IHS boys' hoop team advances to ECT quarterfinals

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports editor
Deshawn Lewis scored 18 points and Al-Jahaad Bradford had 17 points and eight assists to lead the sixth-seeded Irvington High School boys’ varsity basketball team to a 72-45 win over No. 11 seed Central in the round of 16 of the Essex County Tournament last Saturday at IHS.
Jalen Baytops and Shakur Juiston each had double-doubles for the Blue Knights. Baytops had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Juiston had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Waiters also had seven points for the Blue Knights, who extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 13-4.
IHS, which received byes in the first and second rounds of the preliminary, will host sixth-seeded Bloomfield in the quarterfinals this Saturday.
Lewis had 12 points, including a layup at the buzzer to give the Blue Knights a 52-51 win over North Bergen on Jan. 31.
Juiston had 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Bradford had 13 points and 10 assists.
Essex County Tournament
Round of 16
No. 1 Seton Hall Prep defeated No. 16 East Orange Campus, 58-44
No. 9 Newark Vocational defeated No. 8 Shabazz, 67-66
No. 12 Bloomfield Tech defeated No. 5 East Side, 41-38
No. 4 Columbia defeated No. 20 Verona, 64-57
No. 2 Newark Tech defeated No. 18 Weequahic, 60-50
No. 7 University defeated No. 10 Montclair, 67-54
No. 6 Irvington defeated No. 11 Central, 72-45
No. 3 Bloomfield defeated No. 14 Orange, 73-61
Quarterfinals, Feb. 11
No. 9 Newark Vocational at No. 1 Seton Hall Prep, 1 p.m.
No. 12 Bloomfield Tech at No. 5 Columbia, noon
No. 7 University at No. 2 Newark Tech, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Irvington at No. 3 Bloomfield, 3 p.m.