South Plainfield junior forward, Abdul Adebule stretches for a rebound in the second half of the Tigers contest against Perth Amboy. No. 6 South Plainfield won the GMC White clash, 68-33.
Tigers Outscore Perth Amboy 21-6 in Third to Pull Away from Single Digit Halftime Lead
PERTH AMBOY, NJ – Entering their Tuesday night GMC White showdown, both Perth Amboy and 6th ranked South Plainfield found themselves in a bit of unfamiliar territory. The Panthers, which had been a regular fixture in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division since the inception of the conference in the 1985-86 season, was now in the White while the Tigers were back in the White after an unprecedented five year stay in the GMC Blue.
The two schools had not played against each other much in recent years as well. The last time, Perth Amboy and South Plainfield played each other at all in boys basketball was eight years ago in the 2014 Anthony Cotoia Tournament at SPHS. It had been even longer since the Tigers had played the Panthers in Amboy. You would have to go back to the opening round of the 1997 GMCT when 7th seeded Amboy defeated 10th seeded South Plainfield.
South Plainfield last defeated Perth Amboy in the 2003 GMCT Quarterfinals when Amboy assistant coach Jermaine Clark was a sophomore at the school and new Amboy head coach, Donnie Reid was a sophomore reserve at Cardinal McCarrick. The Tigers had never beaten the Panthers in Perth Amboy. Favored to win the GMC White, South Plainfield faced a tough test against the Panthers on the road.
The first half lived up to that expectation with Amboy overcoming a slow start to pull within two after one period, and went toe to toe with the Tigers for much of the second before Ikenna Ibeku got a bucket to cap a late second quarter burst for a 28-20 halftime lead. South Plainfield then took over the game for good by scoring 12 of the first 16 points of the second half for a 40-24 lead.
Then, the Tigers closed out the third with a 9-2 spurt for a 49-26 lead. South Plainfield didn’t let up at the onset of the fourth. Instead the Tigers kept their foot on the gas by scoring 9 of the first 11 points of the final period for a commanding 58-28 lead. From there, the visitors cruised to a 68-33 victory. Brandon Dean led the charge for SPHS with a game high 25 points along with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist.
Teammate Tareak Williams chipped in with 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Ibeku added 7 points, 9 boards, 3 steals, and a block. Perth Amboy was led in defeat by sophomore Angel Rosario, a transfer from Academy of Urban Leadership, who collected a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds along with a block.
The Panthers had 10 different players score in the game while South Plainfield had nine. The Tigers outscored the Panthers in each quarter, and by a 40-13 margin in the second half. SPHS enjoyed a 44-28 advantage in points scored in the paint, a 9-0 edge in points scored beyond the arc, and a 15-5 difference at the foul line.
The Tigers were actually 15 of 21 from the charity stripe for 71.4 percent while the Panthers were only 5 of 12 for 41.7 percent. South Plainfield outrebounded Amboy 41-21 while having more assists (11-4) and steals (11-9). The Panthers held a 2-1 edge in blocks. Dean, who now has over 900 points for his career, tallied 11 total field goals while also going a perfect 3 of 3 from the free throw line.
Dean capped his night with a nifty no look pass to forward Steven Moench (6 points and 9 rebounds) for a layup that gave the Tigers a 30 point lead with 6:13 remaining in the game. South Plainfield opened the game with a 7-0 lead in just the first 2:04 of the game as Dean connected on two pull-up jumpers from the middle of the key and Williams knocked down a triple from the left side of the arc.
Perth Amboy would settle down though as Rosario, Aaron Rambajan Jr, and Lorenzo Perez stepped up to put together a 10-5 run to end the opening frame. Rosario helped start the rally by scoring off a lob pass on an inbounds play underneath. Perez (2 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal) got his only points of the game on a bucket that capped the rally to pull the Panthers within two at 12-10 going into the second quarter.
The Panthers stayed within striking distance for much of the second quarter, and closed to within 23-20 on a steal and layup by Manuel Henriquez (2 points and 3 steals). Unfortunately for the hometown faithful, Amboy would get no closer. South Plainfield then ended the quarter with the last five points including a bucket from Dean and two from Ibkeu for the eight point halftime lead.
The Tigers pulled away even further as the second half got underway. Over the first 5:13 of the third, South Plainfield put together a 12-4 spurt that Dean capped by getting the loose ball off the offensive rebound and scoring down low from the right side off of a double pump shot for a 40-24 lead. SPHS then finished the third with a 9-2 run over the last 2:47 including a three pointer from the top of the key by Matt Nigro (3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) for a 49-26 advantage.
South Plainfield continued its offensive onslaught at the start of the fourth with another 9-2 spurt over the initial 1:47 of the period. Dean capped the run with his only assist of the game as he drew some oohs and ahhs in the gym with his no look pass to Moench for the layup and a 58-28 lead. The Tigers then closed out the contest by scoring 10 of the last 15 points for the 68-33 victory.
With the win, the Tigers, which defeated 7th ranked North Brunswick in its season opener (63-51) on Thursday, and then downed Cranford in its home opener on Saturday, improved to 3-0 including a 2-0 mark in the GMC White. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy, which defeated North Plainfield on Saturday split its first two games, dropped to 1-2 overall and in divisional play.
JV NOTES: Prior to the varsity game, GMC Hoops watched the second half of the JV contest between the Panthers and the Tigers. In this sub-varsity contest, Amboy held a 35-25 lead midway through the third before South Plainfield rallied to close within a single possession late. The Tigers put together a 12-3 tear to end the third as Jayden Vaca sparked the comeback with a three from well beyond the arc.
Perth Amboy regained control of the contest and led 47-40 in the fourth before South Plainfield rallied again. The Tigers scored 10 of the next 14 points including another three from Vaca as he was fouled in the right corner with under a minute to play to make it a one point game at 51-50. The Panthers then got a two handed jam for a 53-50 lead, and held on for the two point, 53-51 victory.