Rutgers University, N.J…… St. Anthony came out and let everyone in the gym know that they still are the big dog in the house as they manhandled Hudson Catholic 53-30! St. Anthony’s defensive effort was too much for the Hawks for the second year in a row! The win gave the Friars the Non-Public B North Championship! While Senior Kyle Anderson the#2 Player in the Country played a regular strong game, the night belonged to Senior Jerome Frink who went 9 for 10 from the floor and established himself early in the game as the go to guy! Frink led the scoring with 18 points! The scoring didn’t come easy for either team in the 1st half as it was 23-16 but Anthony had the game played at their pace! Anderson finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds, while Temple commit Josh Brown scored 11 points and played a very good defensive game against Hudson Catholic’s Junior guard Kavon Stewart who was held down most of the night! Junior Hallice Cooke added 10 points with 2″triples”! Hudson Catholic was led by Junior Reggie Cameron who scored 13 points on 5 for 8 from the floor, including 3″triples”! No other player got off for the Hawks with Junior Raekwon Kelly being the second leading scorer with 5 points! St. Anthony will now face Gill St. Bernards 12:00pm Sunday at the Rac for Non-Public B State “Chip”! Picture: St. Anthony basking at press conference after defeat of Hudson Catholic!

NOTE:  Hoop Journal would like to acknowledge Senior Grant Ellis on his highschool career! Ellis has had an up and down career but one thing you cant deny is his talent! A tremendous athlete Grant did enough to earn a D1 scholarship to Iona! He also is a great kid with a great family,especially his dad Rob! Here’s hoping for nothing but the best in the future for Grant and his family!

East Orange Campus, N.J…….. It was no secret, Teaneck wanted to play Plainfield! After their heartbreaking lost last year they wanted revenge! But no one, especially Teaneck thought they were going to get this! Plainfield gave Teaneck a shocking beatdown 84-62 in the North 1 Group 3 Semifinals! Plainfield jumped out to a 12-4 lead and finished the 1st quarter up 20-8 as Teaneck came out cold and shot 4 for 14, while Plainfield shot 8 for 17 including 2″triples” from Senior guard Sekou Harris! That was just the beginning as Plainfield played a near flawless 2nd quarter to take a 42-19 lead at intermission! It was over right there! Harris(above right) was spectacular scoring 24 points with 9 assists, but he was not by himself as Senior Dijon Allen-Jordan also scored 24 points, grabbed 7 boards and had 2 blocked shots, Yale bound Senior Justin Sears(right)scored 12 points with 12 rebounds and an impressive 6 blocked shots and Junior Jamal Lane added 12 points! Plainfield was in control, start to finish as Teaneck just came out flat! Besides the great play of Junior guard Shakir Lindsey who finished with 29 points no other Teaneck player could get it going! Pittsburgh bound Senior Chris Jones finished with 13 points, but most came late in the game when the game was out of reach! Junior Joel Hernandez added 12 points for the Highwaymen! Plainfield improved to 27-3 and will meet Neptune in the Group 3 final, while Teaneck finishes the year at 31-1 and the most wins in a season for any squad ever to play there!

NOTE: Hoop Journal would like to acknowledge Seniors Ricky Everett and Siddiq Patterson on their highschool careers! Everett was a very good athlete who contributed off the bench for the highwaymen, while Patterson was an integral part of the lineup and more times than not covered the toughest offensive player on the other team! His future seems to be on the gridiron as he is a bigtime football player!

Special acknowledgement has to go to Senior Chris Jones! Chris has developed into one of the best players in the State and despite his disappointing game has been as good a Teaneck Highwaymen as the school has ever had and has had as good a career as any player to lace them up there! Chris is not only a superior basketball player, but a quality individual who is just as good off the court as he is on it! He will continue his basketball career with Pittsburgh University and the one thing you know is they got a class individual! A special thanks goes out to Chris and his family who have done a great job! You should be proud! Hoop Journal wishes nothing but the best for Chris for the future! 

East Orange Campus, N.J……. Despite the play of Junior swingman Dominick Wilson, Cresskill got close but could not overtake University in the North1 Group1 final as they fell 64-53! University led the entire way as Senior Keith Foster, Junior Elijah Brown and Junior Akrum Wadley supplied the offensive damage! Foster(right) finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds, Brown(left) had 14 points and Wadley added 12 points with 5 steals! Cresskill fought hard and as well as University played using their superior quickness, they would not go away! Cresskill cut the lead to three 54-51 with 3:32 left in the 4th quarter, but a layup by Brown pushed the lead to 56-51 and then with 2:16 left Wilson fouled out! He, along with Junior Alex DeCandia were the main scoring threats and when Wilson left Cresskill’s offense left with him! Foster went 4 for 4 from the foul line late to lock the game up! Wilson finished with 20 points, while DeCandia added 14! Junior Tyler Jackson chipped in 8 points and 6 assists! University will meet Asbury Park in the Group 1 State final!