By Andy Loigu

Once again, Hackettstown has reached the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championship game in boys basketball.

The second seeded Tigers will face Sparta at 7 p.m. on Friday evening at Centenary University for the tri-county crown.

The hoops squad (14-6, 8-1 in the Freedom Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference) started out fast in their 60-44 semifinal win over Vernon on Saturday. They took a 16-7 lead and led by nine or more points the rest of the way. Darien Santos and Andrew Carida each scored 18 points and Ethan Almeida contributed a dozen.

Two days earlier, they lost a game which was played strictly for local pride, by a 72-61 score to Warren Hills. Tom Flaherty notched a game-high 27 points for the visiting Blue Streaks, while Almeida kept the Tigers competitive with 23 points.

MORE TITLE TALK

The local boys hockey program has also reached a championship final. The MOHOHA team, consisting of players from Mount Olive, Hopatcong and Hackettstown, will face top seeded Kinnelon at 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening at the Mennen Arena in Morristown for possession of the Halvorsen Cup.

On the ice, the locals got 27 saves from Nick Gargiulo, who put in a sensational goaltending performance in shutting out Mendham 3-0 in the semifinal. MOHOHA got two goals from Ethan Tillery and a power play goal from Adam Twist. Assists were credited to Twist, Christian Hertzig and Liam Murphy. They go into state tournament action with a 9-10-1 record against a supremely challenging schedule.

STREAK WRESTLERS FALL SHORT

In wrestling, the Warren Hills Blue Streaks won the North 2 Group 3 sectional championship for the second straight year under head coach David Sbriscia. In a sectional playoff, they emulsified Becton 79-0. In the state semifinal, they ran roughshod over Old Tappan, the North 1 champion, by a 60-9 score. However, in the Group 3 state final at Rutgers, they were beaten in a close match by South Jersey champ Delsea from Gloucester County.

GIRLS HOOPS

In girls basketball, the Hackettstown Tigers stood at 14-6 after losing 64-50 to visiting Warren Hills on February 9, despite a 24-point effort from Rylie Grant. Bella Soto led the victorious visitors with 28 points.

In the H/W/S tournament, Hackettstown was eliminated by Phillipsburg 32-28, while Warren Hills was taken out 52-48 in the quarterfinal round by longtime nemesis Voorhees.

Key action on tap: Mark your calendar!

Dates and sites for state tournament action in basketball and district and regional wrestling have not yet been announced on the NJSIAA website, but the individuals’ wrestling state championships in Atlantic City are booked for March 2 to 4 at Boardwalk Hall. Warren County has several wrestlers with high hopes of getting to the medals stand. It is a high school sports journey like no other.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.