Hudson's Hawks claim another Hudson hoop title

Tahaad Pettiford was in seventh grade the last time Hudson Catholic won the Hudson County Boys' Basketball Tournament title, back at a time when it was almost an annual occurrence that the Hawks were crowned as the county's best. The Hawks had set a new record for consecutive county championships when they won their seventh straight title in 2018. But the streak came to an end in 2019, when Union City defeated the Hawks and a year later, St. Peter's Prep won the championship. There was no county tourney in 2021 due to the pandemic. Pettiford was in grade school, but remember knowing full well that he wanted to attend Hudson Catholic. "It was all about Coach Nick (Mariniello)," Pettiford said. "He's the reason why I came to Hudson Catholic. I knew he would make me a better player." Saturday afternoon, Pettiford showed everyone how he's a great player right now as a sophomore. The sweet shooting southpaw tallied a team-high 25 points, leading Hudson Catholic to a 60-55 win over rival St. Peter's Prep to win the Hudson County Tournament title before a packed house at High Tech High School in Secaucus. The two rivals have met each other three times this season, with the Hawks taking two-of-three. And there's a chance that the two teams could meet again in the NJSIAA Parochial A North state tournament Friday night, a game that would be played at Hudson Catholic. ' The Hawks took control of the game in the first quarter, courtesy of a 15-2 run over the final 3:43 of the quarter, with Pettiford scoring five of those points. Junior Elijah Gertrude had seven of his 12 points during that span, as the Hawks held a commanding 22-9 lead after the first quarter. Holding the high-flying Marauders to just nine points the first quarter was a credit to the Hawks' defense. "I would have to say our defense set the tone," Mariniello said. "I knew that from that point, they would be chasing after us." And a team has to exude so much energy trying to come from behind, no matter who is playing for the other team. Mark Armstrong became the all-time leading scorer in the history of St. Peter's Prep basketball with his first five points of the game and the Villanova-bound Armstrong ended with 32 points. But that meant that the rest of the Marauders managed just 23 points.

Also, the Hawks had a field day at the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-22 from the stripe, including their first nine straight to start the game. "We did a great job with our free throws," Mariniello said. "We weren't that good all season." The Hawks held a 31-17 lead at the half and saw the lead dwindle to jusy four at 45-41 with 6:12 left. But while the Marauders were celebrating the comeback, Pettiford calmly came down the floor and drained an uncontested three-pointer that pushed the lead back to seven. Pettiford then drove the length of the floor and threw down a slam with his right hand to make the score 50-44 with 3:09 left. Those two big shots pretty much sealed the deal. Mariniello said that the Hawks received an emotional boost by having classmate Antonio Sellers in attendance. Sellers was a basketball star-in-the-making when he was stopped by a brain tumor that has required several surgeries over the last two years. "Having Antonio here really meant the world to our team," Mariniello said. "His spirit and passion was felt by everyone here." When the time came to collect the trophy, Sellers, who would have been a senior this year, was with his friends and classmates to secure the hardware. "This was a lot of fun, but we want to keep it going," Pettiford said. The teams may just get together again later this week.

Another Hudson County title for Bayonne girls

Veteran Bayonne High School girls' basketball coach James Turner knew that there was only one way to defeat Union City in the Hudson County Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon. Simply put, the Bees had to lace and tighten their collective sneakers, look deep inside their collective souls and play defense against one of the top offensive teams in the county. If the Bees were to collect yet another county crown, it had to be on the defensive end of the floor. "It was all about defense," Turner said. "We had to blitz them. I knew that the game would be won or lost in the first quarter." The Bees certainly did exactly that. They shut the Soaring Eagles out early on, outscoring Union City, 11-0, in the opening stages. It was almost a carbon copy of the last time there was a county tournament in Hudson County. In 2020, the Bees raced out to an early lead in the title game against Hudson Catholic, scoring the game's first 13 points, and never looked back. Saturday in the same location (High Tech High School in Secaucus), it was like deja vu all over again. The Bees grabbed the early double digit lead and never trailed, securing a 39-23 win over the Soaring Eagles, to capture the eighth county crown in Turner's career and the astounding and almost unthinkable 27th county title in the school's history. The prior 19 county titles were captured under the guidance and leadership of legendary Hall of Fame coach Jeff Stabile. Turner offered his team some sound advice right before the opening tip. "I told them that we had been here before (there was no county tournament held last year due to COVID-19) and that they should not let the game be bigger than you," Turner said. "I told them that they couldn't panic and that they should just play their game." The Bees' three seniors, namely Eniya Scott (headed to Fairleigh Dickinson-Teaneck in the fall on a scholarship), Julyssa Moody and Jalaiyah Smith all played like the poised senior leaders that they are. While Scott didn't have her best game, she was definitely in control and wouldn't allow the Soaring Eagles (making their first-ever appearance in a county title game) to make any sustainable run. "I think being here before made this one a little less nervewracking," Scott said. "I think we were definitely able to prepare for this game because we had been here before."

Moody agreed. "I think it helped because everyone knew their assignments," Moody said. "The first quarter set the tone for the entire game. You never know. They could have hit a couple of threes and got right back into it. But we wouldn't let it happen." Union City head coach Carlos Cueto knew that his team was in trouble after that first quarter, when there appeared to be a lid on the Soaring Eagles' basket. Nothing they threw up went in. "When you're playing a good veteran team, a team with good experience, it's tough to come back against," Cueto said. "We had a chance, cutting it to six in the third quarter, but then they hit two big shots and that was it. The pressure got to us early and we couldn't respond to it. They were ready to play and we weren't." The two teams split their games in the regular season, but this time, it was all Bayonne, like the experienced team they are. The Soaring Eagles have a relatively young roster and they will be back, although losing senior guard Erika Mercedes will be a big one to overcome. Turner knows that his team will be ready for another challenge next season. "This is as good as it gets," Turner said. "It never gets old. I think it's good for the school and the community. Other girls will see us win and want to be a part of it. But the bottom line here was that we played defense." Holding a team to just 23 points in a county championship game? Yeah, that's as good as it gets.

Fitting tribute for Jersey City hoops legend Rooney

It might have been a few years in the making because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Friday night was well worth the wait. That's because Jersey City basketball legend Mike Rooney got his just rewards, when the gymnasiumn at Snyder High School was renamed in his honor. The 78-year-old Rooney was honored with a celebration at halftime of the Snyder-McNair Academic game, with a host of Rooney's basketball brethren on hand. Rooney's uniform number 32 was retired and a beautiful banner was placed on the walls of the gym with his 1,626 point total and his three-time All-Hudson County and twice All-State on the banner as well.

A lot of people might recognize Rooney for being the long-time athletic director at County Prep or for organizing his Jersey City Recreation basketball league that was played at Dickinson High School for more than 40 years. But before all of that, Rooney was a basketball legend -- and that's an understatement. At Snyder from 1961 through 1963, he was recognized as a Parade All-American who played in his fair share of All-Star games up and down the East Coast. In college, Rooney first attended St. Bonaventure University, where he quickly became a complete legend for his actions on and off the court, then after he was asked to leave the Bonnies, he ended up at the University of Oklahoma where he earned his degree. Yes, he has a college degree, but that was mostly earned in basketball, where he averaged close to 30 points per game during his time in Norman. From there, Rooney was a late-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers and played professional basketball in the old Eastern League, which was just a little more competitive than today's NBA G-League, considering that the NBA had only 12 teams back then as opposed to the 32 teams the NBA currently houses. Needless to say, it was much tougher to make it in pro basketball in the early 1960s. Rooney also played in a slew of semi-pro leagues in the area, showing off his incredible shooting range. People today marvel at the range of Steph Curry, nailing shots from 30 feet on a regular basis. Well, that was Rooney's game. Onlookers were astonished with the way Rooney drained long-range jumpers from 35, even 40 feet, with regularity. It was amazing to some. To Rooney, it was commonplace. When one throws the word around "legend," chances are that it doesn't really fit the person, but in the case of Mike Rooney, he wears the tag of legend the way most men wear a necktie. In Rooney's case, legend doesn't even begin to describe what he was as a player. The best way I personally can attest to his legendary status stems from a day more than 30 years ago. I was the sports information director at St. Peter's College and we were playing St. Bonaventure in a game early in the 1989-90 season. The radio announcers for St. Bonaventure asked me if I would be the halftime guest that game. I gladly agreed to do the interview, figuring that the announcers would ask me about the Peacocks. The entire 10 minute span was spent talking about one topic: Mike Rooney. That's the best way to describe a legend. We didn't once talk about St. Peter's College basketball, which was my job, promoting the Peacocks and the program. Nope. The whole thing was about Rooney -- and he was removed from Olean, N.Y. for about 30 years at that point. Rooney had the distinction of being one of the first players in NCAA history to score more than 1,000 points for two schools -- St. Bonaventure and Oklahoma. After his playing days were over (and he played competitively well into his 40s), Rooney concentrated on being the first-ever athletic director at County Prep in Jersey City and running his popular men's basketball league at Dickinson High School. Thousands of men paraded through Rooney's popular league, finding a way to remain competitive, led by the man who is truly a basketball legend in the city that he never left. He's a legend in places like upstate New York and Norman, Oklahoma as well. Rooney was extremely humbled by the honor that was bestowed upon him. "To think the gym is being named after me? That's just incredible," Rooney said. "I'll always be a Snyder guy. I can think of about 20 others who deserve this more than me. I don't deserve this. I love to be the one who is joking, but this is serious. It's a great honor and I can't thank the people behind it who made it possible. It shows that the people in this building did their job, the teachers, the principals, they prepared me for life. It shows me that they were successful in doing their jobs. But I don't deserve this." Bob Martin, who was Rooney's teammate and an All-County player like Rooney, was happy to be on hand for the celebration.

From left, Ed Petersen, Bob Hurley, Mike Rooney and Bob Martin get together to celebrate the gym at Snyder being named after Rooney and his jersey number being retired. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world," Martin said. "It was an honor and pleasure to have played with this guy. Never once did it cross our minds that he was a ball hog or someone who shot too much. No, we made sure we got him the ball, because we knew it was going in. He hardly missed from wherever he shot on the court. Just to be on the court with him was a tremendous honor. I'm glad that they did this for Mike. He deserves it." Ed Petersen, the retired FBI agent who also served in security for Major League Baseball and the NFL, played with and against Rooney in his various leagues. "It means the world to me to be here," Petersen said. "I wouldn't have missed this for anything. Mike was so enjoyable to play with over the years. When he got hot, he couldn't miss no matter where he was on the court. He was tremendous to watch and even better to play with. He's been a good friend for all these years. I'm glad that they did this to honor Mike. He's a great man." Now, the students of Snyder will recognize the immense talents that Rooney possessed every time they walk into the gym and see the giant banner with his name on it. It was a great honor for a great man, one that will last in perpetuity. One of Jersey City's best hoopsters has his name attached to the gym and students will get to know a little more about someone who is a true legend, a man deserving of the title and deserving of the honor bestowed upon him Friday night. Congrats to Mike Rooney, one of Jersey City's best hoopsters of all-time.