Wayne……..Senior Xavier Nieves scored 14 points and Sophomore Isaac Williams made two free throws with 12.2 seconds in the game to give Passaic County Tech a 49-46 win over Passaic in a North1 Group4 State playooff game! Sophomore Isaac Williams put Tech ahead 45-44 on a layup, but Passaic’s Senior Shakir Rhodes made a layup to put Passaic up 46-45! Nieves(right) then made a layup to put Tech back ahead 47-46! Tech Junior Assaad Hinton then played tough defense to force a turnover and Sophomore Isaac Williams connected on the two free throws to make it 49-46! Rhodes desperation three went off the glass and Tech held on and will play Kennedy Wednesday! Rhodes led Passaic with 14 points! Kennedy beat Morris Knolls 64-47 behind Dawon Lighty’s 24 points to advance to the next round!

Bloomfield………Junior DeAndre Noble’s rebound putback at the buzzer lifted Eastside to a 59-58 win in the first round of the North1 Group4 State basketball tournament! Noble(right) grabbed a missed shot by Najee Seabrooks and got the shot off right before the buzzer sounded! The game was close and exciting from start to finish as Bloomfield kept the lead most of the contest! Sophomore’s Isaiah Dockett(bottom right) and Jameel Patterson and Senior Lindon Lulgjaraj led the way for Bloomfield most of the game! Dockett was getting to the basket, Patterson came off the bench to give energy and Lulgjaraj was knocking down jumpers as the home crowd was hyped! But Eastside always stayed within striking distance, behind the play of Senior David Burgos, Senior Ky’re Jackson and Senior Carl Barrett! The game went down to the last moments as Dockett’s two free throws put Bloomfield ahead 56-55 with 41.9 seconds on the clock, but Barrett’s layup with 32.8 gave Eastside a one point lead! Eastside got the ball back, but after Noble missed two free throws, Bloomfield’s Jaleel Jiminez made a driving layup with 5.9 seconds on the clock! That set the stage for  Noble’s heroics as Nashian Brimley got the ball at half court, fed Seabrooks who took the jumper where Noble who was the in bounder was able to come all the way down the court and make the final play! Burgos led Eastside in scoring with 15 points,6 rebounds and 5 assists while Noble and Jackson each had 13 points and Barrett finished with 12! Dockett was the games high scorer with 16 points for Bloomfield who looks like an up and coming team next year, Lulgjaraj had 14 points and Patterson  finished with 12! 

In a series of Player profiles, Hoop Journal sat down with Shane McLaughlin, considered by many the top guard in the area! Shane has the ability to totally control a game! He can get to the hole and you have to honor him due to his mid range jumper! The key to everything that Old Tappan does,he is a D1 player!

 

 

 

FUN FACTS:  Hgt: 6’1            Wgt: 170

 

 

 

Age: 17                            D.O.B: July 1o, 1993

 

 

 

Nickname: Shane

 

 

 

Parents:  Jim and Dawn McLaughlin

 

 

 

Siblings: Troy and Kelsey

 

 

 

Who Inspires You(non basketball): Mom and Dad

 

 

Favorite Basketball Team: New York Knicks

 

 

 

Favorite Basketball Player: Steve Nash and Derron Williams

 

 

Favorite Alltime Sneaker: Nike Hyperdunk

 

 

Favorite Artist: Wiz Khalifa

 

 

 

Hottest Song On Ipod:  Roll Up: By  Wiz Khalifa

 

 

Highschool Goals:  To win Sectional and States and hopefully T.O.C.

 

 

 

Future Goals:  To play Division 1 basketball

 

 

 

Something People Would Be Surprised To Know About You: I’m a History Buff!

 

 

 

Favorite College Team:  North Carolina

 

 

 

 

Schools Interested In You: Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Mt. St Marys, Iona,but probably going to go to Prep school