It never changes! The Eastside- Kennedy rivalry is still one of the best and most entertaining in the state and what you got today was another classic! Kennedy’s never give up mentality is what got them this hard fought 71-66 win over Eastside. Eastside played great for 3 quarters, at one point seeming to take complete control of the game after an eye raising one handed dunk by 5’8″ Karon Abraham  put the Ghosts up eleven. The Knights however, were not impressed as they seemed to get a spark out of the play more than Eastside. Kennedy’s Shondel Stewart, who was outstanding the entire game with 34 points and 10 rebounds, scored 19 points in the second half, but the second half star was Asmar Edwards who scored 15 points in the second half, including 11 in the 4th quarter.  He finished with 19 and made clutch shots late in the game. Dave Robertson-West had a solid game for Eastside scoring 22 points and 8 rebounds. He only scored 5 in the second half, but reached a milestone getting his 1,000th point of his career on his first basket of the game. Abraham finished with 25 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Kennedy got a surprise effort from Mikel Dixon who made a key steal and free throw late, subbing for Antoine Alexander who was in foul trouble.

                   Wolfin Leads Pascack Hills Comeback 59-55

Senior Jake Wolfin was simply put” the man” in Pascack Hills 59-55 comeback win over a tough Old Tappan H.S. Down the entire game and at one point trailing by as much as 14, Hills grinded their way back into the contest. Throughout the comeback if a play was needed, Wolfin provided it. He scored 31 points with 4 assists and 3 steals, finally putting them up 52-50 with 1:52 left in the in the 4th on a three from the top of the key and finishing off with two free throws with 7 seconds left to clinch it. Old Tappan had jumped out early behind the shooting of Tim Fougere, who scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half. He got help from Anthony Messina (11 pts., 5 rebs.) and sophomore point guard Shane McLaughlin(10 pts., 4asts.,2tls.). Pascack Hills senior Mike Friedberg (14 pts.,6 rebs.) also came through with a couple of big plays late. Pascack Hills kept their unbeaten record alive and will face St. Joseph H.S. next week in the semifinals.

                        St. Joe’s Survives Paramus Catholic In O.T. 55-53

Paramus Catholic gave St. Joseph H.S. all they could handle,but in the end a three by guard Alex Aitkens and a free throw by Mike Marchman proved to be the difference in a 55-53 overtime St. Joe’s win. The game seemed to be well in hand as Joe’s pushed the lead up to 10 with 3 minutes left. PC went into a 1-3-1 press that caused problems with St. Joe’s as the pressure resulted in PC getting a three from the top of the key from junior guard Andre Blackwood to send the game into overtime. Blackwood had a marvelous game for PC scoring 23 points in the contest. The overtime went back and forth until Aitkens three put Joe’s up 54-53.  P.C. missed after a time out and fouled Marchman, who made one of two. The miss resulted in a desperation three from Eddie Johnson that came off the rim. Kai Dominquez had 17 points in the first half for Joe’s but couln’t find the basket in the second, finsihing with those 17. Joe Efese took over in the second half scoring 10 of his 14 points and adding 11 rebounds. Justin Harris scored 13 points for Paramus Catholic.

                     Dudas 3 Helps D.B.P. Escape Mahwah 52-50

As Mahwah H.S. continued to play inspired basketball it became more of a reality that they were going to pull the upset off against Don Bosco Prep H.S. Mahwah played like a team not intimidated at all. Then, with 1:2 seconds on the clock it came crashing down, as Mike Dudas hit a 3 pointer to give Prep the win. Mahwah led most of the way led by senior Julius Defreese. Defreese finished with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals and was very hard for D.B.P. to contain. Prep’s sophomore guard Vaughn Gray(18 pts., 4 rebs.) kept his team in the game, hitting three shots late to close Mahwah’s lead 47-46,but Defreese basket made it a three point game. Dudas had tied it with a 3 with a little over a minute left. He was fouled, but missed the free throw. John Ebeling, a Maine recruit for football made one of two to put Mahwah up 50-49. It set the stage for Dudas’s heroics.

                                 Teaneck Downs Ramapo 63-58

Teaneck overcame some sloppy play late and the shooting of Ramapo guard Eric Halejian to beat Ramapo 63-58. Teaneck had a balanced attack as 4 players reached double figures. Javae King- Gilchrist led them with 15 points. Kyle Steinbergin(11pts.), Jonathan Blue (13 pts.) and Aaron Qualls (13 pts.) all reached the double figure plateau. They overcame the 29 point effort by Halejian, including 16 in the second half. His shot to tie late hit the front of the rim. Ramapo’s Ryan Brew contributed 12 points and 8 rebounds, while Donny Fletcher added 6 points and 11 rebounds. Teaneck got a scare when Gilchrist hurt his foot and had to sit for a while. He returned late and help clinch the game with a layup at the buzzer.

Depaul Shocks Passaic 48-33

                           St. Joe’s recruit Justin Crosgile proved to be too much for Passaic H.S. to handle as Depaul stunned them 48-33. Crosgile scored 21 points, but more importantly added 15 rebounds as he took control of the game at the end of the 3rd quarter and entire 4th. Passaic H.S. had to overcome a second quarter injury to star forward Tyshon Pickett. Depaul took advantage, turning a 10-7 1st quarter deficit into a 23-15 halftime lead. Matt Miller(13 pts.,6 rebs.) was the key performer for Depaul in the first half. The second half became the Crosgile show as a few times he would get the rebound and race coast to coast for a basket or dropped a dime to a teammate. He added 4 assists and 4 steals to go with his other numbers. Passaic played a sluggish game despite the fact pickett had returned to the game. He finished with 8 points. sophomore Shakir Rhodes led Passaic with 10.

Kennedy Gets Past Wayne Hills 60-55

      Wayne Hills came to play and proved they can compete with anyone. The problem was they had to play Kennedy H.S,who overcame a sluggish first half and playing with a less than 100% Daquere Hayes to beat Hills 60-55. Wayne Hills came out on fire behind the play of  senior guard Steve Lequerica  , who finished with 20 points and 6 assists. they led 18-12 at the end of the 1st quarter. Kennedy stayed in the game behind the early shooting by sophomore guard Dawon Lighty(19 pts.). They slowly got in the game and tied it at 32 by the end of the 1st half. Kennedy  came out more aggressive in the 3rd, as Shondel Stewart (19 pts., 7 rebs.), Asmar Edwards (10 pts.,7 rebs.) and Antoine Alexander (11pts., 4 rebs.) made their presence felt. With a two point lead in the 4th Kennedy,who play  a fast paced game decided to hold the ball because Wayne Hills stayed in a zone. It resulted in Hills eventually fouling Zaire Young. Young made the first to give them a three point lead. His second shot came off the side, but Edwards got the biggest rebound of the game and was fouled. His free throw proved to be the difference. Hills got a strong performance from bigman Chris Conti, who finished with 14 points. Hayes played the game almost  onehanded due to a displaced bone in his left hand.

Eastside Beats West Milford 64-56

         Karon Abraham, Dave Robertson-West and Bryant Lewis combined for 56 points as Eastside overcame an eight point halftime deficit to beat West Milford 64-56. Abraham (21 pts., 6 rebs.),West( 19 pts., 8 rebs.) and Lewis (16 pts., 7 rebs., 4 asts.) were too much for W. Milford as Eastside scored 46 points in the second half. They took a 41-40 lead at the end  of the 3rd behind two three’s from Abraham. After Rob Nylund’s three gave West Milford a 43-41 lead it proved to be their last lead of the game as Eastside pushed the lead to as much as 11 and held on with good free throw shooting from the Ghosts trio. Nylund led  W. Milford  with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Chad Houser added 13 and Jason Sofman contributed 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Paterson Catholic Survives Wayne Valley 44-37

       It would have been one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Passaic county tournament and for a minute Wayne Valley could dream. The overall talent of Paterson Catholic however, overcame a game in which for many minutes didn’t seem interested. Maybe it was a hangover from their game the night before against nationally ranked Rice H.S, but they slept walked to a 44-37 win. Valley kept the pace slow and methodical and P.C. fell right into it. P.C. held a one point lead going into the 4th and didn’t take control until Myles Mack (12 pts., 2stls.) and Fuquan Edwin (11pts.) made free throws late and a Derrick Randle (6 pts.,7 rebs.) putback. Jason Rosenberg (10 pts., 4 asts., 5 rebs. ) and Nick Siljee (14 pts., 5 rebs) kept them in the game throughout. P.C.’s Jayon James added 9 rebounds and 4 assists.