Top 25 rankings
25. Ridgefield Park (3-1)
24. Garfield (3-1)
23. Dwight-Englewood (2-1)
22. Dwight Morrow (2-2)
21. Passaic Valley (3-1)
20. Bogota (4-1)
19. Secaucus (3-1)
18. Pascack Hills (3-0)
17. Passaic (2-2)
16. Saddle River Day (2-2)
15. Wayne Valley (3-2)
14. Mahwah (3-0)
13. Dumont (3-0)
12. Ramapo (4-2)
11. Ramsey (2-3)
10. DePaul (3-1)
9. Fair Lawn (4-0)
8. Paterson Charter (4-0)
7. Paramus Catholic (4-0)
6. Hackensack (3-1)
5. Ridgewood (2-1)
4. Kennedy (3-0)
3. St. Joseph (3-0)
2. Don Bosco (3-1)
1. Bergen Catholic (3-1)
Also considered: Midland Park (2-1), Northern Highlands (2-2), NV/Old Tappan (2-2).
*Based on results reported through Dec. 29*
Elmwood Park doesn’t give up
Elmwood Park delivered a lesson on what it means to never give up and was rewarded by coming back to win two games and its holiday tournament.
Elmwood Park (3-1) won the title over Cliffside Park, 44-43, after erasing a seven-point deficit in the final minutes. Senior Raydell Nivar scored on an off-balance shot from the baseline in the final seconds.
That came after the Crusaders erased a 20-point deficit against Harrison and won, 61-59. Senior guard Nick Williams, chosen a NorthJersey.com “Player to Watch,” drove the length of the court and scored on a floater at the buzzer.
“That just shows that we’re fighting all the way to the end,” coach Kevin Tuohey said. “We’re putting ourselves in a hole, but they’re showing that they can win the close games, and we can battle back from being down.”
NJIC promises more excitement
Holiday tournaments indicate the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference will be much more competitive than last season, when Saddle River Day, Paterson Charter, Hawthorne and Dwight-Englewood dominated en route to division titles.
Paterson Charter has emerged as the team to beat for the overall NJIC Championship. The Lions topped Passaic County rival DePaul in the semifinals of their holiday tournament, 76-59, and took Union Catholic to the limit in the finals, a 51-49 loss.
Saddle River Day, defending NJIC champion, remains a slight favorite to repeat as Patriot Division champ. Secaucus has replaced defending champion Dwight-Englewood as favorite to win the Liberty Division title. The Colonial Division, dominated by Hawthorne, is now wide open.
Greg Mattura is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your phone, sign up for our newsletter and download our app. Email: mattura@northjersey.com Twitter: @gregmattura
