Guvs Survive Fourth Quarter Rally by Seraphs for Non-Conference Win
SOUTH AMBOY, NJ – With its leading scorer from a year ago, Brandon Gasiewski, sidelined all season due to injury, South Amboy head coach, Matt Wiater, has had to find another way to get his Guvs going. Getting the likes of Gavin Pelkey, Jake Eberle, Jianny Caraballo, and big man Josiah Floyd on the same page has been a challenge, but it looks like this group is starting to get it.
Despite a fourth quarter rally by Koinonia Academy to close within a possession late, South Amboy looked much improved from opening weekend when it lost its first two games including an 80-47 rout at the hands of Spotswood. The Guvs looked very patient on offense, and did a great job of moving the ball, and sharing the basketball. The result was a 64-58 non-conference victory.
Eberle, a junior guard led the way for the Guvs. Eberle collected a game high 28 points on 13 two point field goals and a perfect 2 of 2 from the foul line. Fellow classmate, Pelkey chipped in with 23 points on 8 total field goals including five three pointers while also making both his attempts from the charity stripe. The South Amboy duo accounted for 79.6 percent of the Guvs scoring in the win.
Meanwhile, Floyd, who missed the first two games with an injury, turned in a solid all around game with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. Caraballo contributed with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Marquez Garner, Jaydius Jimenez (2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal), and Vaughn Pelkey (2 rebounds and an assist) also saw action in the victory for the Guvs.
Efraim Lopez matched Eberle with a game high 28 points in a losing cause for Koinonia. Lopez connected on 12 total field goals including four three pointers while also collecting 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Patrick Knob chipped in with 9 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, and a steal while Joe Hardy added 8 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal.
Six different players scored for the Seraphs while only four did for the Guvs. Koinonia outscored South Amboy by a margin of 18-15 from beyond the arc. However, the Guvs were able to overcome that with a 40-36 edge in points scored inside the arc, and a 9-3 advantage in points scored from the line. South Amboy finished 9 of 11 or 81.8 percent from the foul line.
Koinonia enjoyed a 42-31 edge in rebounding, but South Amboy had more assists (17-14), and blocked shots (6-2). The Seraphs held an 11-10 edge in steals. Eberle (16 points) and Pekley (14 points) combined for 30 of the Guvs’ 34 points in the first half en route to a 34-26 lead at the intermission. The duo combined for 20 of those points in the first period alone as South Amboy raced out to a 22-6 lead.
Pelkey netted four threes for 12 points while Eberle connected on four two point field goals, and Caraballo added a bucket of his own to get the Guvs going. Koinonia battled back in the second with a 20-12 showing to close the gap to single digits as Efraim Lopez, who scored 4 of the 6 Seraph points in the opening period, scored 10 in the second including two three pointers. Eberle scored 8 more in the second for the Guvs while Pelkey got his only field goal on a jumper with 40 seconds to go in the half for a 34-24 lead.
The last two periods were much more even in terms of the scoring, but South Amboy did manage to take a double digit lead heading into the fourth, and led by a baker’s dozen early in the final frame before Koinonia rallied. Caraballo scored on a putback towards the end of the third for a 52-41 lead while Eberle had a bucket at the 4:43 mark of the period to give the Guvs a 39-30 lead.
Koinonia rallied to get within three late in the fourth despite a transition score from Eberle for a 56-46 lead at the 4:42 mark. Efraim Lopez led the Seraphs once again with 7 points including a three to close the gap to 58-55. However, Floyd scored on a follow off a missed three attempt with 1:07 remaining for a 60-55 lead.
After Koinonia scored again to pull within two, Eberle and Caraballo sealed the victory by each making a pair of free throws over the final minute. With the win, South Amboy improved to .500 at 6-6 overall with its sixth victory in its last 10 games. The Guvs also evened their record at 2-2 versus non-conference foes. Koinonia fell to 4-7 with the loss.
South Amboy is scheduled to be back in action on Friday night when they travel up to the Prudential Center in Newark to take on East Brunswick Magnet in a GMC Gold clash. Both schools will have their girls and boys teams face off at The Pru. The girls basketball game is scheduled to start at 5:15 PM while the boys hoops contest will follow at 7:15 PM. GMC Hoops will be there to cover all the action.