SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR. & FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
This year’s Essex County high school boys and girls championship games were strong contests hosted by Essex County College this past Saturday. It was the 78th annual Essex County Tournament final for both boys and girls basketball.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Seton Hall Prep Pirates defeated Payne Tech Lions 65-61. The big issue that the capacity crowd had were some questionable calls by game officials on both sides of the ball at Essex County College. Leading SHP was Anthony Gonzalez with 20 points. Teammate Dylan Guzzardo had 15 points and 3 rebounds and Alex Ante had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The #1 seed in the bracket earned their ranking, and they broke Payne Tech’s 14 game winning streak.
Leading the Lions was Robert Foster with 16 points and 5 rebounds, Gerald Edwell with 17 points and 8 rebounds and Dean Armstrong with 11 points. Going into the ECT, Payne Tech was 18-7 and Seton Hall Prep was 20-6.
After the victory, Head Coach Sterling Gibbs, who is a former standout player at Prep, said “It took everything we had. We battled through the whole game. Everyone who played today contributed in the game for a big time victory.”
At the end, Payne Tech Head Coach Brad Howard said, “I think we are going to do well going forward.” Also, Robert Foster said, “We fought hard and it was a good game today.”
In the girls bracket, the West Orange girls basketball team slipped by defending champion Montclair Immaculate 43-41. Sophomore Rhyan Watt led West Orange with 24 points, hitting five big 3 pointers. Teammate Anaya Karriem had 10 rebounds and 8 points. Leading Montclair Immaculate was Nila Giraud with 20 points.
The West Orange girls last appeared in the Essex County Tournament final in 2019, where they lost to Montclair Immaculate.
In college basketball, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team had their biggest test against conference juggernaut Connecticut at Walsh Gym. Unfortunately, they fell to the Huskies 91-45. Point Guard Jada Eads had 12 points for the Pirates, while Yaya Lops had 15 points.
Leading UConn was likely WNBA first overall pick Paige Bueckers with 23 points. Speaking of the WNBA, legendary superstar Diana Taurasi announced her retirement after 20 seasons.
Despite the loss, they did much better in a game against St. John’s on the road 66-57. Leading The Hall was Savannah Catalon with 19 points. The victory cliched a first round bye for the upcoming Big East Tournament. They will have their last game of season at home against DePaul on Senior Night at Walsh Gym.
On the men’s side of the ball, the Seton Hall men’s lost a tough game against Xavier, who is in 5th place in the Big East, 73-66. Isaiah Coleman had 24 points for Seton Hall, who played a better second half compared to the first half of the game. The Pirates will play rival St. John’s on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
