NJIC Conference Recap

While it is comprised of mainly smaller Group I schools, the NJIC produces talented teams and this past season was no different.

Season Recap

Saint Mary's of Rutherford finished 22-7 against a difficult non-divisional schedule and were led by seniors Luke Gaccione, LJ Falconi, Sam Tornabaene and Victor Torres. They advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Bergen County Tournament before running into the Don Bosco buzzsaw and made the Non-Public B North semifinals as well. They lose quite a bit in this talented senior class.

Paterson Charter has become a consistent power player in Group I and the NJIC. They finished 24-4 this year, winning the NJIC Conference Tournament with a convincing blowout of Glen Rock, made it to the Passaic County quarters and the Group I State Semifinals, bowing out to Newark Tech. Veterans Ka'Juan Gee and DeAngelo Hibbert depart, but Giovanny Figueroa, Kyle Fulcher and others are slated to return and the standard will remain high.

Lyndhurst finished the season at 18-10 with a post-season resume that saw them advance to the NJIC semis and a win a game in the state playoffs. They were led by multi sport athlete Anthony Pizzuti, who scored an eye popping 622 points on the year. Classmate Matt Slaby, a three year varsity contributor, also had a big hand in the Bears success this year.

Player Of The Year

Anthony Pizzuti, Lyndhurst

While there are talented options from Paterson Charter, Glen Rock and Saint Mary's...No player was as dominant on a successful team as Pizzuti. The Bears rock at both ends of the floor. Pizzuti averaged just under 24ppg and finished with over 1,100 points and nearly 500 rebounds in just two seasons. He had a season high of 44 vs Hasbrouck Heights.

NJIC First Team Sensational Seven

Ka'Juan Gee, Paterson Charter

De Angelo Hibbert, Paterson Charter

Luke Gaccione, Saint Mary's

Victor Torres, Saint Mary's

LJ Falconi, Saint Mary's

Matt Slaby, Lyndhurst

Jack Hattersley, Glen Rock

NJIC Second Team Sensational Seven

Sam Tornabaene, Saint Mary's

Will Ndio, Lodi

Mason Mangione, Glen Rock

Luis Placido, New Milford

Matthew Remias, Rutherford

Andrew Del Rey, Waldwick

Giovanny Figueroa, Paterson Charter

NJIC Third Team Sensational Seven

Deron McLaughlin, Park Ridge

Omer Tal, Cresskill

Tyler Benway, Pompton Lakes

Ashawn Johnson, Manchester Regional

Jack Hayward, Cresskill

Sam Fasola, Park Ridge

Robert Lopez, Glen Rock

Final Rankings

1. Paterson Charter(24-4)

2. Glen Rock(20-9)

3. Saint Mary's(22-7)

4. Lyndhurst(18-10)

5. Rutherford(18-9)

6. Lodi(18-7)

7. Pompton Lakes(17-8)

8. Cresskill(17-13)

9. Manchester Regional(15-12)

10. Park Ridge(14-12)