WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School boys basketball team, seeded 26th, went 1-1 in the inaugural Essex County Invitational.
Senior Nick Matos had 13 points and sophomore Evan Whitaker had 10 points to lead the No. 26 seed Mountaineers to a 48-36 win over No. 39 seed Bard in the preliminary round of the Essex County Invitational on Thursday, Jan. 30, at home.
Senior Jemel Touze had seven points, sophomore Jaden Then had five points and senior Van Williams and junior Brandon Lewis each had four points for the Mountaineers.
WOHS lost at No. 23 seed West Side, 68-66, in the first round on Saturday, Feb. 1. The Mountaineers outscored West Side, 23-18, in the fourth quarter, but the comeback fell short. Whitaker had 17 points, Then had 15, senior Miles Price had 11 and Williams had 10. WOHS moved to an 11-7 record overall.
The Essex County Invitational consists of teams seeded 25 or lower that are not in the Essex County Tournament. The losers in the preliminary round of the ECT were moved into the Essex County Invitational bracket.
Earlier in the week, Matos had 20 points, Then had 14 points and senior Justin Lopez had 10 points, as the Mountaineers defeated West Caldwell Tech, 57-47, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in a Super Essex Conference-Freedom Division game at WCT.
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