Bergen Catholic Fall Ball Tournament
Talent runs deep within this year’s Hackensack Jr. Comets basketball team. The Comets participated in the Bergen Catholic Fall Ball preseason tournament the weekend of 11/03/12, with only two tryouts held to assemble a team and no practices due to storm related school closings. Tournament pool play began with the Comets beating St. Paul’s of Congers New York by a score of 57 to 31. Three players finished with double-digit points: Terrell Bonner (16); Atiba Taylor (11); Ahmed Bailey (10).
On the second day of the tournament, the Comets won their second game against Sacred Heart by a score of 51 to 17. Philip Reinhardt had a game high 12 points against Sacred Heart. The championship game pitted the Comets against Hoop Dreamz with Atiba Taylor scoring 18 points, Bryce Drakeford 17 points, and Terrell Bonner 11 points. Mark Sawyer was dominating on both ends of the court before he suffered a dislocated knee and had to leave the game. The Comets won the championship by a score of 64 to 44. Terrell Bonner and Bryce Drakeford were named to the all-tournament team.
Wayne PAL Holiday Slamfest Tournament
Opening round pool play began on 12/27/12 with the Comets matched up against Mahwah. The Comets came out sluggish after ten days of inactivity, and trailed by 8 points at halftime. The Comets erased the halftime deficit with full court pressure defense coupled with Mykel Swanston coming in and stabilizing the offense. The Comets won by a score of 65 to 53. Atiba Taylor had a game high 19 points with Ahmed Bailey contributing 15 points, Bryce Drakeford 13 points, and Terrell Bonner 11 points.
After a lackluster performance in the first game, on 12/28/12 the Comets bounced back to blow out their next opponent St. Gregory’s by a score of 93 to 55. Five players finished with double-digit points: Terrell Bonner (21); Prince Carter (16); Bryce Drakeford (14); Chaiim Singer-Barber (14); Atiba Taylor (12).
On 12/29/12, the Comets played their final pool round game against Ridgewood. The Comets took an early double-digit lead to start the game, but surrendered it by half time. The Comets trailed the entire second half and were down by ten points with four minutes remaining in the game. After a time out, the Comets went on a 17 to 2 run. Bryce Drakeford hit back-to-back three pointers, the first one tied the game and then the second one put the Comets up by one point which came after a made basket by Ridgewood. Ahmed Bailey and Atiba Taylor made two key foul shots apiece to seal the game and give the Comets a 68 to 63 victory. Atiba Taylor finished with a game high 25 points.
Quarterfinals and semifinals were played on 12/30/12. The Comets faced Maplewood in the quarterfinals and won a closely contested game by a score of 67 to 62. Atiba Taylor had a game high 28 points. The Comets dominated their semifinals opponent Westfield and won by a score of 62 to 48. Four players finished with double-digit points: Atiba Taylor (15); Terrell Bonner (14); Ahmed Bailey (12); Bryce Drakeford (10).
On 12/31/12, the Comets played in the championship game against Montville. The Comets had a 7 point lead by halftime and continued to maintain control of the game throughout the second half. The Comets closed out the tournament by winning the championship by a score of 56 to 42. Bryce Drakeford had a game high 16 points. Terrell Bonner was selected tournament MVP.
Wayne PAL March Madness Tournament
Pool play started on 3/09/13 with the Comets winning their first game against Wyckoff by a score of 64 to 54. Ahmed Bailey had a game high 21 points, Bryce Drakeford 18 points, and Terrell Bonner 14 points. The Comets won their pool with a dominating performance against Livingston in the second game. The final score of the second game was 72 to 47, with Bryce Drakeford scoring 26 points.
On 3/10/13, the Comets played Wayne PAL in the semifinals and used full court pressure defense throughout the game that resulted in a win by a score of 78 to 54. Five players finished with double-digit points: Ahmed Bailey (26); Philip Reinhardt (14); Terrell Bonner (11); Atiba Taylor (11); Mark Sawyer (10).
Wyckoff made it to the championship game by advancing through the loser’s bracket to meet the Comets for a second time in the tournament. The Comets made defensive adjustments based on their first meeting with Wyckoff and led by more than 20 points throughout the game. The Comets won the championship by a score of 68 to 50. Atiba Taylor led all scorers with 23 points. Ahmed Bailey (14) and Mark Sawyer (10) scored double-digit points. Atiba Taylor was selected tournament MVP.
New Jersey State Middle School Championship
On 2/27/13, the State tournament kicked off at the Hoop Group basketball facility with the Comets matched up against Belhaven Middle School. The Comets won their first round game by a score of 37 to 31 with Terrell Bonner scoring a game high 18 points.
On 3/01/13, the Comets faced Neptune Middle School in the quarterfinals and won by a score of 40 to 31. The Comets had balanced contributions on offense with eight different players scoring in the game led by Atiba Taylor 11 points and Phil Reinhardt 9 points.
The Comets met a highly competitive Asbury Park Middle School team in a closely contested semifinals game on 3/05/13. The Comets trailed by 8 points with a little over 2 minutes to go in the game. The Comets scored 8 consecutive points capped off by Ahmed Bailey hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. The Comets full court pressure defense caused Asbury Park to turn the ball over. The Comets took possession of the ball with 7 seconds remaining in regulation and a chance to win the game, but missed the final shot. The Comets scored the first 5 points in overtime to take an early lead. The Comets held off Asbury Park to win in overtime by a score of 47 to 46. Ahmad Bailey was the leading scorer with 19 points and Atiba Taylor contributed 13 points.
On 3/11/13, the Comets championship game opponent was Monroe Township Middle School. The Comets led by 9 points at half time, but Monroe Township fought back and tied the game with 5 minutes remaining. The Comets stepped up the defense and rallied to win the NJ Middle School championship by a score of 56 to 48. Mark Sawyer had two key put-backs off of offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to help the Comets maintain a lead. Four players finished with double-digit points: Ahmed Bailey (16); Atiba Taylor (13); Terrell Bonner (11); Bryce Drakeford (10).
Independent Games
On 12/17/12, the Comets played a highly competitive game against St. Benedict’s Prep. St. Benedict’s pulled out to an early double-digit lead at the start of the game, but the Comets stormed back in the second quarter and tied the score at 33 apiece by halftime. The score remained close throughout the second half with St. Benedict’s winning the game 69 to 78. Freedom Geathers had a breakout game on both ends of the court by scoring 14 points coupled with a dominating rebounding and shot blocking performance. Terrell Bonner had a game high 20 points and Ahmed Bailey had 15 points.
The Comets hosted St. Benedict’s Prep at Hackensack Middle School on 2/11/13, which was their only home game of the season. The Comets trailed by 5 points at half time and ended up losing the game by a score of 69 to 83. Ahmed Bailey led the Comets scoring with 27 points with Atiba Taylor adding 21 points.
St. Benedict’s feature player Jahvon Quinerly is from Hackensack and he had 29 points against the Comets in first game and 27 points in the second game.
West New York League
12/8/12 beat North Bergen (A) by a score of 59 to 27. Atiba Taylor (14 points), Bryce Drakeford (11 points), and Ahmed Bailey (10 points)
12/15/12 lost to St. Augustine’s by a score of 41 to 45. Bryce Drakeford (13 points) and Terrell Bonner (10 points)
1/5/13 beat North Bergen (B) by a score of 51 to 15. DiJon Francis (12 points), Philip Reinhardt (10 points), and Atiba Taylor (10 points)
1/12/13 beat St. Michael's by a score of 44 to 33. Philip Reinhardt (14 points) and Bryce Drakeford (11 points)
1/19/13 beat West New York by a score of 54 to 48. Philip Reinhardt (23 points), Bryce Drakeford (22 points), Prince Carter (6 points), and Chaiim Singer-Barber (3 points)
1/26/13 beat North Bergen (A) by a score of 54 to 28. Philip Reinhardt (15 points), Ahmed Bailey (15 points), Bryce Drakeford (12 points), Prince Carter (8 points), Freedom Geathers (2 points), and Chaiim Singer-Barber (2 points)
2/02/13 beat St. Augustine’s by a score of 58 to 46. Bryce Drakeford (18 points) and Atiba Taylor (15 points)
2/16/13 lost to St. Michael’s by a score of 43 to 47. The Comets had to use two 7th graders (Toren Portee & Tre Hall) and one 6th grader (Dasan Jones), because 3 regular starters did not make the game. Bryce Drakeford (21 points), Prince Carter (9 points), Philip Reinhardt (8 points), and Mark Sawyer (5 points).
2/16/13 beat North Bergen (B) by a score of 33 to 30. The Comets had to play back-to-back games due to an earlier weather related cancellation. Philip Reinhardt (10 points), Mark Sawyer (7 points), and Toren Portee (6 points).
3/02/13 lost to West New York by a score of 30 to 68. The Comets played shorthanded with 4 out of the 5 regular starters missing the game. DiJon Francis was high scorer with 11 points and Philip Reinhardt & Mark Sawyer contributed 7 points apiece.
Double-Elimination Playoffs began on 3/10/13 with the Comets facing St. Michael’s in quarterfinals. The Comets controlled the game with pressure defense and won by a score of 46 to 36. Ahmed Bailey had a game high 19 points with Mark Sawyer chipping in 14 points.
On 3/16/13, the Comets played in the semifinals against West New York and won by a score of 54 to 43. Ahmed Bailey scored a game high 25 points.
Championship round began on 3/17/13 with the Comets matched up against St. Augustine’s. The Comets came out flat and trailed the whole game, primarily due to the team missing 16 foul shots coupled with Terrell Bonner going down in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. The Comets lost the first attempt to win the championship by a score of 43 to 56. An hour later, the Comets faced St. Augustine’s again in a winner takes all game. The Comets turned the table and led St. Augustine’s by 22 points at halftime. The Comets won the championship by a score of 57 to 42. Bryce Drakeford (17 points), Mark Sawyer (16 points) and Ahmed Bailey (13 points).
