Patriots Use Similar Formula to Beat Calvary Christian for 3rd Time, 52-38
PERTH AMBOY, NJ—For the third time this season, GMC Gold Division rivals, 24th seeded Perth Amboy Tech and 25th seeded Calvary Christian met on the hardwood. However, this time, the stakes were a bit higher as the teams were meeting in the 2022 GMCT Play-In round, where it is win, or go home. Using a similar formula it had crafted to beat the Lions in Perth Amboy on January 24th, Amboy Tech was able to overcome a first quarter deficit, and pull away in the second and third quarters for a 52-38 victory.
The Patriots played a gritty came as they got on the floor for loose balls, hustled, drew charges, and outworked their foe for offensive rebounds. Amboy Tech managed to garner a huge advantage on the glass, which played a significant role, especially in the second half, in getting the post-season victory. Both teams are currently 3rd and 4th in the GMC Gold with PAVT still having a shot to tie for 2nd.
Trailing 10-8 after one quarter, Perth Amboy Tech outscored Calvary Christian 20-7 in the 2nd period to take a 28-17 halftime lead, and then 14-9 in the third to extend the lead to 42-26 after three. The Patriots led by as many as 18 points late in the contest before the Lions got two buckets down the stretch to close out the contest.
Jonas Ramos led the way for the victorious Patriots with a game high 15 points including three treys. Two of those threes came during Amboy Tech’s huge 2nd quarter, and another one came in the third when the home team extended its lead. Ramos also collected 5 rebounds and a steal. Teammate, Adrian Pena was another double figure scorer for the Pats with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Pena, who also collected 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block, joined forces with Jamir Brown (8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) to help spark Amboy Tech’s second quarter onslaught with their scrappy play that produced transition and easy basket opportunities. Julius Bonilla also contributed with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal. Chanel Herrera only had 3 points, but also chipped in with 5 boards and 2 assists along with plenty of hustle.
Senior guard, Isaiah Jones led Calvary Christian in defeat with a team high 14 points including four three pointers while also picking up 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist. Jones connected on a three late in the first half, and made two in the third quarter to keep the Lions in the contest for a little while. Junior Jack Zink chipped in with 13 points including 7 from the foul line.
Timothy Cranga (7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) and Lucas Durkin (4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal) rounded out the Lions scoring as Calvary only had four players break into the scoring column. Perth Amboy Tech, on the other hand, had 7 players score as Julius Gonzalez (4 points) and Joshua Acevedo (1 point and 4 rebounds) also scored for the winners.
While Calvary Christian enjoyed an 18-15 edge in points scored from beyond the arc, and a 12-7 advantage in points from the foul line, Perth Amboy Tech was able to get the win thanks to a decisive 30-8 edge in points scored within the arc, as they took advantage of their offensive rebounding, hustle, and scrappy play with numerous putbacks and transition layups.
Perth Amboy Tech had a huge edge on the glass (41-23) while both teams each had 10 assists and 9 steals. Calvary Christian held a 2-1 edge in blocked shots. The Patriots defense against Zink also was key as they held one of the GMC’s top scorer to nearly 8 points below his season average of 20.9 per game. Zink averaged 18 per game in the previous two contests between the two schools this year.
After trailing by two at the end of the first, Perth Amboy Tech stepped up its efforts, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Both teams scored to begin the period as Brown scored a layup and Zink netted a pair of free throws for a 12-10 Calvary Christian lead. At that point, the Patriots took control of the contest by scoring 18 of the last 23 points of the period.
Highlighting the Amboy Tech run were a layup by Pena following a battle for a loose ball on the floor at the 3:19 mark for a 19-14 Patriots lead, and Ramos’ two threes including one from the left wing at the 1:37 mark for a 24-14 advantage. Perth Amboy Tech then added two more scores from Gonzalez before Jones struck for three in the closing seconds to get the Lions back to within 11 at 28-17 going into the intermission.
Jones added two more threes from almost the exact same location on the left wing in the third, but it didn’t prevent Amboy Tech from increasing its lead in the period to 16 at 42-26. The Patriots then extended the lead to 45-28 following a Jamir Brown score on a layup off an offensive rebound with 6:13 remaining in the contest. Bonilla then added a later score in transition off a great dish by Ramos to wrap up the victory.
With the win, Perth Amboy Tech advanced to play 9th seeded Piscataway in the 2022 GMCT Preliminary Round on Tuesday evening in Piscataway. The Patriots also improved their overall record to 13-5 on the season including 12-5 conference mark. Calvary Christian fell to 11-7 overall and 8-7 in the GMC with the loss.