East Orange Campus HS boys basketball team captures state sectional championship

EAST ORANGE, NJ — The third time’s the charm.

For the third straight season, the East Orange Campus High School boys basketball team appeared in the championship of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament.

But unlike the past two years, there was no heartbreak this time.

The fifth-seeded Jaguars defeated second-seeded Hackensack 55-52 to capture the state sectional title on March 6 at Hackensack.

For EOCHS, under eighth-year head coach Gabe Baltimore, the title was sweet redemption after they lost in the sectional final in each of the past two seasons, both against Ridgewood. It marked their first state sectional title since the 2009-10 season.

Junior guard Stageon King scored 12 points with four rebounds and two assists; junior guard Elijah Caldwell had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals; and sophomore guard Je’zi Lewis scored 10 points with five rebounds and one block to lead the Jaguars.

Junior guard James Robers had eight points, six rebounds and two assists; senior guard Bashir Lucas had six points; junior guard William Dyer posted five points, six assist, three blocks, two steals and two rebounds; senior forward Azahn Collins added two points, senior guard Tayshon Brown contributed one point; and one block; and senior forward Da’von Canzater added one rebound for EOCHS.

The Jaguars outscored Hackensack 15-7 in the second quarter to take a 28-23 halftime lead. EOCHS led 48-43 at the end of the third quarter and maintained control to win the title.

The Jaguars, who won their sixth straight game to improve to 18-12 on the season, were scheduled to face Section 2, Group 4 champion Plainfield (24-5 record this season) in the Group 4 state semifinal at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth on March 10. Plainfield is the defending Group 4 state champion.

The other Group 4 state semifinal pitted Central Jersey champion Montgomery (25-4) against South Jersey champion Cherry Hill East (25-3). The Group 4 state championship game is March 14 at Rutgers University at 2 p.m.

Hackensack finished 18-12.

Baltimore was elated that his team won the sectional title.

“Super proud of this group,” Baltimore said in an email to the Record-Transcript. “They overcame so much adversity. All season, they continued to focus on our No. 1 goal, which was to simply get better every single day. I didn’t care about records, rankings or outside noise. I rolled the dice and scheduled the toughest competition I possibly could, knowing that it would prepare us for the postseason. We made it to the sectional championship three years in a row. The third time was the charm! The hard work paid off. It means a lot for my boys, for the city, for the culture!”

EOCHS lost to Plainfield 55-45 in their only meeting this season on Jan. 16 at EOCHS.

the players wear shirts with the No. 21, honoring Letrell Duncan, a player on the team who was killed in 2022.

In the sectional semifinals, the Jaguars defeated top-seeded Montclair 56-51 on March 3 at Montclair in a matchup of Super Essex Conference teams. Trailing 46-44, the Jaguars outscored Montclair 12-5 in the fourth quarter.

Roberts scored a game-high 31 points and added 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals; and Lewis had eight points and four rebounds. Caldwell had four rebounds, three assists and two steals; Dyer had five points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists; King had four points; and Lucas added three points and five rebounds. Collins, Brown and Canzater also saw playing time.

The Jaguars this season honored Letrell Duncan, a sophomore player on the team who was shot and killed in October 2022.

Photos Courtesy of East Orange Campus HS head boys basketball coach Gabe Baltimore