Lodi, N.J……… Down 56-49 heading into the 4th quarter, Manchester turned the pressure up defensively and took control of the game taking a 62-56 lead with 4:08 left in the 4th! Things looked under control for the Falcons! Then Lodi turned the tables by putting a press of their own on! Led by Sophomore guard Vinnie Paladino(left) and Junior Donat Gashi(right) and a technical foul on Manchester,the Rams came all the way back and tied it on a steal and Gashi layup with 10 seconds left! Manchester turned the ball over on the inbounds and Gashi was fouled with 3 seconds left! His two free throws clinched the 70-68 victory for Lodi! There were a bunch of players in the game who gave great efforts from both squads! Manchester was led by Senior Devin Swinney who scored 12 of his 21 points in the 2nd half and Senior Tuhray Smith added 13! Senior Razeek Guyton grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 9 points! Gashi finished with 20 points and 4 steals, while Paladino added 16 points with 5 assists and 4 steals! The Sophomore has a lot of upside!

Passaic, N.J…………The records mean nothing when certain teams get together! Passaic and Eastside are two of those teams! While Eastside looks to be a real player for the Group 4 “chip” Passaic is in a slight rebuilding year but of course they still come to play! Passaic actually led the majority of the game as Senior guards Naji Mack, Michael Brown and Darien Giles and Junior forward Rahsaan Johnson played a spirited game taking a 42-39 lead into the 4th quarter! But Eastside is a veteran squad that has been there before and they kept the pressure on! As usual they were led by Senior De’Andre Noble-Haywood(right) who is playing at a high level and scored 23 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and 3 steals! and Senior Ky’re Jackson(left) added 10 points and 8 boards, but the contributions of other players pushed the Ghosts over the top! Senior Shaquille Murphy played well defensively and scored 6 points and the backcourt of Junior Jetor Brown and Sophomore Donta Brewington! As the game went on this young backcourt began to match the play of Passaic’s guards! Brewington (Left side)hit a huge”triple” in the 4th to give the Ghosts a 41-38 lead and Brown(right side) knocked down a couple of free throws late to help secure the win! Noble-Haywood is the dude, but if he can get the help he got from his teammates in this game despite the closeness of the score, it can’t do anything but help the Ghosts! Johnson led Passaic with 14 points, while Brown(11pts,5stls), Mack(11pts,4asts) and Giles(10pts,3asts,4stls) all scored in double figures!

Wayne Valley H.S.,N.J………..Hands everywhere!! That’s what Wayne Valley saw! DePaul’s defensive pressure, rebounding and all out hustle rattled Wayne Valley early and it dictated the tempo of the game! It seemed as if DePaul touched or stole every pass, especially in the 1st half! They also out rebounded a good rebounding team in W.V. 40-26 for the game! They were led by the all energy 6’1 Senior post man Davon Jacobs(right) who scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and scored on three consecutive buckets when Wayne Valley tried to make a late run in the 4th! Sophomore Juwuan Carter(left) also played well. scoring 14 points and making W.V. pay whenever they left him open! Junior Joshua Marquez (bottom right)scored 13 points with 5 dimes and 4 steals as he kept everyone involved and made them pay with his penetration! Then there was Junior Sanders Green who was a force on the offensive boards as 8 of his 9 rebounds came on that end! He added 7 points! Andrew Keane scored 13 points for the Indians, while Scott Arkin and Chris Homsi added 11 points a piece! Both teams came in undefeated! DePaul is now 9-0, while Wayne Valley is 7-1!