Ramapo College, Mahwah,N.J…… Don Bosco Prep played well! They limited their turnovers and played tough defense, but Teaneck is just good! That good! Just when it looks like  a team has Teaneck(right) figured out another player takes the stage! With Don Bosco Prep making a concerted effort to neutralize Senior Chris Jones, Junior’s Shakir Lindsey and Joel Hernandez took up the slack! Hernandez scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Lindsey had 13 points and 7 assists and was a hand full the entire contest for Don Bosco Prep! The game was exciting all the way through as Prep took an early lead ending the 1st quarter ahead 16-13! Teaneck finally tied the game at 22 on free throws from Hernandez(bottom picture), who made his presence felt in the quarter and took the lead on a layup from reserve Junior Devante Locadia to make it 24-22 with 5:05 left in the quarter! They went into the half up 30-28! For Prep, Senior Jemal Mosley was the problem for Teaneck as he knocked down jumpers and beat people to the basket for layups! After an even 3rd quarter in which Teaneck lead 44-42, the 4th quarter was winning time! With 6:53 left in the quarter Mosley gave Prep it’s last lead 45-44, but Locadia made his biggest shot of his Teaneck season, knocking down a “triple” to give the Highwaymen a 47-45 lead! With 2:33 left Prep closed the gap 56-53 on a Mosley layup! That’s when with 1:05 left in the contest Jones stepped up putting back a missed layup to give Teaneck a 58-53 lead! Senior Siddiq Patterson then made a steal and converted on two free throws and Junior Neville Fincher threw a power dunk to clinch the deal! Jones finished with 14 points and Fincher who played well finished with 11 points,3 rebounds and 3 blocked shots! Mosley played great in defeat scoring 26 points with 5 assists and at times singlehandedly kept Prep close! Missed free throws cost Don Bosco as they shot only 8 for 14  from the fouline and Teaneck was 12 for 16! Teaneck now holds the record for most Jamboree titles with 10 “Chips”!   

  Last Night Tenafly Senior Chris Orozco became the 11th boys basketball player in Bergen County to reach the 2,000 point club! Orozco scored 18 points against Cliffside Park at home and reached the 2,000 point plateau on a”triple” early in the 2nd quarter! They went on to win 55-22! Orozco has been a credit to the highschool basketball scene in Northern New Jersey! His play over the last three years has made a big winner out of Tenafly Highschool! Orozco will be playing his College ball at New Hampshire next year! Hoop Journal would like to give a big congratulations to Orozco on his tremendous achievement and career! 

St. Peters College, Jersey City, N.J………In the Hudson County Semifinals Hudson Catholic and St. Peters Prep advanced to the finals, to be played Saturday February 25th at St. Peters college!

                                                HUDSON CATHOLIC  72          MARIST  47

   Junior Reggie Cameron came out fast for Hudson Catholic, scoring their first 7 points on his way to a game high 23 to go with 10 boards and Junior Mike Young scored 15 points and grabbed 11 boards as the Hawks beat Marist 72-47 and avenged their Semifinal overtime lost from a year ago! While Cameron and Young played well, the energy came from Senior Iona commit Grant Ellis(left) and Junior Raekwon Kelly(right) who came back from an injury that had him sit the last 6 games! They came off the bench to provide the needed punch to take total control of the game! The addition of Freshman Nas Barrino in the 2nd quarter helped push the lead to 41-19 at the half! Ellis finished with 10 points, Kelly added 8 points and Barrino contributed 7 points and 8 dimes! Junior Kavon Stewart also added 6 assists and 6 steals in the contest! Marist got a tremendous game from 6’10 Junior Manny Suarez who was a constant threat in the middle, particularly on the defensive end! Suarez finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocked shots! Hudson Catholic improves to 22-2 for the season!

                                               ST. PETERS PREP  59           BAYONNE  51

 Bayonne was a stubborn team and hard for St. Peters Prep to shake, but Sophomore guard Austin White and Junior guard Trevis Wyche made sure they would get into the finals in their 59-51 win! White caught fire enroute to a 22 point effort and Wyche scored 19 points with 5 assists and 3 steals! Whenever Bayonne would try to make a run, either White or Austin would make them pay! The Maurauders also got an all around effort from Senior swingman Tyrone O’Garro! While not putting up a big point total with 6 points, O’Garro grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked 5 shots and dished out 5 dimes in a strong all around game! St. Peters Prep kept a 8 to 10 pont lead most of the contest! Bayonne was led by Gary Gaston with 10 points and Quadry Calloway with 9 points! Bayonne Senior Rodney Wilson contributed 7 points,10 rebounds and 4 steals in the game! St. Peters Prep is now 13-5 for the season!