BASKETBALL

Basketball: Paterson Charter makes school history

Brian Marron
Staff Writer

PATERSON — Paterson Charter, No. 23 in The Record Top 25, dominated Becton 56-29 on Tuesday night, clinching the NJIC Meadowlands for the first division title in school history.

Ramir Davis (10) helped Paterson Charter make program history on Tuesday.

Jahki Clarke scored nine points, including his 1,000th career point, to become the first Lion in school history to do so. Ramir Davis led the team with 17 points, and Joseph Collazo scored 12 points while corralling 15 rebounds.

Paterson Charter (16-5) never left the game in doubt, leading 17-2 after the first quarter to throttle Becton (15-10) to a 48-23 advantage after three quarters. Tyler Colon’s eight points topped all scorers for the Wildcats.

Dwight-Englewood 77, Secaucus 40

SECAUCUS — Sophomore guard Tyson Etienne posted career highs with 40 points and 11 rebounds for No. 11 Dwight-Englewood.

Etienne dropped 28 points in the first half as the team took a healthy 51-17 lead into halftime. He hit seven threes on the day, while also notching six steals and four assists. Jordan McKoy also had 12 points for the Bulldogs (21-4), and Aaron Kashian led Secaucus (8-15) with 10 points.

Emerson 52, Midland Park 50

EMERSON — With the game knotted at 50 with four seconds left, sophomore John Dime converted an inbounds pass from fellow sophomore Peter Durocher to give Emerson the win.

Dime paced the Cavos (14-9) with 19 points, while Durocher scored eight points. Alex Delpino chipped in with 11 points.

Dave Kruis led Midland Park (13-9) with 14 points.

Saddle Brook 77, Wallington 73

SADDLE BROOK — On Saddle Brook’s senior night, Danny Cruz knocked down a three with less than 10 seconds remaining to force overtime before the Falcons prevailed.

Justin Rivera led Saddle Brook (3-20) with 25 points, as the team outscored Wallington (2-23) 20-12 in the fourth quarter to come back. Cruz finished with 17 points, and Nick Lafortezza added 12 points.

Andrew Cabrera exploded for 33 points for Wallington, including six of the team’s seven treys. The Panthers suffered from a 16-4 made free throw differential.

Passaic Valley 55, Indian Hills 53

PASSAIC — Tito Ramirez scored 23 points to help fuel a late Passaic Valley (6-19) comeback, as the Hornets outscored Indian Hills (8-17) 23-13 in the fourth quarter.

Nick Melograno added 19 points for Passaic Valley while hitting five threes. Chase Johnson led Indian Hills with 17 points, and Brett Fiore and Joe DeJong each had 11 points.

Hawthorne 56, Garfield 20

GARFIELD — Dallas Hoffman, 16 points, along with Kendale Butler and Dan Rodriguez, 12 points, combined for 40 of Hawthorne’s 56 points to give the Bears, No. 21, the NJIC Colonial division title.

Hawthorne (18-3) burned Garfield (2-20) with the long ball, hitting seven threes to the Boilermakers’ one.

Girls basketball

Lyndhurst 50, New Milford 43

LYNDHURST — The Golden Bears held off No. 13 New Milford in a wild fourth quarter to complete the upset victory.

Lyndhurst (12-9) led 30-20 heading into the fourth quarter, where the two teams then combined for 43 points. Angela Downey led the way for the Golden Bears, scoring 16 points. The team made 16 free throws to New Milford’s eight.

Bionca Chambers, 15 points, and Natalie Miller, 11 points, paced the Knights (16-7).

Emerson 65, Midland Park 62

MIDLAND PARK — Junior guard Carly Petrower scored 23 points and dished out seven assists, leading Emerson, No. 22, past Midland Park to earn a share of the NJIC Patriot division.

Senior guard Devin Riker added 21 points for Emerson (18-6), as the team outscored Midland Park (16-9) 38-29 over the second and third quarters. Morgan Ress scored 20 points for the Panthers, while Sophia Hansen and Veronica Pantale each had 13 points.

River Dell 46, Wayne Hills 37

ORADELL — On the verge of suffering an upset, River Dell, No. 15, stormed back in the second half to knock off Wayne Hills.

The Golden Hawks trailed 23-18 at halftime and 31-28 entering the third quarter. Caton Henderson scored 19 points and Madeline Weber had 15 points to combine in lifting River Dell (14-8). Taylor Rodriguez scored 15 points for Wayne Hills (12-9).

Pascack Valley 69, Pascack Hills 30

HILLSDALE — The Indians, No. 3, dominated from start to finish, taking a 63-22 lead into the fourth quarter.

Brianna Smith led the way with 27 points, including five threes, and Brianna Wong added 11 points. Megan Evans scored six points for No. 23 Pascack Hills.