North Jersey Sports.com

Sunday, February 29, 2004

Although the semifinals and the final game of this season's Bergen County Jamboree did not provide the drama seen in recent years, the 2004 Jambo was fun to watch, especially in the early rounds and straight through to the Round of 8. There was Westwood's near upset of top-seed and eventual champion Don Bosco Prep in the quarterfinals, New Milford taking eventual finalist St. Joseph into overtime in the Round of 16 and Rutherford becoming the first-ever 20th seed to reach the Round of 8. With the 2004 Jambo now in the books, the All-Tournament teams have been announced. MORE...

Saturday, February 28, 2004

Bosco makes it two titles in three years


Tyrell Biggs hit his last eight field goal attempts as Don Bosco won its second Jambo title in the last threee years.

HACKENSACK - Early on in the championship game of the 48th Oscar F. Thompson Memorial Basketball Jamboree, Don Bosco's Tyrell Biggs sent up a three-point try from the top of key and caught nothing but air. The St. Joseph faithful in the crowd began the expected chant of "air ball, air ball," not knowing that it would be the last shot that Biggs would miss the rest of the game. As has been the case all season, the junior found himself with the ball in his hands at crucial moments and he caught nothing but net each time, hitting all eight of his final field goal attempts as the Ironmen took home their fifth Jamboree title and second in three years with a 53-33 win. MORE...

Saturday, February 21, 2004

Biggs plays big for top-seeded Don Bosco Prep


Carl Augustin scored 6 of his 11 points during the second quarter in which Bosco broke the game open.

HACKENSACK - After the first quarter of play, Cliffside Park and Don Bosco stood tied at 14 in the semifinal nightcap of the Jamboree at the Rothman Center Friday night. The memories of last week's squeaker that Bosco pulled out over Westwood in the quarterfinals had everyone thinking possible upset. Tyrell Biggs would have nothing to do with another nailbiter against a BCSL American team, and he and Carl Augustin made sure that a repeat heartstopper would not play out. MORE...

OTHER SEMIFINAL ACTION:
• Balanced attack leads SJR to Jambo final

Monday, February 16, 2004

Westwood falls just short of making history

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer


John Oates and Don Bosco Prep barely avoided one of the biggest upsets in Jambo history with a 47-42 win over ninth-seeded Westwood.

PARAMUS - The final game of the quarterfinals of the Jamboree at Paramus High School had all the ingredients to become one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Here was Group 1 Westwood holding a four-point lead over top-seeded Don Bosco with 2:05 remaining and in possession of the ball. The standing room only crowd was on its feet, rooting for the underdog. Don Bosco head coach Kevin Diverio was urging his team to come up and play tighter defense. MORE...

MORE QUARTERFINAL ACTION:
• Northern Highlands knocks off No. 2 Paramus Catholic
• Not this week: SJR beats the zone and PV
• Cliffside pulls away from division rival Rutherford

Monday, February 9, 2004

Cliffside Park; BCSL-American making some noise

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer


Cliffside Park's Matt Emerson getting into the lane during theRaiders' win over Hackensack in the Jambo's Round of 16

TENAFLY - When Jamboree time comes around, the talk usually centers around the NNJIL and its stronghold on the tournament. With the last 10 champions and 16 of the last 18 titlists coming from that league, the respect is earned. This year, there is another league looking to grab the spotlight as the BCSL American continues to be a major player. With a 6-3 record in the tournament so far, the American has put three of its teams into the quarterfinals. MORE...

MORE ROUND OF 16 ACTION:
• Martini sees Pascack Valley through to quarterfinals
• Rutherford back to early season form
• Paramus Catholic plays the hand its dealt

Sunday, February 8, 2004

Bosco shows why it is Jambo's top seed

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer


Don Bosco Prep's Carl Augustin scored 7 points in a 17-3 run to help the Ironmen take control of their Round of 16 win over Queen of Peace.

ALLENDALE - With just over a minute remaining in Queen of Peace's second round Jamboree game with Don Bosco, head coach Dennis Gregory signaled for a timeout, wryly looking over at Bosco head coach with a big smile. No, he wasn't enjoying the fruits of a major upset, he was just having a moment at the expense of his former assistant when he was the Bosco head coach in the early 1990's. Diverio returned the smile, knowing that his team would be headed to the quarterfinals next week. READ THE STORY...

MORE ROUND OF 16 ACTION:
• Buzzer beater bounces off, SJR bounces New Milford
• Westwood's first ever Jambo win comes at Ramapo's expense
• Betancourt's bomb bolsters Northern Highlands

Monday, February 2, 2004

Highlands whistles its way to Round of 16

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director


Northern Highlands' Ken Fetzer (right) taking the charge on Martin Gumowski that gave the Wood-Ridge center his fourth foul of the game.

PARAMUS - Was it a bump from behind or was it a reach from the front? When the whistle blew with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter of a tie game between Northern Highlands and Wood-Ridge in the opening round of the Bergen County Jamboree, the question was which way was the call going to go. A reach in would have meant a relatively harmless foul against Wood-Ridge's Dave Stols. But if it went the other way, it would be a game changer. When the referee signed the number 2 with his left hand then followed it with a 4 from his right, it meant the worst for Wood-Ridge and the end of the day for senior center Martin Gumowski. READ THE STORY...

MORE FIRST ROUND ACTION:
• Queen of Peace needs all 32 minutes to oust Old Tappan
• New Milford seizes its chance for first-ever Jambo win
• Pascack Valley puts away pesky Creskill
• Englewood shows it belongs
• Big versus little: Hackensack gets by Leonia
• Rutherford works overtime to knock off Bogota

Friday, January 30, 2004

Record 23 teams gain Jambo bids

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

The 48th Annual Oscar F. Thompson Memorial Basketball Jamboree will begin on Sunday with a record 23-team field after the selection and seeding was completed on Friday morning.The tournament was given a big shot in the arm on Thursday night when Don Bosco, the acknowledged number one seed, lost a 57-53 game to Montclair. MORE...