On New Years Day CourtCred.com attended the inaugural “New Year’s Jump off” sponsored by the NJ Playaz.  The event featured 6 of the top 10 teams in the New Jersey, including a match up between the number #1 & #2 teams in the state, St. Anthony and St. Benedict’s.  Both teams were entering the game with undefeated records and the atmosphere in the gym showed it as  St. Anthony and St. Benedicts had not played each other in over a decade. During Dan Hurley’s nine year tenure as coach of St. Benedict’s, the two schools never met because Chris Hurley did not want her husband Bob Hurley facing her son.

In the first game the host team Hackensack beat Dwight Morrow 59-55. Hackensack was down as much as 17 points going into the half. Chris Myers a 5’9 junior point guard came up big for Hackensack during the second half.  Meyers made all the right plays for his team whether it was scoring, finding the open man, or making key defensive stops.  Meyers led the way with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers.

The second game was a hard fought match between Teaneck High School and St. Patrick’s. St. Patrick’s could not hold on to a late lead in the fourth.  With his team down Joel Hernandez hit a three at the end regulation to force overtime. In overtime with both team tied at 63 apiece, St. Patrick’s Elijah Davis would commit a costly foul that would send Joel Hernandez to the free throw line as time expired. Hernandez would sink two free throws to give his team the victory.  Chris Jones would lead all scorers with 22 points and11 rebounds which included a few key shots to minimize St. Patrick’s lead late in the fourth. De Andre Bembry finished with a team high 21 points for St. Patrick's.

Plainfield beat Hudson Catholic in the third game 59-57.  Plainfield lead most of the second half behind the leadership of senior point guard Sekou Harris who pretty much controlled the tempo of the game. He made great decisions on the court and made plays when his team needed it.  After going back and forth much of the game, Hudson Catholic fought back to tie the game up at 57 apiece within the final minute but a costly turnover committed by Reggie Cameron would lead to an easy basket by Plainfield putting them up for good.   Dijon Allen-Jorden led the balanced attack for Plainfield with 14 points on 5-6 shooting.  Cameron led the way for Hudson Catholic with 23 points including 4 huge three pointers in the second half to help his team get back into the game.

In the last game of the night St. Anthony would beat St. Benedict’s 51-50. St. Anthony would win their 40th straight game after capturing a mythical national title and going undefeated last season. St. Benedict’s led 40-32 late in the third, but St. Anthony’s would close the game on a 19-10 run. St. Benedict's would get a one last chance to win the game with 4 seconds left, but a shot attempt by Tyler Ennis was blocked by Tariq Carey to secure the victory for St. Anthony. All-American Kyle Anderson led the way for St. Anthony with 13 points,10 rebounds and 5 assists. St. Benedict’s were led by Miami bound Melvin Johnson who finished with 25 points on 4-8 shooting from three point land.