Old Tappan,NJ….. Old Tappan was on the perennial bubble for a Bergen County Jamboree selection! They needed another victory to secure a birth! Thanks to Junior Troy McLaughlin the Golden Knights will again be participating in the Tournament! McLaughlin was the go to guy for Old Tappan as he scored 29 points, dished out 6 assists and 3 steals! Bergenfield is a scrappy team that can be frustrating to play as evidenced by the fact that they had beaten Old Tappan earlier in the season and was never out of this one! They led 10-9 at the end of the 1st quarter and was only down one when with no seconds left before the half they committed a foul on a desperation three by Senior Danny Jablonski! It was a key moment as Jablonski made all three free throws to give Old Tappan a 24-20 lead at the half! They rode the momentum in the 3rd scoring 25 points in the quarter,led by McLaughlin to go ahead 49-38 to end the quarter! The Bears did fight back to close the gap to 63-60 with 28.5 left in the game on a layup by Tim Toloso, but McLaughlin and Jablonski each hit a free throw to ice it! Jablonski finished with 13 points! Bergenfield was led by Junior Anthony Clarke with 16 points and Junior Josh Molina with 12! Jamboree seedings will be out Friday!

Newark,N.J…… St. Benedicts, the best team in New Jersey and one of the best in the Country hosted the Peddie School and were their usual outstanding selves as they dismantled Peddie 88-62! Benedict’s trio of Pittsburgh bound Mike Young(right), Syracuse commit Tyler Ennis and Super Soph Isaiah Briscoe proved too much for the Peddie School to handle! Everyone that is accept the Peddie’s DeAndre Noble-Haywood! The Paterson native and Eastside H.S. graduate was a one man gang as he more than held his own! Noble-Haywood(left) scored 37 points in the game on an assortment of moves! The 6’1 guard scored on pull-up jumpers, getting to the rack off the dribble and finishing with authority with a few power dunks! His play was impressive but in this game 3 studs beats one everytime! Young finished with 23 points, Ennis scored 17 points and Briscoe finished with 16 as Bennie’s took a 15 point halftime lead 47-32 and expanded it to 26 at the end of the third 68-42! Peddie also has another local player in Bergenfield native Wes Dickinson(right) who played at Dwight-Englewood and has committed to Dartmouth! Dickinson averages 18 points a game at Peddie, but was held to 6 by the Bennie’s defense! 

NOTES: Just when it seems like St. Benedicts can’t get any stronger, they get another bonafide stud! 2016 prospect Damon Wilson(right) transferred in two weeks ago from Atlanta,Georgia! The southpaw guard showed signs of his game against Peddie,exibiting a sweet stroke from mid range and the ability to put it on the floor! He,along with 6’10 Rodney Miller and Briscoe shows that the future is still very bright for the Gray Bees!

Wayne,NJ….. Wayne Valley jumped on Passaic Valley early and often as they started the game on a 12-0 run and litterally, never looked back on their way to a 61-41! Senior guard Josh Rigolioso(pictured) was hard to handle as he scored 20 points,dished out 4 assists and 3 steals! He got help from Junior Liam Connor chipped in 14 points with 7 rebounds and Senior Andrew Keane finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds! W.V. took a 19 point halftime lead and PV could never get any closer than 13! Passaic Valley’s leading scorer Junior Stefan Minic was held scoreless and didn’t play the second half! Being he’s their only true scorer the Hornets were in for a long day! Junior Mike Cirrincione led Passaic Valley with 17 points and 8 rebounds, while his brother Dan finished with 9! Wayne Valley improved their record to 9-4, while Passaic Valley fell to 9-6!