The first Saturday in February gives us our first taste of county/conference tournament season, plus a pair of great matchups in South Jersey. Shabazz and East Orange go down to the wire in the Essex County Tournament. Montgomery and Hillborough go to battle for a spot in the Somerset County semifinals. Then Salem and Cherry Hill East tangle as part of the Battle by the Bay in Atlantic City, while Eastern and Cedar Creek square off in a great non-conference clash. Check back as the highlights are posted throughout the night!
Shabazz 79 East Orange 66 (2OT) | Boys | Essex County Tournament Quarterfinal
It was an unbelievable atmosphere at Shabazz on Saturday afternoon as the four-seed Bulldogs boys basketball team defeated five-seed East Orange 79-66 in double overtime to advance to the Essex County Tournament semifinals and move to 21-0 on the year!
After the Jaguars took a 10-point lead lead after the first quarter, Shabazz roared back with a 17-5 second quarter to take a 28-26 lead into the first half locker room. It was a complete back-and-forth affair in the second half. Neither 32 nor 36 minutes would be enough to decide a winner!
Shabazz’s Zaim Barnes and Elijah Colon scored the first two baskets of the 2nd OT period, and it was all ‘Dogs the rest of way as they outscored EO 17-4. Barnes and Colon led Shabazz with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Shabazz now moves to next Saturday’s semifinals where they will face No. 1 seed Seton Hall Prep.
JSZ’s Ryan Sudol has the full highlights + reaction from Newark:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Shabazz and East Orange is brought to you by Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Montgomery 53 Hillsborough 38 | Boys | Somerset County Tournament Quarterfinal
After falling behind 10-0 to start the game, Penn commit Ethan Lin led Montgomery (19-3) with a game-high 21 points, guiding the Cougars to a victory and a spot in the Somerset County Tournament Semifinals. Lin notched his 13th 20-point performance of the season, while Mike Simborski added 14 points, extending his streak of scoring in double figures to 22 straight games. Montgomery’s win also ended Hillsborough’s (15-6) four-game winning streak. The Cougars will clash with Rutgers Prep in a rematch of last years semifinal.
JSZ’s Tyler Mroz has the highlights from Skillman:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Montgomery and Hillsborough is brought to you by Princeton Orthopaedic Associates.
Eastern 69 Cedar Creek 55 | Boys
After a back-and-forth first half, the Vikings seized control in the third on their way to a quality non-conference win against the Pirates. Keystone baseball commit Sean Karbach led the way with a game-high 23 points in the victory. Alex Grossman and Landon Bethea added 15 points each for Eastern (18-4), which earned the three-seed in the Camden County Tournament. Markus Polite finished with a team-high 22 points for Cedar Creek (13-7). Creek now gets set for the 7-10 matchup with Mainland in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament on Wednesday.
JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights from Egg Harbor City:
Cherry Hill East 74 Salem 56 | Boys | Battle by the Bay
The Cougars raced out to an 11-1 lead and never looked back at the Battle by the Bay in Atlantic City. Chris Delgado led a balanced attack with 17 points for East (19-2). Justin Farber added 15, while Chris Abreu had 14 points. Neziah Spence scored a game-high 21 points for the Rams (16-4) in the loss.
JSZ’s Mike Frankel has the highlights from AC:
