NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley High School boys basketball team, despite finishing with a 7-17 record this season, made progress down the stretch.
The Raiders, under longtime head coach Bob Harbison, won two games in the Essex County Tournament. Nutley, seeded 31st, defeated No. 34 seed Cedar Grove 47–35 in the preliminary first round on Saturday, Jan. 21, and upset No. 18 seed Montclair High School 59-45 in the preliminary second round two days later. They won their third straight game, beating Shabazz 56-54 the following day in a Super Essex Conference game, before losing to No. 15 seed North Star Academy 77-63 in the ECT preliminary third round on Thursday, Jan. 26. Nutley regrouped from a 2-10 start to the season.
The Raiders were led by senior guard Donte Dubose-Carter, senior center Anthony Pinal, junior forward Erik Thompson and sophomore guard Jordan Small. Other key contributors were junior Joshua Dick, senior forward Hector Feliz-Torres, senior guard Morgan O’Brien, sophomore guard William Llanza, sophomore forward Ryan Ibrahim, senior guard Richard Nguyen and sophomore guard Drew Slomkowski.
Photos by Steve Ellmore.
Nutley vs. Bloomfield, on Feb. 9, at Nutley. Bloomfield won 58-51.