By Andy Loigu

This is the time of year I start looking forward to pitchers and catchers. I actually find Major League Baseball’s exhibition games from Florida to be interesting, but due to labor issues, they may not start as scheduled this year.

However, the play of our local boys and girls basketball teams gives me another sports related reason to look forward to late February and early March. They look like they will be doing big things in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championship tournament and NJSIAA sectional playoffs this year.

The Hackettstown boys team is 8-1, and Warren Hills is 6-2. On the girls side, the Tigers are 7-3 and while the Blue Streaks’ girls have a losing record (3-5), they were competitive in games against a challenging early schedule and I am confident that Meghan McGeehan (their coach since 2007) will have them hitting their stride for the postseason, as she has been doing year after year.

Behind 16 points from senior Maddie Morgan and ten from sophomore Bella Soto, the Blue Streaks defeated the Tigresses 51-38 at the Hoops to Help Showcase at Hackettstown on Sunday. The young Washingtonians also got eight points from junior Sami Schander while sophomore Jaelyn Morris registered seven. The Hackettstown girls were led by 16 and seven-point contributions from juniors Rylie Grant and Sadie Willis.

Earlier, Warren Hills was edged 68-66 by a strong Mount Saint Mary’s team from Union County that is 5-3. Soto kept the Streaks in the game, landing five bonus bombs from beyond the three-point circle while scoring a team-high 21 points. The Streaks also had an inside game, as Morgan made nine free throws while scoring 21 points. The Streaks are 1-4 in the tough Skyland Conference Valley Division, but should be a more experienced and tougher team as they go through their second round of divisional games.

Meanwhile, the Tigers, coached by Ben Barnhart, are 3-1 in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Colonial Division. They look forward to their next home game on January 24 against Newton, a scrappy team. They played three games in four days between January 13 and 16. Before their meeting with Warren Hills they earned a pair of impressive wins on the road, 47-40 at Wallkill Valley and 47-23 at Hopatcong.

The Tiger boys, led by coach Mike McDonagh, are like Old Man River. They just keep rolling along. Their eight-game season opening win streak came to a halt at Jefferson (now 5-1) by a 55-46 score, despite an 18-point effort by Darien Santos. The long trip through winding Indian trails provides at least a five-point home court advantage for the Falcons right there. 

Behind youthful coach Joey Bamford, who was a star point guard at Warren Hills not that long ago, the Blue Streaks are 5-2 in their Skyland/Valley contests so far. Led by 12-point games from Josh Cassella and football standout Lucas Fritton the Streaks got a 55-39 road win at North Plainfield on January 13.

The Streaks came off the bus ride down Route 22 ready to play defense, as they led 20-4 after the first period. Defense wins championships.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.