It can’t get better than this for a highschool basketball fan! 6 games, including a quality girls game, in one day. Not only 6 games, but elite Jersey teams involved. St. Anthony’s, Plainfield, Seton Hall Prep, St. Peters Prep, Don Bosco Prep, Teaneck (boys & girls),Eastside, Hackensack, Englewood, High Tech and Paterson Catholic (girls) all came to Teaneck Highschool to show their stuff and although some played better than others the effort was definitely there. Most of the games were hard fought and well played as the crowd was able to see an abundance of future stars  on the next level and a few star coaches( Bob Hurley and Bob Farrell). Every year it gets better and the Playaz Club run by Jimmy Salmon, will have a hard time to continue this high a quality event.

Eastside Goes Down Fighting 57-54

Eastside Highschool is probably the best 0-4 team in the state. They went down to the wire against nationally ranked St. Anthony’s 57-54. The game went back and forth with Eastside holding a 45-43 advantage at the end of the third quarter. Dave Robertson who had 21 points and Karon Abraham who contributed 18 met the challenge of going against the Bob Hurley coached Friars, hitting big shot after big shot. In the end, the best player on the floor and probably the state Dominic Cheek(22 pts., 8 rebs.) got St. Anthony’s out of Teaneck with a hard fought win. Jameel Jackson added 16 points for the Friars. Bryant Lewis contributed 11 for the Ghosts.

Bosco Falls To St. Peters Prep  57-48

Mike Dudas 18 points wasn’t enough to get Don Bosco Prep passed St. Peters Prep as sophomore guard Myles Davis(22pts.) and Ronald Roberts (14pts.,12 rebs., 6 blks.) proved too much for D.B.P. to handle. Brandon Beckford and sophomore Vaughn Gray had 10 points a piece for Don Bosco.

Hackensack Cruises Past Englewood 101-73

Sophomore Terik Bridgeman scored a career high 33 points including an assortment of  dunks  as the Hackensack Comets took over the game in the third quarter as Bridgeman scored 17 in the period. Romaine Wall (19 pts.), Bright Mensah (16 pts.) and Alex George (15 pts.) all scored in double figures. Zachary Anderson led Englewood with 28 points and Brian Cobb added 17.

Teaneck Beats High Tech 79-53

Teaneck took a 40-19 halftime lead and never looked back as Javae Gilchrist was the game’s high scorer with 20 points, while Jonathan Blue dropped in 18. Tech was led by John Greenwood with 18 points.

Seton Hall Prep Bumps Off Plainfield 63-58

Sterling Gibbs 20points and 4 assists led S.H.P. to a surprising win over Plainfield Highschool.Prep overcame a 28 point game from Isaiah Epps and 18 from sophomore Tyrone Johnson.

Girl’s Game: Paterson Catholic Beats Teaneck 52-33

Brianna Cook led Paterson Catholic with 23 points, Essence Townsend was a defensive presence with 10 blocked shots and Starr Breedlove (8 pts.) led the attack, playing a perfect floor gameat the point guard spot. Leah Johnson chipped in 12 for the Lady Cougars. Teaneck was led by Tiffany Connors 17.

Kai Dominguez was named most valuable player of the Indian Hills Holiday festival by scoring 23 points, including 5 three pointers to help St. Joseph blowout Bergen Catholic 74-42 in the championship game. Dominguez scored 18 of his points in the first half as they took a 38-23 lead. Joe Efese added 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots as he dominated the inside. Doug Rigg and Pat Kennedy led B.C. with 11 points apiece.

Teaneck Beats Queen Of Peace 81-69

Javae Gilchrist met his old team for the first time and picked up a win in a 81-69 Teaneck win over Queen Of Peace. Gilchrist finished with 17 points and 6 assists and got backed up by his new teammates, as four other players finished in double figures led by Shomari Barber(17 pts.) and Vance Steinbergin(16 pts.). Queen Of Peace was led by impressive sophomore Jamal Goodwin’s 24 points, Dan Cortes’s 18 pts. and Dwayne Moffatt’s 16.

P.C.T. Beats Englewood 87-70

Jonathan Rodriguez scored 32 points to offset the tremendous shooting of Englewood’s Zachary Anderson who scored 39. Anderson scored 15 points in the third quarter to get the Maroon  Raiders back in the game. Tech’s Maynard Freeman who scored 47 points in a win against Indian Hills gave Rodriguez a helping hand with 24 points. He and Rodriguez hit 4 threes while Anderson knocked down 5 treys.

Passaic Highschool and Kennedy Highschool both lost their final game of the 1st annual

Jingle Bell Jubilee Tournament sponsored by the Playaz Basketball Club. Passaic lost to St. Peters Prep   59-49 as Prep went on a 12-0 run in the last two minutes of the game after being down 49-47. The Indians held leads as big as 12 points and led 26-17 at the end of the first half. But behind the play of junior Ronald Roberts(24 pts., 16 rebs.,), Prep came out in the second half much more aggressive. Najee Salaam and Tyshawn Pickett led Passaic with 13 and 12 points respectively. Percy Williams also added 12 points for Passaic.

Kennedy loses 46-31

After a great run in the tournament, Kennedy came out flat against Linden Highschool as both teams felt the effects of their semi final loses the night before. The one player who didn’t seem to feel the effects was Linden’s sophomore Romell Bateman as he finished with 16 points and a dominating 20 rebounds. St. Joe’s recruit David Bruce contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds as Linden controlled the boards. Kennedy was led by Daquere Hayes’s 10 points. Asmar Edwards and Shondell Stewart were held to 7 and 2 points. Despite the loss Kennedy showed well in the tournament and looks like the team to beat in the northern N.J. area.

Jubilee Notes: For a first time event, the tournament was well ran by Playaz president Jimmy Salmon and his staff, although having the all tournament team named at halftime of the championship game was a questionable move. Probably could have been pushed to end of game. All in all a big success! Bishop Loughlin won the tournament with a 77-59 win over Plainfield H.S. Jayvaughn Pinkston(30 pts., 14 rebs.) and Trevon Hamlet(15 pts.,8 rebs) led the Lions. Tyrone Johnson(16 pts., 7 rebs) and Anthony Baskerville(16 pts) led Plainfield.

Jubilee All Tournament Team

1. David West Robertson- Eastside    2.Tyshawn Pickett- Passaic     3.Ronald Roberts-St. Peters Prep    4.Asmar Edwards-Kennedy  5. David Bruce- Linden  6.Brandon Frazier- Bish. Loughlin      7. Tyrone Johnson- Plainfield    8.Anthony Baskerville- Plainfield     9.Isaiah Epps- Plainfield   10.most outstanding player: Jayvaughn Pinkston – Bish. Loughlin  11.   sportsman- Trevon Hamlet- Bish. Loughlin                      Most Outstandin Player:  Jayvaughn Pinkston- Bishop Loughlin