Teaneck……. The New Year’s Jumpoff sponsored by the Playaz Basketball Club had a little bit of everything in the 5 games played at Teaneck Highschool! There was a big upset, a near upset and plenty of highschool talent in the gym! In the end Teaneck, St. Anthony’s, Hudson Catholic, Scotch Plains and Don Bosco Prep left the gym victorious!

              Don Bosco Prep   62               Union H.S.   49

John Landro(pictured) scored 18 points on 6 “triples” , Jemal Mosley who scored 11 points and dished out 7 assists and Leonte Carrou who scored 14 came off the bench to ignite Don Bosco Prep passed Union Highschool 62-49! D.B.P. was down a bucket at the end of the 1st quarter but picked up the pace when Mosley entered the contest! They outscored Union 33-19 in the next two quarters to take control of the game! Selwyn Maxwell added 10 points for Don Bosco Prep, while Sophomore Tyler Roberson led Union with 14 points and 6 rebounds!(pictured left)

                        Scotch Plains  68            St. Benedict’s 64

   In the upset of the day, Scotch Plains upset perennial powerhouse St. Benedict’s 68-64! this was a true shocker as Benedict’s had total control of the game in the 1st half and ran into a different Scotch Plains team that quite frankly, outworked Benedict’s in the 2nd half, turning a 36-22 halftime deficit into a 45-42 lead going into the 4th! Senior Charles Oliver (pictured right)led the charge with 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Junior Matt Jegede scored 18 points and Senior Patrick Dougher knocked down 5 “triples” for 15! Tyler Harris(pictured left) led St. Benedict’s with 21 points, while Vaughn Gray dropped in 13 and Sophomore Michael Young chipped in a double-double with 11 and 10!

                              Hudson Catholic  65       Hackensack  63

         Hudson Catholic held their breath late in the game as Hackensack made a tremendous comeback and Hudson got cold from the foul line in the Hawks 65-63 win! Hudson was up 53-42 going into the 4th quarter as Sophomore Raekwon Kelly, who finished with a game high 19 points and Sophomore Reggie Cameron(both pictured left to right) who finished with 17 points and 8 boards were the catalyst for Hudson! That’s when Freshman Rashard Figures#2 and Sophomore Chris Myers#1(both pictured left) made their presence felt! Figures hit 4 “triples” in the 2nd half and finished with 14 points, while Myers scored 15 points and handed out 5 assists! He almost gave Hackensack the lead with a floater, but it rolled in and out! This game featured a lot of young talent to watch over the next few years, including Hudson Catholic Sophomore’s Kavon Stewart who had 10 points and 4 assists and Travis Flagg(5pts,6rebs,3stls)!

                         St. Anthony’s  59               Plainfield  47

     Rutger’s recruit Myles Mack did not score in the 1st quarter, but that didn’t deter him as for the next three quarters he proved once again why he is one of the elite guards in the State and Country! Mack(pictured right) put on a show as he first drained 3 straight “triples” to kick start himself, then started getting to the bucket as he finished with 23 points in St. Anthony’s 59-47 hard fought victory against a tough minded Plainfield H.S. team that did come to win! Mack got help from Senior Lucious Jones who scored 17 and Junior Kyle Anderson with 9 points and 7 rebounds while Junior Dijohn Allen-Jordan( left) finished with 14, Junior Sekou Harris had 12 points and Junior Jahmal Lane added 11! 

                           Teaneck   60             Seton Hall Prep  45

       Junior Chris Jones(right) scored 20 points and Sophomore Joel Hernandez added 14 points and 7 rebounds to lead Teaneck to a 60-45 win over Seton Hall Prep! They took a 42-26 halftime lead and never looked back! Maryland recruit Sterling Gibbs(left) scored 20 points in three quarters to lead Prep, while Junior Dallas Anglin added 9 points and Junior Elijah Brown grabbed 9 rebounds!

Jersey City……. Teaneck took control of a close contest in the 4th quarter to pull off the 3rd Annual Jingle Bells Jubilee Holiday Tournament “Chip” with a 65-60 win over a young talented Hudson Catholic squad! Junior Chris Jones#5( the game M.V.P.) and Sophomore Shakir Lindsey#3( the Tournament M.V.P.) led a 4th quarter surge for the Highwaymen that Hudson Catholic couldn’t overcome. Jones two”triples” and  Lindsey’s fearless drives to the bucket proved to be the difference in the game! Jones finished with 20 points, while Lindsey finished with 15 points and 5 assists! Teaneck also got solid contributions from Junior Neville Fincher(10pts), Junior Kris Hargraves(9pts) and Sophomore Joel Hernandez(8pts)! Hudson Catholic actually led at the end of the first three quarters, but couldn’t seal the deal, committing critical turnovers late in the contest! Sophomore Raekwon Kelly led Hudson Catholic with 17 points, while Sophomore Reggie Cameron added 11 and Sophomores Kavon Stewart, Travis Flagg and Junior Mark Wilson all had 8 points apiece!

Consolation Game:  Kennedy  63    Passaic 62   O.T.

In a sloppy, but hard fought game Kennedy sneaked out with a 63-62 victory in overtime, as they had 4 players do most of the scoring getting double figures from each! Junior Sammy Singletary led the scoring with 18 points, while Dawon Lighty(pictured) added 17 points and 10 rebounds! Senior Jhamir White finished with 13 points and 5 steals with Junior Jamar Ellerbee contributing 12! This was a typical Kennedy-Passaic game as neither team would quit and when it looked as if one finally took control, the other team would come roaring back! Passaic got quality performances from Senior Andre Dixon( 15pts,12rebs), Senior Shakir Rhodes(14pts), Junior Denzel Boulware(14pts,7rebs) and Junior Darien Giles(11pts)! No team got as much as a 6 point lead and Passaic had a chance to win it,but couldn’t get a shot off! These two go at it again Tuesday in league play!  

Consolation Game:    Passaic Valley 70       Scotch Plains 58 

  In a minor upset, Passaic Valley beat Scotch Plains 70-58 and left the Jubilee with two impressive wins! Senior guard Nick DiCristina did his thing in the contest, scoring 22 points, including 6″triples”! DiCristina couldn’t have done it without the performances of his teammates, Junior Olamide Onajide#22(13pts,10rebs), Junior Jamir Lennon#4(15pts,4asts), Dave Clough(14pts) and Tom Gaccione#15(6pts,10rebs)! They took a 9 point lead into the 4th quarter and overcame the hot shooting of  Scotch Plains Charles Oliver(28pts) to hold on to the victory!