NJSIAA Tournament

Opening Round

Central Jersey Group III

(1) Wall 73, (16) Northern Burlington 56

Junior Quinn Calabrese scored a game-high 24 points and the Crimson Knights (18-8) rolled over the Greyhounds (12-14) and into the sectional semifinals Thursday against No. 9 Middletown North.

Senior Trey Dombroski added 16 points and sophomore Tom Palluzzi chipped in 11 for Wall.

(9) Middletown North 47, (8) Jackson Liberty 42

Senior Rob Higgins scored a game-high 22 points, including a pair of clutch free-throws in the final 30 seconds, and the Lions (11-16) battled past Jackson Liberty (15-10) on the road to reach the sectional quarterfinals Thursday at top-seeded Wall.

Higgins also turned in a stellar game on the defensive end, limiting Jackson Liberty leading scorer Daniel Sofield to 16 points and coming up with a critical steal with under a minute to play and his team clinging to a one-point lead.

Higgins and Sofield entered the game as the two leading scorers in the Shore Conference. After Tuesday, Higgins is No. 1 at 27.9 points and Sofield No. 2 at 26.9. Sofield finishes his career No. 1 on Jackson Liberty's all-time scoring list with 1,824 points, which also passes Rumson-Fair Haven graduate Brendan Barry for 14th all-time at the Shore.

On Tuesday night, Higgins passed former Lacey star Chris Fleming for third all-time in Shore Conference history with 2,251 career points. The Middletown North senior is currently 51 away from passing Croydon Hall's Norm Caldwell, who entered the season No. 1 all-time before current Ranney senior Bryan Antoine (2,383) passed him.

(3) Matawan 45, (14) Steinert 39

Junior Ethan Okello scored 12 points and senior Quincy Wathington and junior Niles Haliburton added eight apiece as the Huskies (14-12) rode a balanced scoring effort, as well as their defense, to a first-round win over the Spartans (10-16).

Matawan will host No. 6 Burlington Township in Thursday's sectional quarterfinal round.

(10) Colts Neck 55, (7) Brick 48

Senior Andrew Abujawdeh scored 24 points and the Cougars (11-12) won a back-and-forth affair over the Green Dragons (14-10) to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Thursday at No. 2 Neptune. Senior Sean Tice also poured in 10 points in the win.

(5) Ewing 50, (12) Ocean 43

Junior Sam Meeks and freshman Corey Miller each scored 14 points and the Spartans (13-14) held a six-point third-quarter lead on the road but could neither overcome a key absence nor the Blue Devils (14-9) in bowing out of the tournament.

Ocean junior guard and 1,000-point scorer Jack Miller could not play Tuesday due to illness. Junior Cole Kelly also stepped up with 11 points in Miller's absence and sophomore Jack Savare came through with eight rebounds.

Ewing will host No. 13 Red Bank in the sectional quarterfinals on Thursday.

(13) Red Bank 40, (4) Hopewell Valley 35

Junior Drew Valentino scored a team-high 13 points and the Bucs (10-14) scored a big road win over the Bulldogs (18-8) to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Thursday at No. 5 Ewing.

(2) Neptune 50, (15) Lawrence 44

Senior Dwaine Jones posted 22 points, five rebounds and five steals and the Scarlet Fliers (17-9) held off a determined Cardinals (9-16) squad to reach the sectional quarterfinals Thursday against No. 10 Colts Neck.

Senior Sadiq Armstead added 11 points for Neptune.

 

Central Jersey Group I

(6) Palmyra 67, (11) Asbury Park 65 (OT)

Senior Alexx Harbour scored 27 points and connected on six three-pointers to help the Blue Bishops (12-15) rally from an eight-point halftime deficit to force overtime, but the Panthers (17-10) pulled out the win in the extra session.

Senior Jay-Shon Freeman added 15 points and Najier Massey poured in 12 for Asbury Park.

(1) Willingboro 80, (16) Keyport 21

 

South Jersey Group III

(9) Delsea 75, (8) Lacey 57

Senior Carl Swensen scored 22 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his career but the Lions (13-12) could not keep up with the Crusaders (18-8).

Swensen hit the 1,000-point marker on a free throw with 4:44 left in the first quarter and then threw down a fast-break dunk to tie the game at 12-12. Delsea, however, responded with a 20-4 run and never looked back.

Senior Javon Gordon led the Crusaders with 26 points and senior Kobey Evans added 21 in the win.

Senior Kevin O'Rourke added 11 points for Lacey.

(4) Pinelands 58, (13) Woodrow Wilson 49

Senior Andrew Schulz scored a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals as the Wildcats (18-6) took down the Lions (4-20) to advance to the sectional semifinals Thursday against No. 5 Timber Creek.

Senior Anthony Diaz added 15 points and four assists while senior Luke Wiatrowski chipped in 10 points and three steals. Junior Andrew Skeie also netted eight points for Pinelands.

(11) Toms River East 53, (6) Westampton Tech 46

Juniors Ryan and Mike Goodall each scored 15 points and the Raiders (15-10) pulled out a road win over Westampton Tech (13-12) to earn a quarterfinal trip to play No. 3 Mainland.

Ryan Goodall also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists while Mike Goodall contributed five rebounds and four steals. Junior Riley Engelhard also turned in 10 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks while sophomore Aidan Meola posted 12 points and seven rebounds for Toms River East.

 

South Jersey Non-Public A

(8) St. Joseph Metuchen 78, (9) St. John Vianney 61

(6) Bishop Ahr 75, (11) Donovan Catholic 48

 

 

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