Teaneck, N.J…… Teaneck Senior Chris Jones scored his 1,000th point this week in a 48-47 win over rival Hackensack! Jones is a legitimate candidate for North Jersey Player of the Year and continues to get strong D1 interest! He has led the Highwaymen to a 15-0 record so far this season! Hoop Journal would like to congratulate Chris on his big time accomplishment!

  Kennedy H.S. Paterson,N.J……The backyard rivalry between Eastside and Kennedy was a good one as we once again threw away the team records! The difference was the play of Eastside Senior Ky’re Jackson(pictured)! He was outstanding with 26 points and 23 rebounds to go with 3 steals and a block! It seemed as if Eastside would make easy work of the Knights as they took a 31-19 lead at the half,  but the Knights outscored the Ghosts 21-14 in the 3rd to cut the lead to 7 and eventually tied it at 47 with 6:57 of the 4th on a layup by Senior Gary Simpson! Kennedy had a chance to go ahead three times and each time could not convert! They got as close as 51-50 when Jackson converted a layup and made two free throws to give Eastside a 55-51 lead with 2:20 left! Extra offensive rebounds and clutch foul shooting, particularly by Junior Jetor Brown got the Ghosts the win! Kennedy got  strong games from Senior Sammy Singletary who scored 18 points, including 2 four point plays and Freshman Donte Wise who continues to impress with 14 points and 6 blocked shots! Senior Kazmeek Mack added 12 points for Kennedy! Brown scored 16 points for Eastside and Senior DeAndre Noble-Haywood added 12 points! Eastside is now 14-1 while Kennedy fell to 8-8!

NOTE: The game was heard on 1500 WGHT AM radio and voted Jackson Players Of Game!

Prudential Center Newark, N.J……In the two games that Hoop Journal covered, Hudson Catholic and Gill St. Bernard’s both got big wins in the Newark Invitational

                              HUDSON CATHOLIC  58             LINCOLN(NEW YORK) 50

   Hudson Catholic stepped up against an elite Lincoln Of New York team and showed why they can play with anyone in the Tri-State area! While Hudson Catholic’s Juniors Reggie Cameron and Mike Young were the key guys and did what was expected, the Hawks got big games off the bench from Freshman Nassir Barrino and Junior Kyle McLeggan! Barrino(pictured) played a tough game and scored 12 points and played well enough to get Player of the Game honors! McLeggan contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals! Their play gave Cameron and Young the help they needed! Cameron was the game high scorer with 16 points to go with 7 rebounds and 3 steals, while Young finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds! Hudson Catholic led 27-23 at the half and stretched the lead to ten 40-30 to end the 3rd! The Railsplitters made a late run behind Star Sophomore Isaiah Whitehead as he converted on a couple real nice buckets to the basket! But a Barrino layup, a Cameron jump shot and a dunk from Young off a pass from Junior Kavon Stewart  sealed it for the Hawks! Whitehead led Lincoln with 15 points and 4 assists

                                       GILL ST. BERNARD’S  54           ST.PETERS PREP  34

            St. Peters Prep scored the first points of the game on a Trevis Wyche “triple” to make it 3-0 and then Gill St. Bernard’s went on a 16-2 run to go ahead 16-5 to end the 1st and by all accounts it was over right there! This was another game where Gill St. Bernard’s two main guys, Junior Jaren Sina and Senior Dominic Hoffman played well but the play of their role players proved to really be the difference! The Knights are known for having one of the best run offenses in the State and this site questioned whether they had enough besides Sina, Hoffman and Senior Alex Mittola! Well the play of Senior Larry Piretra, Junior Jon Scherer, Senior Michael Hyland and Senior Anthony Mea more than answered that question! They all had a hand in the game either on the offensive end or the defensive end! Piretra(8 rebs) and Scherer(8pts,5rebs) in particular were integral parts of the game! Sina who was the Player of the Game scored 18 points and added 4 dimes, while Hoffman scored 9 points with 13 rebounds! Prep shot itself in the foot from the free throw line as they shot 11 for 34 from the stripe! Senior Tyrone O’Garro led Prep with 10 points and 10 rebounds!