Boys basketball
North 1, Group 1 semifinal
CRESSKILL 52, BOONTON 44
Leading scorers: (C) Kiel McGee 18, Kristian Radovich 13, Aidan Feulner 7, Daniel Ferrara 7. (B) Madit Asani 13, Jason Whritenour 11, Titus Johnson 9.
PATERSON CHARTER 66, HASBROUCK HEIGHTS 38
Leading scorers: (PC) Sadiki Miller 19, Marquise Harris 17, Jamir Belfield 10. (HH) Steven Faussette 14, Jaden Castro 12, Kunga Tsering 8.
.
Girls basketball
North 1, Group 1 semifinal
MIDLAND PARK 44, PARK RIDGE 28
Leading scorers: (MP) Gillian Luberoff 16, Avery Kasbarian 9, Tess Olson 9, Julia Calderone 6. (PR) Ella Madden 11, Shannon Burns 10, Lexi Vonderlieth 4.
Cresskill 57, Cedar Grove 27 (story below)
The NJIC Patriot rivals will square off for the North 1, Group 1 title for the second time in three years. They split this season’s divisional series, with the home team winning both times, and the top-seeded Cougars (21-6) host the rubber game as they go for a third straight championship.
Friday’s semifinals were momentous for Cresskill junior Colleen McQuillen, who scored her team’s first 11 points on the way to netting the 2,000th of her career. McQuillen ended a 57-27 victory over No. 3 Cedar Grove with 35 points and now has 2,025 overall.
“We pressed early to help get her going,” Cougars coach Mike McCourt said. “She’s always active and around the ball, and pressing gets her going and helps us get started.”
No. 8 Midland Park (20-8) was able to solve No. 4 Park Ridge on the road in the semis, 44-28, after the Owls won both divisional meetings. The Panthers allowed two field goals in the first 12 minutes in building a 17-6 lead.
“We’d been beaten in this gym six times in a row,” Midland Park coach Sean O’Connor said. “So, in practice this week, we just talked about their mindset. … We told them, ‘Don’t worry about the opponent, don’t worry about the gym, and just play basketball.”
Senior Gillian Luberoff (16 points, 14 rebounds) notched her fourth straight game with at least seven blocks, while point guard Avery Kasbarian (nine points) sank the Panthers’ only three during a 9-0 run to end the first quarter.
Neither side is expecting any surprises in the final.
“We need to control the paint and box out well,” McCourt said. “We know how they will play us, and they know how to stop us.”
“Cresskill’s a great basketball team, Mike does a phenomenal job, and McQuillen’s one of the best players in the State of New Jersey,” O’Connor said. “And that team is not just her anymore… their other players are starting to knock down big shots and play with confidence.”
Greg Tartaglia 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 inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com Twitter: @njtags13
