Clutch Three Pointers In Second Half Lift Bulldogs Past Mustangs
METUCHEN, NJ–After losing decisively at Spotswood on December 21st, and being knocked off on Tuesday night in South River, the Metuchen Bulldogs were determined to show up on Thursday night at home against J.F. Kennedy. However, after a layup by James Warren from Mike Crusco to open up the scoring, the Bulldogs gave way to a 12-2 tidal wave that included layups early on by Joe Marciano, Rasheed Howard, and A.J. Pichalski, and two free throws by Marciano to cap the run for a 12-4 lead.
Metuchen would recover this time though as Vinnie Sardone connected on a three pointer before Pichalski scored to end the first period with JFK on top 14-7, and then it came up with a 13-5 showing in the second quarter for a 20-19 lead. The Bulldogs and Mustangs went back and forth a bit in the third before Elijah Sellers sank two foul shots, and Crusco hit a three pointer just as the period came to a close for a 38-33 lead. Kennedy fought back again though with an 8-3 run to open up the fourth to tie the game at 41-41 with 4:58 left.
However, the Bulldogs, which won its first conference game on Thursday, were not to be denied. Nick Callas made a layup while Mike Crusco added one of two from the line, and a layup of his own to help MHS take a 48-41 lead. Dashion Robinson helped the Mustangs get within four on a three ponter, but A.J. Williams missed the front end of a one and one after swiping a steal and drawing a foul at the 2:39 mark. Metuchen then went on an 8-2 run that included a three and a layup by Evan Carberry and a three by Callas for a 56-46 lead with 1:18 to play.
From there, Metuchen went on to win 61-50. The Bulldogs did a solid job of shutting down Howard, who was limited to just 3 of 11 shooting and 7 points while only picking up 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. In his previous two GMC Hoops outings, Howard had averaged 21.5 points per game. Marciano picked up the slack though with a 10 of 19 performance from the floor including a 3 of 7 effort from beyond the arc, and made 2 of 4 from the line for a game high 25 points along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a charge.
Pichalski, who didn’t score in the loss against Middlesex, was very active in this one for the Mustangs with 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, an assist, and a steal, but was only 3 of 11 from the floor. Robinson made 3 of 7 shots in addition to 2 of 4 from the line for 9 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist. Only Rameez Rathore got into the scoring column for JFK with 3 points, 2 assists, and a steal as the Mustangs have been unable to get others to break into the scoring column to support their trio of Howard, Marciano, and Robinson. Kennedy was also hampered by turnovers with 20 on the game while Metuchen only committed 16 after making 9 of them in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs in each of the final three periods after the sluggish start in the first. Crusco led the way with a team high 18 points on 6 of 14 from the floor including 1 of 4 from three while making 5 of his 6 foul shots. He also grabbed 4 rebounds, handed out 2 assists, and picked up a steal. Carberry also helped out by going 5 of 11 from the floor including a three, and made 2 of 2 from the line for 13 points along with 12 rebounds for a double-double while Callas picked up 12 points and 8 rebounds along with 2 steals.
For the game, Kennedy was 20 of 52 from the floor including 4 of 13 from beyond the arc while Metuchen was 21 of 59 from the field including a 4 of 18 showing from downtown. The difference was foul shooting with the Bulldogs making 15 of 24 from the charity stripe while the Mustangs were only 6 of 15. With the victory, Metuchen catapults back into the GMC Blue race at 1-2 and 4-2 overall while JFK loses its second straight and drops to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in divisional play.