TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS: BERGEN COUNTY REPRESENTS AS TEANECK AND DON BOSCO PREP WIN!

Pine Belt Arena Toms River, N.J….Bergen County has established itself as one of the best Basketball Counties in the State this season as, in an unprecedented day, Teaneck and Don Bosco Prep each won their T.O.C. quarterfinal game! Teaneck won a hard fought overtime contest against West Side and Don Bosco Prep had to overcome an unexpected tough Verona team!

 

                                                                                               TEANECK  70   WEST SIDE  62

Trailing by as much as eleven 40-29 in the 3rd quarter, Teaneck came back to force overtime and pull away in the extra session to win 70-62 in the T.O.C. quarterfinals and will face #1 seeded The Patrick School! Junior Ja’Quaye James(far right)( overcame a 0 point first half to score 21 in the second half, including 7 in the overtime period to lead the Teaneck charge! Senior Leondre Washington(middle) scored 14 points and put Teaneck up for the first time since the first quarter 59-58 on a three point play with 30 seconds left in the game! West Side’s Sophomore James Bell’s free throw with 4 seconds left sent the game into overtime! The game was marred by foul calls as West Side lost four players in the contest, including Senior’s Quayon Williams-King who scored 11 points, with 5 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, Senior Quaion Taylor who scored 10 points and pulled down 8 rebounds! Sophomore James Bell(8pts, 7rebs) and Senior Yasim Hooker also fouled out! Teaneck lost Washington and Junior Corey Gordon who was huge with 11 points and 9 rebounds to foul trouble! Teaneck got a big lift from 7 foot center Pierre Sow(near right) as he 11 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, but more importantly blocked 6 shots! Neither team shot like they usually do but the intensity level was high throughout and each team played with Championship desire!

 

 

                                                                              DON BOSCO PREP  61    VERONA  51

Verona came to play and gave their best effort to become the Cinderella story of the T.O.C., but Junior Matt Herasme(far right) and Senior Manley Dorme(near right) both came off the bench to lead Don Bosco Prep to a 61-51 win over a game Verona squad in the T.O.C. quarterfinal and will now meet #2 seeded Linden in the TOC semifinal! Junior Marcellus Earlington scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half to lead Prep, but Verona went into the half tied at 27 and took a 39-38 lead going into the final stanza! Dorme’s 3 of 4 free throws finally put Prep back ahead in the 4th quarter and Herasme finished the game with 12 points, including going 6 for 6 from the free throw line! Junior Ron Harper scored 8 points and Senior Chris Paul added points for DBP! Senior Travis Jocelyn led Verona with 17 points, while Senior Zach Zaccone and Senior Jack Farrell finished with 11 points apiece! Prep outscored Verona 23-12 in the 4th quarter and slowly pulled away to end the contest!