Passaic County Tournament : Kennedy Outlasts Passaic County Tech 70-64!

Kennedy played a perfect 1st half and then held on for dear life in a 70-64 win over Passaic County Tech to reach the Passaic County Tournament semifinals against Wayne Valley H.S. Senior Shondell Stewart was his typical self scoring 27 points with 15 rebounds and Junior Dawon Lighty also played a good game with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists as Kennedy took a 39-23 lead into the half. But with the up and down Bulldogs finally playing up to their potential in the 2nd half  Kennedy needed another answer. They got it from 6’4 senior Jaemille Barnes. Nicknamed ” Soldier Boy”, Barnes(pictured)scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and played great interior defense to help the Knights pull out the win. With 1:14 left, senior Terrell McDuffie’s three pointer ( 11 pts, 4 rebs, 4 stls ) finally tied the game up and it seemed PCT had captured the momentum, but a layup, plus the foul by Barnes gave Kennedy the lead for good. Senior  Zahir Young contributed 9 dimes to quarterback his club to the victory. His behind the back pass to Barnes and Lighty’s steal and put back erased any doubts about who would get the win. The Bulldogs were led by sophomore Asaad Hinton with 15 points. Tech’s leading scorers Xavier Nieves (9 pts, 5 stls) and Brandon James (6 pts.) were held to a combined 15 points by the Knights.

Notes : Kennedy again played without senior guard Daquere Hayes ( fainting spell)