Wayne………..Passaic Valley and DePaul is as good a rivalry as it gets in Northern New Jersey and again the two squads proved it! In a nip and tuck battle Passaic Valley held on behind the free throw shooting of Senior Dave Clough ! The Hornets struggled from the line most of the night, but Clough made his last 5 to keep the Spartans at bay! DePaul trailed by as much as 9 in the game but kept coming back and eventually took the lead 45-43 with 3:13 left on two free throws by Sophomore Josh Marquez!! But the intensity was so high on the defensive end that each team missed shots late in the game that they usually convert on! Passaic Valley got the lead back on a layup and foul for Clough! The lead was cut to one on a Marquez “triple” off the backboard, but Clough converted his three foul shots and they held on after a three attempt by Marquez hit off the rim which could have sent the game into overtime! Clough finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while point guard Nick DiCristina added 15 points including 4 “triples”!Marquez led Depaul in scoring with 14 and 5 assists,while Junior Davon Jacobs played a strong game in the loss with 13 points and 14 rebounds! DePaul freshman Ky Hester scored 7 points and grabbed 6 rebounds before fouling out! Senior Tom Gaccione added 8 points for P.V. 

Paterson…….Senior Connor Healy(right) steal late in the 4th sent the game into overtime and his 7 points in the extra session helped West Milford sneak out of Kennedy H.S. with a 66-58 win! In an exciting contest, Kennedy seemed to be in control until a turnover and a steal by Healy tied the score at 53! Kennedy got one last shot in regulation, but Junior Sammy Singletary’s jumper just missed! The overtime stanza began with a “triple” from Singletary to put the Knights up 56-53, but a jumper and a “triple”by Healy moved West Milford ahead 58-56! Senior Tyler Coyle‘s layup off a feed from Healy made it 60-56 and took the air out of a Kennedy comeback! Coyle(left) who is going to Lehigh for football was a man amongst boys in the paint! He scored 12 points and grabbed an impressive 20 rebounds in the game! West Milford also got great contributions off the bench from Senior Jordan Wright(right) and Junior Josh Basket(#5)! Each came off the bench to score 13 points apiece with Wright hitting on three “triples’! Healy finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists! Singletary led Kennedy with 16 points while Senior Dawon Lighty added 12 and Senior Jhamir White and Junior Jamaar Ellerbee scored 11 points apiece! West Milford record moves to 8-2 while Kennedy fell to 8-4! 

      The Ozzie Osbourne ran New Jersey Gym Ratz A.A.U. Club is sponsoring a Highschool Showcase featuring some of the better boys and girls teams in New Jersey and New York and Public vs. Private! The games will be played Saturday and Sunday at Dwight Morrow in Englewood and Ramapo College respectively! Here are the Featured Games :

Saturday January 22, 2011 @ Dwight Morrow Highschool

2:00pm     Hackensack H.S.( N.J.)  vs  St. Anthony(N.J.) Girls

3:30pm     Dwight Morrow( N.J.)  vs Bishop Kearney(N.J.) Girls

5:00pm     John F. Kennedy(N.J.) vs  Bishop Kearney(N.J.) Girls

6:30pm     Hackensack H.S.(N.J.)  vs  Bishop Ford(N.Y.) Boys

8:00pm    Paramus Catholic(N.J.) vs  Sacred Heart(N.Y.) Boys

9:30pm     Tenafly H.S.(N.J.) vs  Dwight Englewood(N.J.) Boys

Sunday  January 23, 2011 @ Ramapo College

12:00pm   Abraham Clark(N.J.) vs  Marist(N.J.) Girls

1:30pm    Newark Tech(N.J.) vs  Pathways Prep(N.Y.) Boys

3:00pm    Newark Central(N.J.) vs John F. Kennedy(N.Y.) Boys

4:30pm    Paramus Catholic(N.J.) vs Wings Academy(N.Y.) Boys 

6:00pm   Teaneck(N.J.)  vs  Benjamin Cardoza(N.Y.) Boys