The first round of the holiday week tournaments produced victories for both the Verona High School boys basketball team and the Verona-Glen Ridge Hockey team.
In basketball, the Hillbillies defeated West Essex 54-48. The game was tight until the fourth period when senior Matt Braschi broke a 38-point tie with a three-point shot. He wound up with 15 points on the game, more than half of which were scored in the fourth period. His scoring, combined with 16 points from fellow senior Alex Kaslander, put Verona on track for the finals against Cedar Grove, a game that takes place at 6 p.m. tonight on the Panther’s home court.
In hockey, VGR defeated River Dell, 4-2, in the first round of the Essex Holiday Tournament at Codey Arena. Dylan DeCandia scored the first goal for VGR on an assist from Nick DiStaso, who is also from the Verona side of the team. VHS sophomore Kevin White scored once and Glen Ridge’s Connor Duffus hit the back of the net twice. Liam Blaney, a Verona sophomore who has been in goal for VGR, blocked 13 shots. VGR takes on Steinert High School, a south Jersey team, at Codey tonight at 5:30 p.m.
But it was a different story for the VHS girls basketball team, which lost to West Essex by just one point despite a fourth-period rally. Julie Rosenberg scored 23 points for Verona in the 44-43 loss, and Sarah O’Neil and Remy Sullivan, all seniors, had seven points apiece. The lady Hillbillies start a consolation game against Caldwell in Cedar Grove at 1:30 p.m.
