Photos by Perry Bashkoff: Buzz1441
West Orange vs. University, Dec. 15, at West Orange, season opener
WEST ORANGE, NJ (updated Sunday Dec. 17, 8:28 a.m.) – The West Orange High School boys’ varsity basketball team, under second-year head coach Demond Cowins, hopes to have a successful season with a good core of talented players.
The Mountaineers got off to a winning start to the season as they defeated University, 71-64, Friday, Dec. 15, at home in the season opener.
The key players for the Mountaineers are senior guard/captain Jelani Jackson, junior guards Stephon Sheard and Kenyon Sheard; junior forwards Toby Okani and Will Garth-Hill; senior forward Trey Meaux; senior point guard Nick Dover; and senior forward Anant Narain.
The captains are Jackson, Meaux, and Narain.
Other players who will look to contribute are junior guard Goddy Marc, junior point guard Godly Marc, senior forward Aaron Haughton, sophomore point guard Gustav Hall, and sophomore forward Ismail Taylor.
In the win over University, Jackson had 16 points; Garth-Hill had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks; K. Sheard had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals; S. Sheard had eight points and nine rebounds; Meaux posted five points and six rebounds; and Dover added six points, five assists, and three steals.
“It was an overall great team effort,” Cowins said. “We pushed the pace from the start of the game. University played us tough until the end.”
Last season, the 16th-seeded Mountaineers gave a competitive effort before falling to top-sseded and eventual champion Bloomfield, 57-52, in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament first round to end the year.
Schedule
Dec. 15, Won, University, 71-64
Dec. 19, at Orange, 7 p.m.
Dec. 21, at Newark Tech, 7 p.m.
Dec. 27, at Hillsborough Holiday Tournament, vs. Hunterdon Central, 1 p.m.
Dec. 28, at Hillsborough Holiday Tournament, tba
Jan. 3, Immaculate Conception, 7 p.m.
Jan. 5, Central, 7 p.m.
Jan. 7, WOHS Mountaineer Showcase, vs. Westfield, 12:30 p.m.
Jan. 9, at Bloomfield, 4 p.m.
Jan. 13, North Bergen, 1 p.m.
Jan. 15, at Elizabeth, 1 p.m.
Jan. 16, East Orange, 7 p.m.
Jan. 18, at University, 7 p.m.
Jan. 20, at Irvington, 1 p.m.
Jan. 23, Orange, 7 p.m.
Jan. 25, Newark Tech, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30, at Central, 7 p.m.
Feb. 1, Bloomfield, 7 p.m.
Feb. 8, Barringer, 7 p.m.
Feb. 13, at East Orange, 7 p.m.
Feb. 22, Kearny, 7 p.m.
Feb. 23, at Montclair Kimberley Academy, 7 p.m.
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