GMC Hoops Summary–Piscataway Tech Surges Past South Amboy, 47-38

Pimentel, Barnes, and Austin Score in Double Figures to Lead Raiders

Piscataway Tech’s German Pimentel pulls down a rebound in the third quarter against South Amboy. Pimentel scored a team high 14 points to lead three players in double figures in the Raiders 47-38 win over South Amboy on Saturday.

PISCATAWAY, NJ–The 2015-16 season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Piscataway Tech Raiders. After winning their first three games of the season, the Raiders lost forward German Pimentel for a stretch, and it showed as they lost five in a row including a 52-35 loss at South Amboy on January 2nd. Within the past two weeks, Pimentel has returned to the line-up, and Piscataway Tech has returned to prominence in the GMC Gold with 7 wins in its last 8 games including an upset of 10th ranked South River on Wednesday.

On Saturday afternoon, P-Way Tech hosted South Amboy in a rescheduled game from earlier in the week. The Guvs have shown flashes of potential during the course of the season with a win at South River on opening night, and a near upset of Sayreville, which is currently in the GMC Hoops Top Ten on the second night of the season in the Friends of South Amboy Showcase. However, the Guvs have been inconsistent with losses to the likes of Timothy Christian along with wins over Amboy Tech and P-Way Tech.

The up and down season would continue on this day for South Amboy as the Raiders rebounded from a loss versus Amboy Tech some 18 hours earlier with a 47-38 victory over the Guvs. After jumping out to an 11-7 first quarter lead thanks to the play of junior guard, Julian Munoz, who scored 6 of his 13 points in the opening stanza, the Guvs became stagnant offensively as they turned into a jump shooting team that didn’t enjoy much success from the perimeter. Meanwhile, Piscataway Tech, inspired by a breakaway dunk by Pimentel to open the second, and a three by Ali Austin, outscored South Amboy by an 18-5 margin in the frame including 15 of the last 18 points.

The Raiders then scored four of the first five points of the third quarter, and after an 8-2 rally by South Amboy closed the gap to 31-25 late in the period, Romelo Spencer buried a huge three from the right wing for a 34-25 advantage. In the fourth quarter, P-Way Tech built up its largest lead of the contest at 45-30 after scoring 11 of the first 16 points of the frame. Highlighting the run was a three by Austin at the seven minute mark, a outback by German Pimentel at the 3:32 mark, and a score by Branden Barnes. South Amboy closed the game on a 6-2 run including a layup at the buzzer by Keahre Ford to close out the 47-38 Raiders victory.

Ford finished with a game high 17 points while Munoz chipped in with 13 for South Amboy while Pimentel led P-Way Tech with 14 points and Barnes and Austin chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively. Piscataway Tech had a 9-6 edge in points scored from beyond the arc. The Raiders were also 6 of 10 from the free throw line while the Guvs were only 4 of 10. P-Way Tech also had a 32-28 advantage in points scored from two point range. South Amboy had 14 team fouls while Piscataway Tech had 13. Each team outscored the other in one of the four periods while the third and fourth periods ended in ties.

With the victory, Piscataway won its 8th of its last 9 games to improve to 11-6 overall including a 9-4 mark in the GMC Gold. South Amboy fell to 8-9 overall after losing its fourth game in its last five. The Guvs are now 7-5 in divisional play. Both teams return to action on Monday with the Raiders hosting Roselle Park of the Union County Conference in a non-conference clash on Monday evening while South Amboy hosts Perth Amboy Tech in another Gold Division clash on Wednesday night.