Two New Jersey basketball powers journeyed to the Bronx for the Empire Invitational. JSZ has the highlights of Roselle Catholic facing Stepinac in a matchup of last year’s top-ranked squads from NJ and NY in addition to Ranney’s battle against New England Prep school power Macduffie out of Massachusetts.

MacDuffie 79 Ranney 75

Wake Forest signee Ismael Massoud scored 26 points and UConn pledge James Bouknight added 17 points and 11 rebounds to hand Ranney their first loss of the season. The Panthers were playing their second high profile game in the span of 24 hours after beating Bergen Catholic at the Hoop Group Showcase before turning right around to play in the Bronx. Bryan Antoine had 29 points and Scottie Lewis had 25. Antoine had a three-point attempt for the lead in the final seconds, but the shot was off the mark. JSZ has the highlights from a fantastic game at the Empire Invitational:

Roselle Catholic 70 Stepinac 60

Kahlil Whitney scored 24 points and hauled down 11 rebounds to lead four Lions in double digits as Roselle Catholic gets to 12-0. RC got the win without Josh Pierre-Louis who missed the game due to injury. JSZ has the highlights of the NJ/NY top ranked battle from the Empire Invitational in the Bronx: