Hackensack,N.J……Hackensack came out slow, but eventually took control of the game in their 77-59 win over Montclair in the 1st round of the Section1 North Group 4 State game! The Comets had all five starters score in double figures led by Sophomore Rashard Figures 17 points! Junior Eugene Marshall finished with 14 points, Junior Chris Myers had 13, Junior Keyon Lewis scored 12 and Senior Mershan Monroe finished with 11! Montclair took a 12-9 lead going into the 2nd quarter, but Hackensack out scored them 25-12 in the stanza to give them a 34-24 halftime lead! The 2nd half was more of the same as Myers(pictured) played a tremendous game from the point guard position with 9 dimes, while Figures added 5! Monroe grabbed 8 rebounds in the contest and had 5 steals! Marshall had 4 blocked shots! Montclair was led by Talib Swan with 12 points! Hackensack will be visiting Morris Knolls in the next round! 

   Chris Jones big senior season has paid big dividends for the 6’5 swingman! Chris waited late to up his offers and it worked out as  Jones has committed to play for the University of Pittsburgh next season! The recruiting got heavy over the last few weeks as Coach Jamie Dixon caught a glimpse of Jones in the Bergen Jamboree Tournament! When asked why he chose Pittsburgh, Jones said” It was a great school and a great Coach and I have a great relationship with assistant Coach Brandin Knight who is a Jersey guy! He also commented that his parents are” happy as hell”! Teaneck Coach Jerome Smart said” CJ is a proven winner! He’ll play two to three positions there before he’s done. CJ is the official blueprint of what we want a Teaneck HS basketball player to be” Jones who is averaging 21 points a game for his undefeated Teaneck team wanted to thank Coach Smart, Jim Salmon,the Director of the Playaz AAU program which Chris was a big part of, his parents and his brother John Jones! Hoop Journal would like to congratulate Chris on his choice and hope for nothing but the best for him and his family!!

Garfield, N.J…….Senior Josh Leclerc felt it a little bit! Not only was he trying to win a Group 3 North State game, but he was also 8 points away from his 1,000th career point! After scoring 2 points in the 1st half, Leclerc scored the first 9 points of the 3rd quarter, including a steal and layup with 3:40 left in the quarter for his 1,000th career point! The run spearheaded the Boilermakers to a 54-49 win over Wayne Hills! Leclerc(pictured right)) scored 11 of his team’s 13 points in the 3rd and finished the game with 22 points and 5 assists! Junior Jahad Pompey(bottom) came off the bench to provide energy and help Leclerc with the scoring as he scored 16 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and finished an alley-oop pass from Leclerc with a two handed dunk! Wayne Hills would not quit as Junior Gesim Usini hit 3″triples” in a row late in the game to cut the lead 50-47 with 30 seconds left! But, Leclerc made two free throws and Junior Isaiah Morales hit another to offset another bucket from Hills for the final score! Usini finished with 16 points and Junior Preston Quinn added 13 points for Hills! Garfield will now host West Milford Wednesday!