JANUARY 31, 2016
BY JIM MCCONVILLE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD | THE RECORD
ORADELL – The North Arlington boys basketball team was expected to have quite a battle on its hands with neighborhood rival Queen of Peace in the first round of the Bergen Jamboree on Saturday.
But in leading for all but about a minute of the game, the No. 21-seeded Vikings took down the Golden Griffins, 65-54, at Bergen Catholic to win their first Jamboree game since 1985. The victory earned them a date next weekend with Bergen Catholic.
Kevin Cerqueira gave North Arlington the lift it needed in the fourth quarter, answering a Queen of Peace comeback with 10 of his 16 points. The 12th-seeded Griffins had not led since 2-0 before finally going up 47-46 with 6:33 remaining.
Cerqueira tied it up 26 seconds later by making one of two free throws and then fed Isaac Aguiar for a lead bucket.
“It’s a game of runs,” Cerqueira said. “We just had to keep our heads up. You never know what’s going to happen.”
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