Blue Devils Put Panthers Away Early with 30-0 First Half Surge
RAHWAY, NJ—Coming into its Wednesday night contest against Westfield in the Championship Game of the 2021 John “Butch” Kowal Tournament, Perth Amboy had been one of the pleasant early surprises of the young 2021-22 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball season with 3 wins in its first 4 games. Unfortunately for the Panthers, a potent Westfield team put an abrupt end to the fine start with an 86-37 victory.
After Justin Quintero struck for a three pointer from the right wing to pull the Panthers within one at 4-3 at the 6:05 mark of the first period, the Blue Devils embarked on a decisive and dominant 30-0 surge over a span of 7:25 to take a commanding 34-3 lead before Quintero scored again on an and one with 6:30 remaining. Perth Amboy never recovered after that en route to its second loss of the season.
The Panthers, which didn’t play last season, and had only one returning player from the 2019-20 squad that earned the 9th seed in the 2020 GMCT, was led in defeat by Kevin Clemons, who collected 8 points, 10 rebounds, and an assist. Quintero and junior Lorenzo Perez, who returned to Amboy after playing at Morris Catholic last year, each chipped in with 7 points, and Anthony Diaz Jr. added 6.
Perez also compiled 3 assists and 2 steals while Quintero and Mehki Denny (3 points) each picked up 5 boards. Meanwhile, Westfield had 10 players play in the contest with 8 of them breaking into the scoring column. Four of those players scored in double figures led by 6’10” senior center, Sean Logan and Zander Barraza, who shared a game high 17 points.
Logan also contributed with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 blocks while Barazza swiped 3 steals, handed out 3 assists, and pulled down 3 boards. Theo Sica chipped in with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist while Shane Sheehan added 11 points and 6 rebounds. Westfield played a solid team game throughout with great passing and ball movement, which led to easy buckets and great looks from the perimeter.
The result was a 33-12 Blue Devils advantage from long distance and a 46-16 edge from inside the arc. Westfield also dominated on the boards with a 35-23 edge in rebounding and the only two blocks in the game. The Blue Devils full court pressure also caused plenty of mayhem that produced 18 steals, which also led to easy scores in transition.
Prior to the tournament, Amboy won 2 of its first 3 regular season games with a season opening 55-49 victory over New Brunswick at home on December 17th, and a last second win over North Brunswick (69-67) in a hastily scheduled game after South Brunswick was forced to postpone earlier in the week due to COVID. The Panthers then edged Johnson (54-53) in another thriller in the opening round.
Meanwhile, Westfield entered its season with a fine pedigree. Over the summer, the Blue Devils earned the 2nd seed in the Hamilton Park Summer League playoffs after a solid 16-4 regular season there that included wins over DePaul Catholic (68-57) and St. Joseph’s (48-47) on August 2nd. After opening the season with losses against Scotch Plains-Fanwood (61-59) and Plainfield (46-37), the Blue Devils won their third straight.
Following Quintero’s three pointer that pulled Amboy within one early on, Westfield reeled off the last 25 points of the frame including a drive in from the left wing for a layup by junior guard Pete Meixner (8 points and 7 assists) at the 2:24 mark for a 21-3 lead and a putback from Logan with 48 seconds to play in the frame.
Westfield’s onslaught continued in the second with a 19-5 showing despite Quintero’s and one at the 6:30 mark of the period to take a 48-8 lead into the intermission. Sica highlighted the Blue Devils second period run with a drive down the right lane for a score and a 43-7 lead with 2:17 remaining in the first half.
Led by Perez, who had a three point play off a steal with 6:44 left in the third, and Xavier Silva, who netted a three from the left wing at the 4:09 mark, Amboy showed some signs of life with 8 of the first 12 points of the second half. Unfortunately, those signs were quickly snuffed out as Westfield put together a 24-10 showing in the frame for a 72-18 lead as Sheenan got into the act with a two handed layup off an inbounds pass from Meixner to cap a 20-2 tear to end the period.
Amboy made the game more respectable by scoring more points in the fourth than it had in the previous three periods. The Panthers got threes from Jonathan Contreras at the 5:16 mark and Denny with 4:40 left as well as a layup from Quintero with 1:16 remaining to highlight a 19-15 showing in the last frame to round out the 86-37 final score.
With the loss, Perth Amboy dropped to 3-2 overall on the season. The Panthers two defeats have come at the hands of 2nd ranked St. Joseph’s (87-66) on December 21st in Metuchen, and Wednesday night’s defeat at the hands of Westfield. The Blue Devils, which could potentially be a Top 5 team in Union County when the dust settles this year, improved to 3-2 on its 2021-22 campaign.
The Panthers are scheduled to return to action in the Greater Middlesex Conference next week with games on the road at Red Division rival, Old Bridge on Tuesday, January 4th at 6:00 PM and at Sayreville on Saturday, January 8th at 1:00 PM in a GMC Crossover. Amboy did learn a tough lesson on Wednesday night, but considering it didn’t play at all last season, a 3-2 record at this juncture is a tremendous success.