Glen Rige HS boys basketball team clinches divisional crown; gains No. 3 seed in sectional tournament

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge High School boys basketball team is enjoying a banner season.

The Ridgers, under second-year head coach and GRHS alumnus Mike Salvatelli, clinched the Super Essex Conference–Freedom Division title.

Glen Ridge, which had an 11-3 mark in the division, hopes to make a strong run in the postseason. The Ridgers are the No. 3 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state tournament and were scheduled to host No. 14 seed Whippany Park in the first round on Wednesday, Feb. 26, after press time.

If the Ridgers won, they will host the winner between No. 4 seed Arts (Newark) and Marion P. Thomas Charter (Newark) in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 1. The semifinals are Tuesday, March 4, and the final is Friday, March 7, all at the higher-seeded schools.

The top seed is Weehawken. Newark Tech is the No. 2 seed.

The Ridgers defeated Montclair Kimberley Academy, 64-55, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at GRHS in a divisional game. Sophomore Ryan Law had 27 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and one steal; junior Liam Feder had 11 points and six rebounds; junior Jacob Javier had nine points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal; senior Jake Machemer had eight points, four rebounds and two steals; junior Liam Cooney posted seven points, four assists and one rebound; junior JP Labadia added two points, seven assists and four rebounds; sophomore Jayraj Pasricha added one rebound; senior Oliver Kleinberg added one assist and junior Luke Renoff added one blocked shot.

For MKA, freshman Carter Convey, a Glen Ridge resident, had six points.

The Ridgers lost to Dickinson (Jersey City), 59-39, on Friday, Feb. 21, in an independent game at GRHS. 

The loss ended the Ridgers’ six-game winning streak. Law scored 20 points, Cooney had six points, Javier had five points, Machemer had four points, and junior Matthew McCormack and Kleinberg each had two points. GRHS moved to 19-6 on the season.

Photos Courtesy of Chris Troyano