JINGLE BELLS JUBILEE: TEANECK, HACKENSACK, NEWARK TECH AND IRVINGTON WIN!!
Paterson Charter School, Paterson, NJ….. The Playaz sponsored Jingle Bells Jubilee Tournament began with opening game action and in the contests Teaneck, Hackensack, Newark Tech and Irvington all came out victorious:
TEANECK 64 PASSAIC VALLEY 45
Senior Joel Hernandez(right) scored 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Senior Shakir Lindsey added 19 points as Teaneck cruised to a 64-45 win over Passaic Valley! Hernandez scored 16 of his points in the 1st half and Teaneck took complete control in the 3rd, building a 50-32 lead at the end of the quarter! Teaneck got good efforts from Senior Eddie Pena, Sophomore Cesar DeJesus and Junior Myles McLeod who snatched 10 rebounds! Passaic Valley was led by Junior Stefan Minic with 16 points and Sophomore Shawn Ulrich with 10 points and 8 rebounds!
HACKENSACK 64 PASSAIC 55
Junior Rashard Figures(right) scored 23 points and had four steals to lead Hackensack to a 64-55 win over Passaic! He needed to play exceptional to offset the play of Passaic Senior wing Rashaan Johnson who finished with 21 points and 11 boards! Hackensack held a comfortable lead going into the 4th quarter, but got a scare late as Passaic cut the lead to 8 with 1:51 left in the game but Hackensack Senior Keon Lewis bucket plus a foul sealed it and took away any chance for a miraculous comeback! Lewis finished with 10 points while Sophomore Anthony Uribe added 8 points and Senior Gene Marshall added 6 points and 10 rebounds! Senior Gervon Williams contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds for Passaic!
NEWARK TECH 72 KENNEDY 55
In a dominating performance Newark Tech took control of the game early and never looked back as they beat Kennedy 72-55! The Terriors led by as much as 24 points as they went into the 4th with a 56-32 lead! Senior Dwayne Murill(right) scored 20 points, Senior Rakwan Kelly(left) scored 17 points with 7 rebounds and 3 steals and Junior Tyree Sykes finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds! Newark Tech’s size was a problem for the Knights as they were usually limited to one shot and could not compete on the glass as Tech held a 46-24 rebounding edge! Senior Hassan Townes led Kennedy with 24 points!
IRVINGTON 47 PISCATAWAY TECH 32
Senior guard Elijah Brown(right) scored 15 points and handed out 4 assists to lead Irvington to a 47-32 win over Piscataway Tech! Junior Shakur Juiston added 10 points and 10 rebounds and two monstrous putback dunks! Irvington never trailed in the game!Junior jordan Lackey led Piscataway with 13 points!
Teaneck will meet Newark Tech and Hackensack will go against Irvington in the Semifinal games!
Oakland, N.J……. Senior Greg Kozar and Senior Matt Busch each went 3 for 4 at the foul line down the stretch to hold off St. Joseph and take a 51-49 victory In the Indian Hills Holiday Tournament! In a close game the entire way Kozar(pictured) led the way scoring 18 points and hitting a big “triple” to give Mahwah the lead at 43-40 with 1:21 in the 4th! The 1st half ended tied at 27, while the 3rd quarter ended with the game tied at 37! Mahwah and St. Joe’s each needed the win as both teams have started the season slow! They both came in with 1-3 records and each played desperate to the point where they were pressing to make things happen! Senior forward Mike Leniw chipped in 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Thunderbirds! St. Joe’s was led by Senior Pat Mensah with 16 points and Sophomore Andrew McGuire with 9 points! Senior Ricky Jeune did a good job on the boards grabbing 11! Joe’s has 6 Sophomore’s on their roster and are in a rebuilding mode! Mahwah has a veteran roster and are more in the now as they have 7 Seniors on their roster!