BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The Bloomfield High School boys’ varsity basketball team enjoyed a memorable run last winter, winning a state sectional tournament championship for the first time since 1977 when future NBA player Kelly Tripucka was leading the way.
The Bengals are now gearing up to defend their NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament title.
Bloomfield, seeded ninth, will visit eighth-seeded Fair Lawn in the first round on Feb. 27. The winner will play the winner of top-seeded Randolph and No. 16 seed Passaic County Tech in the quarterfinals on March 1. The semifinals are March 3 and the final is March 5. Hackensack is the No. 2 seed; Paterson Kennedy is the No. 3 seed and North Bergen is the fifth seed.
BHS last season was the No. 1 seed, beating Ridgewood in the final before losing to Linden in the Group 4 state semifinals.
The Bengals had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 79-54 loss at second-seeded and defending champion Newark East Side in the quarterfinals of the Essex County Tournament on Feb. 17. Michael Ramos had 14 points; Kyle Barrow had 11 points and Mayowa Akindebe had 10 for the seventh-seeded Bengals, who moved to an 18-6 record.
The Bengals are guided by Pat Brunner, who has been at the head coaching helm since the 2005-06 season. Brunner, who previously was the head coach at Elizabeth and Verona, won his 300th game in the second game of this season on Dec. 16 at home against West Caldwell Tech.
Ramos scored his 1,000th career point in the ECT first-round home win over Barringer on Feb. 9.
In earlier action, the Bengals defeated Eagle Academy, 78-35, Feb. 12 in a non-conference game at home. Richie Guillaume had 20 points; Barrow had 17 and Akindebe, Ramos and Will Robinson each had 10.
Barrow scored 21 points with four three-pointers in the 74-65 road win over Newark University in a Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division game on Feb. 14. Ramos had 15 points; Guillaume netted 13; Akindebe had eight; and Will Robinson and Kevin Mitchell each had seven.
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