Ramapo U, Mahwah,N.J…….The Bergen County Jamboree night belonged to Senior Justin Salem as he led Bergen Catholic to it’s first Championship since 2003! Salem(left) scored a game high 29 points with 5″triples” and was a problem for Teaneck the entire night! Senior and St.Joe’s commit PierFrancisco Oliva added 13 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocked shots, not to mention altering other shots as his length also gave Teaneck problems! With Salem and Oliva being matchup problems Bergen Catholic added another dimension as Sophomore Taj Benning became the x-factor in the game by scoring 12 points, pulling down 5 rebounds, blocking 3 shots and being the primary defender on Teaneck’s star guard Leondre Washington! He helped hold Washington, who could never get off to 12 points with only 2 points coming in the 2nd half as Bergen made every shot difficult for him! With the game still in doubt at the half and B.C. holding a 28-26 lead, Bergen Catholic cranked up the D and held Teaneck to 18 second half points! Salem scored 14 after intermission, while Oliva scored 10 of his points after the half! Teaneck came up short in trying to win the Bergen Jamboree for the 5th straight year! Freshman Ja’Quaye James added 10 points and Senior Tyler Dearing added 9 points for Teaneck!

Ramapo University, Mahwah,N.J…. The four best teams in Bergen County competed in the Semifinals of the Bergen County Jamboree as Bergen Catholic competed against St.Joseph and Teaneck squared off with Don Bosco Prep! At the end of the night, Bergen Catholic and Teaneck will face each other in the championship!

                                                                                          TEANECK  56    DON BOSCO PREP   49

Sophomore Leondre Washington(right) proved why he is considered one of the top players in not only the area, but the State as Teaneck surprised many by reaching the finals of the Jamboree! Washington who is the true leader of this squad scored 26 points to lead Teaneck to a 56-49 win! He was clutch from the foul line going 9 for 10 from the foul line! Guard Tyler Dearing(left) scored 10 of his 12 points in the 3rd quarter as he helped Teaneck hold a 39-33 lead at the end of the period! With the score 43-33 in the 4th Don Bosco Prep went on a  9-0  run to cut the lead to 43-42 and momentum! But Freshman Ja’Quaye James knocked down a big”triple” then had a steal and layup! Washington’s tough layup gave Teaneck a 7-0 run and control of the contest at 50-42 with 2:31 left! James finished the game with 11 points! American U. commit Lonnie Rivera who came out red hot finished with 21 points and Senior Amani Craddock came off the bench to score 12! Junior Brandon Anderson finished the contest with 10 points!

                                                                                       BERGEN CATHOLIC  66   ST. JOSEPH  51

St. Joseph’s can shoot the ball! Unfortunately, they didn’t in their Semifinal contest with Bergen Catholic! St. Joe’s University commit Pierfrancisco Oliva and Senior Justin Salem took full advantage as they combined for 41 points to lead Bergen Catholic to a 66-51 win! Oliva(right) scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and Salem knocked down 5″triples’ on his way to 19 points! Senior Mike Muggeo’s 12 points were just as important as he became that third scorer Bergen Catholic needed as they have lost Senior Anthony Uribe for the remainder of the season with a broken foot! Bergen’s defense was just as important as they held Joe’s leading scorer Nate Garvey(16 a game) to 7 points, Senior Sean McKinless to 7 points and Senior Sean McGuire to 6 points! Sophomore Chauncey Hawkins led St. Joseph with 14 points! Bergen Catholic also did a good job outrebounding St.Joseph as they limited them to one shot! Bergen Catholic, who won big against Teaneck earlier in the season will face them in the  Championship Thursday 7pm at Ramapo University! 

Teaneck,N.J…… Freshman Ja’Quaye James knocked down a school record 10″triples”and scored a career high 36 points as Teaneck defeated Pascack Valley 84-61!