New Years Jump Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The annual New Years Day showcase in North Jersey is one of the staple events of the high school season. The games which took place this year were as big as any. What did we learn?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1.) <strong>Ramapo and Saint Mary's of Rutherford both have talented junior classes</strong><em>.</em> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Ramapo's </em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1153277' first='Peyton' last='Seals']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1466439' first='Chris' last='Cervino']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1406994' first='Wyatt' last='Eglinton Manner']</strong> led them to a marquee victory over <em>Hudson Catholic</em>. In that contest, the 6'4" Seals exploded for 23 points and Manner added in10&amp;6. Hudson Catholic was led in defeat by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1411409' first='Omari' last='Moore']</strong> with 21. Yes, Hudson Catholic is without <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050389' first='Tahaad' last='Pettiford']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902741' first='Elijah' last='Gertrude']</strong>, but its still a nice win for a surging Ramapo team. Saint Mary's defeated Hackensack behind its strong juniors--<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1153981' first='Luke' last='Gaccione']</strong> led the way with 17 and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1153992' first='Julien' last='Leveille']</strong>, an unsung 6'3" forward who hasn't gotten the attention of Gaccione or <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1401992' first='LJ' last='Falconi']</strong>, had a good day by providing a double-double at 11&amp;11. Both teams remain unbeaten on the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2.) <strong>Saint Peter's Senior Big Men are for real.</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We spent a lot of time this summer focusing on the potential of <strong>Matthew Kinzler</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1206534' first='Jackson' last='Tindall']</strong>. In the Marauders 63-61 win over a rising <em>Montclair Immaculate</em> team, Kinzler had 23&amp;11 and Tindall added 18&amp;12. The frontcourt duo proved just enough to best IC, who has led in scoring by 6'5" senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150465' first='Tavian' last='Pullock'] </strong>with 14. Promising freshman <strong>Kole Grandison</strong> added 11 and Louisville commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050393' first='TJ' last='Robinson']</strong> added 10 in the loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3.) <strong>Saint Joe's of Montvale is a legitimate contender in Bergen County and Parochial A in general. </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We knew that 6'6" senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150466' first='Donovan' last='McKoy']</strong> was going to lead the way on offense but some questions lingered as to who would help. Those questions have been answered--It's a team effort and its led them to several very impressive victories to start the season at 7-1. They downed <em>Gill St.Bernards</em> behind 16 pts from sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2107786' first='Anthony' last='Pacciarelli'],</strong> 15 from senior <strong>Christopher Williams</strong> and 10 from McKoy. Senior <strong>Mario Castro-Sanchez</strong> led GSB with 17. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a host of showcases coming up across the Garden State and divisional play looming, the top teams in North Jersey will collide frequently for the remainder of the season and the New Years Jump is always a catalyst for the month of January. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->