Paladins Take the Court in Annual Basketball Festival

The tenth anniversary of The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children Basketball Festival will celebrate with three straight days of outstanding high school basketball ending on Jan. 6 with the Paramus Catholic Paladins and Lady Paladins taking the court at Kean University’s Harwood Arena.

“The SFIC Basketball Festival will again host a number of the state’s top basketball teams,” said Bill Fitzpatrick, Director of the SFIC Basketball Festival. “Our festival will offer exciting action for fans and support the Scholarship Fund’s work to raise money for tuition assistance so children from low income families can attend Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Newark. With the enthusiastic support of the coaches and their schools we are able to create the best spectacle of high school basketball in the state.”

Paladins vs. Marist, 5:15pm

PC boys (0-5) have been competitive in all of their games to date but are still searching for a path to victory after being one of the top teams in Bergen County the past few years. Kyle Menard and Jalen Henriquez have been putting up double digits in every match, though the Paladins are currently struggling from behind the arc.

Hudson County powerhouse Marist (4-0) won't make things easy as the Knights  are averaging 77 points, 37 rebounds and 16 steals per game. A senior-heavy squad, Marist is led by Devyn Ransom and Jaron Smith, 68 and 58 points respectively.

Lady Paladins vs. Roselle Catholic, 7pm

The Lady Paladins (4-3) will use their speed to their advantage as they average 47 points and 35 rebounds per game, placing an emphasis on defense and forcing turnovers. The up-tempo style of the Lady Paladins has provided Tianna Smith (83 points) and Dejah Taylor (77 points) to shine on the court and allow for underclassman such as Ebony Gilchrist (38 points) to contribute in PC's success.

The undefeated Lady Lions (5-0) also play an up-tempo defensive minded game which pitted against the Lady Paladins, make this a match not to be missed. Currently Roselle Catholic has relied on its free-throw ability to win games, netting 58 points from the line, opposed to the Paladin's emphasis on field goals and three-pointers (106 and 15 respectively). Renee Oliver (53 points, 26 rebounds) is the one to watch as the biggest scoring threat to the Lady Paladin's goal for victory.

Game Day Info

For additional information, fans can call the SFIC office at (973) 497-4279 or log onto sfichoops.com/tickets.html to purchase tickets. Tickets are $9 per person or $4 for students. Courtside seating next to the benches run $50 per person. All tickets can be purchased the day of as well.

Kean University is located at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union. 

Additional girls basketball games include IHA vs. Gill St. Bernard's on Jan. 4, 5:15pm and Mt. St. Dominic vs. Trenton Catholic on Jan. 6, 12pm.

Also competing in boys basketball will be: St. Benedict's vs. Life Center Academy, Jan. 4, 7pm; Hudson Catholic vs. Cardinal McCarrick, Jan. 4, 8:30pm; Seton Hall vs. Roselle Catholic, Jan. 5, 7pm, St. Anthony (NJ) vs. Curtis (Staten Island), Jan. 5, 8:30pm; Union Catholic vs. Bergen Catholic, Jan. 6, 1:45pm; and St. Peter's Prep vs. St. Joseph's (Metuchen), Jan. 6, 3:30pm.