Hackensack, N.J………. The Playaz Sponsored New Years Jumpoff had 4 games decided by 9 total points as the competition was hot and heavy all night long!

                                              ST.ANTHONY  51        ST. BENEDICTS  50

      St. Anthony had one of it’s toughest games since their Parochial B Final B lost to Trenton Catholic as the Friars held on to a 51-50 victory over St.Benedicts! St. Benedicts took a 40-34 lead into the 4th quarter but St. Anthony played tough defense in the 4th quarter and took the lead late on a”triple” by Junior Hallice Cooke(2 treys)! Senior All-American and U.C.L.A. commit Kyle Anderson led the way for St. Anthony with 13 points,11 rebounds and 5 assists and Senior Jimmy Hall and Junior Josh Brown contributed 12 and 10 points respectively! It offset the outstanding play of Miami commit Melvin Johnson who scored 25 points with 4″triples” and Junior Tyler Ennis with 14! St. Anthony held the lead but missed free throws late which gave Benedicts the final opportunity to win the game! But Ennis had to put up a rushed shot at the buzzer that fell short! Anderson(left) was voted the M.V.P. for St. Anthony and Johnson(right) was Player of the Game for St. Benedicts!

                               PLAINFIELD  59            HUDSON CATHOLIC  57

    Plainfield is a veteran team that has been in big games numerous times while Hudson Catholic is a team that is trying to learn what it takes to get to that next level and this game was the perfect example! Plainfield’s pressure gave them the largest lead of the game 47-36 at the end of the 3rd quarter as Senior’s Sekou Harris, Justin Sears and Dijon Allen-Jordan took control of the game! But Hudson came out in the 4th behind the shooting of Junior Reggie Cameron to tie the game up at 55 with 1:27 left in the game! Plainfield set up a play to get to the fouline and convert a free throw, then after a late turnover Allen-Jordan made two free throws to ice the contest! Allen-Jordan finished with 14 to lead Plainfield’s scoring! Harris(left),the Player of the Game for the Cardinals finished with 11 points,5 assists and 3 steals! Cameron(right) who was voted the Hudson Catholic Player of the Game scored 23 points with 7 rebounds, Junior Mike Young scored 12 points and grabbed 9 boards and Junior Kavon Stewart scored 11 points with 7 rebounds an        

                                                 TEANECK  65             ST. PATRICKS  63   O.T.

     Recently injured Junior Joel Hernandez came back after missing the last two games and help give his Teaneck team an improbable win over St. Patricks 65-63 in overtime! Hernandez twice was the hero for Teaneck! Once by hitting a “triple” at the end of regulation to tie the score at 53! He then got fouled on a three point shot with no time on the clock in overtime down one after St. Patricks Junior guard Darrian Collins made one of two free throws to tie the game at 63,Hernandez converted two of three foul shots to give Teaneck a 65-63 win!  Senior Chris Jones led the scoring with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Hernandez who was voted Player of the Game finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Junior Shakir Lindsey scored 12 points with 4 dimes!! Junior DeAndre Bembry the Player of the Game for St. Patricks scored 20 points with 4 blocks and 3 steals! Collins finished with 17 points and 3 dimes while Junior Jared Nickens added 12!  

                                      HACKENSACK  59                   ENGLEWOOD  55

          Hackensack came back from a 16 point deficit at halftime to defeat Englewood 59-55! The Comets defense was the catalyst for the stanza, along with the play of Junior point guard Chris Myers, Senior Mershan Monroe, Junior Gene Marshall and especially the scoring of Sophomore Rashard Figures in the 4th quarter! Hackensack chipped away and finally took the lead with 27 seconds left on a Marshall layup from Junior Keon Lewis! Englewood had taken control of the game behind the play of Senior Austin Mofunanya(11pts,16rebs) Junior Douglas Wade-Perry(13pts), Senior Omar Sotolongo(12pts) and Senior Tyler Kearney(10pts)! Myers(left) the Player of the Game scored 17 points, dished out 8 assists and had 4 steals, Figures scored 15 points,5 rebounds and 4 steals, Marshall 13 points and 10 rebounds and Monroe 8 points and 10 rebounds! Mofunanya(right) was chosen Player of the Game for Englewood! 

        One of the best one day events in New Jersey takes place Sunday January 1, 2012 as the Playaz Club sponsored New Years Jumpoff takes place at Hackensack Highschool! Some of the top teams and player’s in the state will be participating in this event! It Kicks offs at 3:00pm as Hackensack H.S. led by one of the top Sophomore’s in the state in 6’4 swingman Rashard Figures goes up against Senior point guard Tyler Kearney and Englewood H.S. In the second game at 4:30pm St. Patricks with the loss of Coach Kevin Boyle comes up led by Junior’s DeAndre Bembry and Jared Nickens and will face Teaneck H.S. one of the top teams in the state led by one of the best Senior‘s in the state in 6’5 Chris Jones and two of the top Junior’s in 6’9 Neville Fincher and 5’6 point guard Shakir Lindsey! 6:00 pm puts two of the top teams in the state in Hudson Catholic against the defending runner up in the T.O.C. in Plainfield H.S. Plainfield is led by one of the top unsigned point guards in the state in Sekou Harris(bottom right), not to mention 6’7 Yale commit Justin Sears and 6’6 swingman Dijon Allen-Jordan! The up start Hudson team is led by their D1 recruits in Junior’s Reggie Cameron, Mike Young and Kavon Stewart, not to mention Senior Iona commit Grant Ellis plus can’t miss Freshman guard Nas Barrino! The 7:30pm final contest is the hottest as St.Anthony’s with Rival’s #3 ranked player in the Country Kyle Anderson(Top Picture) and his D1 teammates 6’5 Senior Jerome Frink, 6’8 Senior Jimmy Hall(Hofstra) and 6’3 Senior Joshua Brown will go against St. Benedicts who are led by Miami recruit Senior Melvin Johnson, Junior Tyler Ennis and Freshman sensation Isaiah Briscoe! Get there early and don’t miss the action!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3:00pm         Hackensack vs. Englewood

4:30pm      Teaneck  vs.  St.Patrick’s

6:00pm      Hudson Catholic  vs.  Plainfield

7:30pm      St. Anthony  vs. St. Benedicts

       Paterson, N.J………Teaneck is again Jingle Bells Jubilee champs as they defeated Hackensack in the final with a dominating 74-49 win! Right now, especially with Junior Joel Hernandez out due to a hand injury, Senior Chris Jones is playing at as high a level as anyone in the state! The 6’5 swingman(right) was on the attack mode from the beginning, scoring 10 1st quarter points on his way to a 27 point,6 rebound,3 assists, 2 steals game! Hackensack kept the game within striking distance in the 1st half down only 36-28 as Sophomore Rashard Figures and Junior Gene Marshall led the way for the Comets! The 2nd half became another story as Teaneck behind the play of Jones, Junior’s Neville Fincher and Shakir Lindsey and Senior Siddiq Patterson blew the game wide open! Lindsey scored 16 points, dished out 6 assists and 2 steals, Fincher scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds with 4 blocked shots and Patterson scored 8 points with 4 dimes, 4 rebounds and a steal! Hackensack had cut the game to 2 with a few minutes left in the 1st half, but a run culminating in a Fincher dunk got the game under control again! This was the second impressive win by Teaneck over Hackensack in the early part of the season! Figures and Marshall led the scoring for Hackensack with 12 points apiece while Junior Chris Myers added 8 points! Jones play not only made him Most Outstanding Player Of the Game, but Player of the Tournament also! Figures,Myers,Lindsey and Fincher(right to left) all were named to the All Tournament team! The third place contest consisted of Newark Tech and St.Peters Prep! Junior Jared Hall scored 18 points to pace Tech to a 48-43 win! Junior Dwayne Merrill added 14 points, Senior Abel Yekeh scored 8 points with 11 rebounds and Senior Dwayne Dixon scored 7 points with 6 rebounds! Prep’s Senior Tyrone O’Garro led them in scoring with 12 points, while Junior Tre Bell added 10 points! Dixon and O’Garro(right) also made the All Tournament team!  In the 5th place game Christian Brothers Academy defeated Passaic Valley 47-37 as Junior Tom Aldridge finished with 15 points and Senior Eric Shaw and Senior Kiernan Hughes each adde d9 points with Hughes also grabbing 9 rebounds! Sophomore Stefan Minic led P.V. with 12 points and Senior Jamir Lennon scored 11 points and dished out 5 asssists! Senior Olumide Onajide also added 8 points to go with 10 boards!