Orange HS and East Orange Campus HS boys’ basketball teams seek ECT success

EAST ORANGE/ORANGE, NJ – The Orange High School and East Orange Campus High School boys’ varsity basketball teams hope to make strong runs in the 71st Essex County Tournament.

The ninth-seeded OHS Tornadoes will visit No. 8 seed Barringer in the first round on Feb. 11. The 18th-seeded EOCHS Jaguars will host No. 27 seed American History in the preliminary second round on or by Feb. 4. The winner will advance to play in the preliminary third round on Feb. 9 against a team to be determined.

Newark East Side is the No. 1 seed in the 39-team field. Newark West Side is seeded No. 3 and two-time defending champion Seton Hall Prep is the No. 3 seed.

EOCHS lost to a strong Newark East Side team, 57-44, Jan. 26 at EOCHS in a Super Essex Conference-American Division game. Supreme Cook had 12 points and 11 rebounds; Mehki Chester had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists; and Randy Joseph had nine points and five rebounds for the Jaguars. Dwight Pressley scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds. East Side is ranked No. 9 n the state by nj.com. It was the Jaguars’ fifth straight loss to drop their record to 3-12.

The Tornadoes defeated Bloomfield Tech, Livingston and Dickinson to extend its winning streak to four games and improve to a 13-2 overall record.

Zahier Childs scored 16 points and D’Angelo Blackmand had 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tornadoes to a 76-66 home win over Bloomfield Tech on Jan. 24 in a Super Essex Conference non-division game.  Wesley Lafleur had 12 points, eight assists and three steals; Armand Jacques had 10 points; Rasheed Boyd had eight points and 10 rebounds and Mischael Noelvil had eight points.

The Tornadoes defeated Livingston, 79-35, Jan. 26, at home in a SEC-Colonial Division game. OHS is 5-2 in the division. Henry Jean Bapstiste had 12 points; Childs had 11 points; Blackmand had 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks; and Lafleur had nine points and 10 assists.

OHS defeated Dickinson, 65-59, Saturday, Jan. 28, in a non-conference game in Jersey City. Childs scored 17 points; Blackman had 15 points and 13 rebounds; Lafleur had 10 points and 11 assists and Jean-Baptiste had seven points. Noelvil scored five points; Quasean Waithe had three points and five rebounds; Latrell Wilson had two points and seven rebounds and Tyler Killett had four points. Armand Jaques also added two points.