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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Passaic County semifinals
BOYS BASKETBALL:Eastside runs by rival Kennedy and into Passaic County final

Eastside's Jetor Brown.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

PATERSON – While Eastside ended last season with a Group 4 state championship, the first for a Passaic County public school since 1929, and a spot in the exclusive six-team Tournament of Champions field, there was one hiccup in what turned out to be a season for the ages. Last year the Ghosts were the top seed in the Passaic County Tournament only to lose the title game to none other than cross town rival Kennedy. In the rematch on Saturday in the PCT semifinals, the first 13 minutes made it seem like history had a chance to repeat itself as Kennedy opened a seven-point lead in front of a near capacity crowd on its own home court. But instead, it was a different pattern that put itself on a loop, a pattern that saw Eastside continually create turnovers and turn them into easy baskets. Down 20-13 midway through the second quarter, Eastside ran off 20 straight points in the span of 4:44 to open a double-digit lead of its own by halftime on the way to a 68-52 win and the county final where it will play second seeded DePaul next Saturday at Wayne Valley High School. MORE...

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