SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
This past weekend, the college basketball season had one of its early season specials at the Prudential center in Newark.
The Saatva Empire Classic saw former Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard snag a win in his old stomping grounds, leading the Maryland Terrapins to a slim 76-75 win over the Villanova Wildcats. Leading the way for Maryland was Center Derik Queen with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Terps also got good production from Julian Reese with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Maryland outrebounded the Cats 34-30. Villanova was led by Eric Dixon’s 38 points and 4 rebounds, while Jhamir Brickus had 11 points.
After the game, Willard said it was a big victory on the road and a great win for his team. Maryland shot 58 percent from the floor, and is 5-1 on the season. Villanova is coming out of the gates slowly at 3-4.
In other area sports, the New York Red Bulls defeated rival New York FC at Citi Field 2-0. The Bulls got their goals from midfielders Emil Forsberg and Felipe Carballo. The Jersey based NY team will be heading to the conference finals for the first time since 2018.
Head coach Sandro Schwartz said after the victory, “This was a great win for the team. This was the first time both teams in the tri-state area played for a playoff spot called the New York Derby.”
In high school football playoff action, the road warriors Shabazz Bulldogs won another big game on the road, winning big games over Bernards 28-14 and this past Friday over Hanover Park 8-7. Shabazz is 10-2 on the season, and will be at Rutgers Stadium to take on Rumson for the big championship on December 4th.
Meanwhile, the news was not so good for East Orange, who lost to Union City 42-0 on the road. Nonetheless, it was a solid season for the Jaguars, who finished the season 9-3.
In college basketball, the Seton Hall men’s basketball was on the road playing in the Charleston Classic semifinals, but lost one game in blowout fashion 76-60 to Vanderbilt, who would go on to lose to Drake in the title game 81-70. SHU did hold off FAU to win the third place game 63-61.
Finally, in the NFL, the Giants once again lost at home, taking a L from Tampa Bay 30-7 and falling to 2-9. Meanwhile, former RB Saquon Barkley had a career-high 255 yards on the ground in a 37-20 Eagles win over the Rams.
