Patrick Falco
PATRICK’S BOYS’ BASKETBALL RANKINGS – WEEK 9
TOP 5 SMALL SCHOOLS (Group I & II)
- Vernon- The Vikings made a statement this week. They earned big wins over rivals
Hackettstown and Jefferson. Vernon also took down top seeded Phillipsburg in the
Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament (HWS). Ben Jurewicz tipped the ball in at
the buzzer to give Vernon the amazing 56-54 win. Vernon will face third seeded
Hunterdon Central in the HWS Final at Centenary College this Friday. - Madison- The Dodgers had a tough week. Madison beat Parsippany Hills but fell to
Roselle Catholic and Delbarton. The matchup with Delbarton took place at the
Morris County Tournament (MCT). Both teams met in the semifinals. Madison hung
close in the first half, but Delbarton was too much for them in the second half.
Delbarton won 66-44. - Jefferson- The Falcons won two of their three games this week. Vernon gave
Jefferson their first division loss of the season. Vernon was able to defeat Jefferson
49-46 despite Jeff Evans scoring 26 points. Jefferson beat Pioneer Academy and
Passaic Charter later in the week. Jefferson will face Hackettstown on Tuesday with
the division title on the line. - Hackettstown- The Tigers struggled a bit this past week. They lost to Vernon, Lenape
Valley, and Parsippany Hills. Hackettstown defeated Sussex Tech 62-41. Both losses
against Lenape Valley and Parsippany Hills ended in overtime. Julio Tatis reached
the 1000-point plateau in Parsippany Hills’ 70-64 win over Hackettstown.
Hackettstown will prepare for a huge game against Jefferson on Tuesday. - High Point- The Wildcats have won their past five games since falling to South
Hunterdon in the first round of the HWS Tournament. The closest win during the
streak so far has been a 65-60 victory over Dover. Brayden Franko exploded for 24
points in that game. Franko knocked down seven 3-pointers! In a more recent win,
High Point defeated Wallkill Valley 77-62. Kyle Morsell scored 17 points for High
Point.
Honorable mentions: Hanover Park, Lenape Valley, Sussex Tech
TOP 5 LARGE SCHOOLS (GROUP III, IV, V & NON-PUBLIC)
- Delbarton- The Green Wave dominated their schedule this week. Delbarton blew out
Sparta and Madison. They won a close one against Mendham 55-48. The game against
Madison was a semi-final matchup in the Morris County Tournament (MCT). Delbarton
caught fire in the second half to defeat Madison 66-44. The Green Wave will host
Mendham in the MCT Final next Saturday at the County College of Morris. - Morris Catholic- The No. 9 ranked Crusaders put on a scoring clinic in their two victories.
They beat Parsippany Hills 106-51 and Pequannock 97-63. Morris Catholic heads into the final stretch of the regular season on a high note. They are going to be a difficult team to knock off in the playoffs. - Mendham- The Minutemen took two of their three games this week. Mendham defeated
Koinonia 54-44 and Chatham 50-41. They fell to Delbarton 55-48. The game against
Chatham was a semi-final matchup in the MCT. Brady Kontely scored a game-high 17
points for Mendham. Mendham will try to avenge their previous loss to Delbarton in the
MCT Finals next Saturday at the County College of Morris. - Chatham- The Cougars won two of their three games as well. Chatham beat Morristown
64-52 and Sparta 70-61. They lost a tough one to Mendham 50-41 in the MCT Semifinals.
Chatham was unable to hold a 29-17 halftime lead. The Cougars were outscored by
Mendham 33-12 in the second half. As of right now, Chatham has one more regular season
game scheduled against Summit. - Morris Knolls- The Golden Eagles have won their past three games since losing to Madison
in the MCT Quarterfinals. Justin Hanson was the catalyst in all three wins for Morris Knolls.
Hanson scored 18 points against Mount Olive, 22 points against Morris Hills and 19 points
against Sparta.
Honorable mentions: West Morris, Morris Hills, Mount Olive
