored 8 of the next 10 points before the Jays got an easy layup for a 58-44 South River lead with 2:27 to play.
From there, South River coasted to the 66-48 victory and the Championship. The Rams have won this tourney for the first time since 2018, and their 7th title in this GMC vs. Shore Tourney series, which includes the South River Tournament, Keansburg Tournament, and Henry Hudson Tournament. South River is now 7-5 in GMC vs. Shore Challenge Tourney finals and 23-11 overall since 2004.
More importantly, South River improved to 5-0 overall on the season, and 4-0 in Greater Middlesex Conference play. Meanwhile, Middlesex drops back down to .500 overall and in the GMC at 2-2. Although the Rams and Blue Jays both compete in the GMC Blue, this game doesn’t count as a division game, but it still does count as a conference game, and could play a role in seeding.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, January 5th at Spotswood before facing South River again in Middlesex on Friday, January 7th at 5:30 PM. Then, Middlesex will face Bound Brook in the nightcap game of the GMC vs. Skyland Challenge at Bound Brook High School on Saturday, January 8th at 6:00 PM.
South River is slated to start the New Year with a non-conference contest versus the Academy of Urban Leadership from Perth Amboy on Monday, January 3rd at 5:30 PM. The Rams will not play again until they travel to Middlesex for their GMC tilt on Friday before hosting Highland Park the following Monday, January 10th at 5:30 PM.