The Verona High School boys basketball team will face Cresskill High School tonight in the semifinals of the North 1, Group 1 tournament after defeating Paterson Charter School for Science & Technology 58-43 on Saturday.
Sophomore Zack Zaccone had his best game all season, leading the Hillbilly squad with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Senior Charlie Matta was close behind with 11 points and five rebounds. Jaylen Colon led the scoring for #5 seed Paterson Charter with 11 points. Verona went into the playoffs as the #4 seed and rolled over #13 Saddle Brook in the opening round on Wednesday.
Tonight’s game at Cresskill, the #1 seed in the boys bracket, will bring out a lot of faces familiar to the Verona players: Matt Ferrara, AJ Gentile, Sean Kelly, Jack Maltby and James Picinich were all on the football team that VHS defeated for the state championship in December.
The girls team meanwhile fell to #3 seed Cresskill, 32-17. Sarah O’Neill, usually in double-digits for the Hillbillies, was limited to just four points on the night. Cresskill led the scoreboard for the entire game, and dominated in the paint. Erin McQuillen was the high scorer for Cresskill with 13 points.
