It’s a section championship Friday in New Jersey high school basketball. We’ve got some exciting games from all around the state!
Ridgewood 57 East Orange 54 | Boys | North 1 Group 4 Final
The Maroons battled back from a 12-point first quarter deficit to secure their second sectional championship in the last three seasons. Top-seeded Ridgewood (21-8) made it happen thanks to clutch, fourth quarter shooting from Johnny Jackson and Evan O’Reilly. Jackson led all players with a game-high 20 points while O’Reilly sank the go-ahead three inside the final 90 seconds of regulation. Third-seeded East Orange (23-6) saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end in the loss.
JSZ’s Jay Cook has the highlights and reaction from Bergen County:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of East Orange is brought to you by Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Manasquan 36 Rumson-Fair Haven 30 | Boys | Central Jersey Group 2 Final
The Warriors rallied from seven down at the two minute mark to put together a wild 13-0 run to win a fifth consecutive section championship. Trailing 30-23, the rally started with a Jason Larned layup before two consecutive clutch buckets by Griffin Linstra to claw the Warriors within one at 30-29. With 44 seconds to go, Larned dropped the three pointer that gave Manasquan the lead. Linstra capped off the run with four straight free throws.
JSZ’s Rich Chrampanis has the highlights from a thriller in Manasquan:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Manasquan is made possible by Ramapo College
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Rumson-Fair Haven is brought to you by Mario Venancio
Montgomery 63 Monroe 37 | Boys | Central Jersey Group 4 Final
(1) Montgomery claimed the Central Group 4 Championship with a dominant 63-37 win over (2) Monroe. The Cougars got out to a 26-15 lead at halftime when a break out third quarter from junior Bohdan Biekietov and senior Steve Donahue would see the deficit push passed 20 to end the quarter. Biekietov finished with 23 points while Donahue had 24. The victory gave Head Coach Kris Grundy his 300th career win.
JSZ’s Nery Rodriguez has the highlights and reaction from Skillman:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Montgomery and Monroe is brought to you by Princeton Orthopaedic Associates.
Camden 80 Middle Twp. 55 | Boys | South Jersey Group 2 Final
The Panthers left no doubt in this clash of South Jersey heavyweights as they captured the SJ Group 2 title for the first time since 2022. Kentucky commit Billy Richmond and Emmanuel Joe-Samuel each finished with a team-high 20 points as Camden (28-2) brought home the 50th sectional championship in program history. Jamir McNeil finished with a game-high 23 points in the loss for defending champion Middle Township (28-3).
JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights and reaction from Cape May Court House:
