It was championship Saturday at Essex County College at the culmination of the Essex County Girls, and Boys Basketball Tournaments. The girls final tipped off at 1pm with the West Orange Mountaineers, the 3rd seed, taking on upset minded, 5th seed, Immaculate Conception. It was a defensive effort throughout on both ends of the court but at the buzzer it was West Orange who prevailed by a score of 36 – 25. The victory was the Mountaineer’s first county basketball tournament title.
The boys’ championship followed the girls game. Here we a stark similarity. East Side’s Red Raiders came in as the top seed but all faced an Immaculate Conception squad bent on an upset. The Lions had faced the team from Newark twice before and the teams had split the decisions. East Side led throughout the game and had even developed a nineteen point lead in the third period. However Immaculate mounted a ferocious comeback and nearly stole the game before the Raiders held them off for a 69 – 66 win.