Panthers Open Game with 19-7 First Quarter to Defeat Dunellen, 79-46
PERTH AMBOY, NJ—After a year off from boys basketball, the Perth Amboy Panthers returned to the hardwood for the 2021-22 season, and had a promising start with 3 wins in their first 4 games. Amboy began the new year with an upset of East Brunswick on January 6th (62-50) in Perth Amboy, but had not won a game since.
The 17th seeded Panthers were able to get back on the winning track by outscoring 32nd seeded Highland Park 19-7 in the first quarter en route to a 79-46 GMCT Play-In Round victory and advance to play 16th seeded Middlesex in the Preliminary Round on Tuesday afternoon. Jonathan Contreras scored all 8 of his points including two threes in the first period while Jamez Garcia led the Panthers with a team high 11 points.
Dunellen, which had won only one game all year, and had yet to win in conference play this season, was led by freshman Ryan Hutchins, who had a game high 15 points including two in the first period. Senior center, Benny Hernandez chipped in with 12 as he and Hutchins combined to account for 27 of the Destroyers 46 points.
Twelve different players scored for Perth Amboy including two in double figures as Jadiel Manzueta shared the game high of 11 points with Garcia while senior Kevin Clemons chipped in with 9 and the trio of Contreras, Justin Quintero, and Wander Figueroa each added 8. Mekhi Denny just scored 4 points, but led the Panthers with 7 rebounds while Clemons pulled down 6, and Figueroa grabbed 5.
As a team, Perth Amboy collected 24 rebounds, 14 assists, and 9 steals while outscoring Dunellen 44-36 from inside the arc and 30-3 from long range. Dunellen had a slight 6-5 edge from the foul line. The Destroyers zone defense did give Amboy some struggles early on, especially from the perimeter as the Blue Division squad jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a free throw from Eric Green (8 points), and an easy layup by Tarique Dorsey (4 points).
Despite the first quarter struggles, the Panthers managed to get going behind Contreras, who hit a three from the left corner, drove into the paint for another score, and another trey from way out on the right wing for all his points as Amboy scored 19 of the last 23 points of the frame. Perth Amboy then outscored Dunellen 20-8 in the second period to establish an insurmountable 39-12 advantage at the intermission.
The Destroyers played more respectably in the second half as the Panthers only outscored them 19-17 in the third, and 21-14 in the fourth to wrap up the win. With the victory, Perth Amboy improved to 5-16 overall including a 3-15 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, Dunellen drops to 1-17 overall including an 0-14 mark in the GMC.
Perth Amboy travels to Middlesex for their GMCT Preliminary Round match-up on Tuesday, February 15th at 5:30 PM. The winner of the contest will then face top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, which just knocked off Gill St. Bernards at the Hearts to Hands Showcase in Roselle on Saturday, on Thursday, February 17th at 7:00 PM.