Ridgewood, Northern Highlands, River Dell shine by Jim McConville special to The Record

ORADELL – Consistency has been the biggest challenge that has faced Ridgewood this season. The Maroons have looked dominating one moment, vulnerable the next. On Saturday at Bergen Catholic in the opening round of the Bergen County Jamboree, they flipped the right switch.

Using a combination of hot shooting, strong defense and depth off the bench, Ridgewood easily dispatched Hasbrouck Heights, 77-50, to advance to the Round of 16. The 12th-seeded Maroons will next face No. 5 seed Dwight-Englewood next Saturday at Northern Highlands, and the official schedule will be announced Sunday.

Ridgewood shot 34 of 56 from the floor (60.7 percent) and hit five straight shots to turn an early 6-4 deficit into a 17-6 lead. Quin Peene had eight of those 13 points, including three-point field goals to start and finish the run,

“We were moving the ball really well,” he said. “I just happened to be the guy who was open early. We’ve got a lot of guys who can score, so it’s not about who is getting the points.”

Peene had 14 as did Michael Schretter, and Gabe Millstein added 13. Ridgewood had 13 different players score points in the game.

“I thought our depth and our size was the difference coming in,” Ridgewood coach Mike Troy said. “I like their group they have, and we played some very good defense on their perimeter game and didn’t give them second chances. We could be aggressive because we can go deep off the bench.”

Heights was only 10 of 33 shooting in the first three quarters and finished 16 of 47 (34 percent). They were down 19-7 after one period and were down as many as 20 in the first half.

“Our game against Ramapo last Thursday was the best game we had played all year and it led right into this one,” Troy said. “Guys are getting comfortable in their roles, but it’s still not perfect.”

He was referring to the end of the first half, when Ridgewood turned it over on four straight possessions and allowed Hasbrouck Heights to sneak back to within 40-23.

The Maroons then outscored the Aviators 23-5 in the third period to win going away. They out-rebounded HH 32-18 and had 23 assists on their 34 baskets, with Caesar Silvestro notching five of them.

NORTHERN HIGHLANDS 64, BECTON 42 – The Highlanders showed their 7-7 record coming in was not indicative of the kind of team they can be. An 11-0 run in the first period helped them forge an 18-9 lead before they dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 23-2 for a 41-11 halftime lead.

From 20-11, Highlands held Becton scoreless for eight minutes until they scored 55 seconds into the third quarter. Northern Highlands forced nine turnovers in that eight-minute stretch while holding Becton to just six shots.

Ryan Starr had 17 points to lead Highlands, which now faces St. Joseph next Saturday. Ethan Reisbaum added 15 points and eight assists while Brian Reynolds chipped in with 12 points.

Tyler Colon hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points to lead Becton. Greg Anderson also canned four treys for his 12 points.

RIVER DELL 60, EMERSON 34 – The Golden Hawks used an eight-point run in the first quarter to take the lead and never trailed, spoiling Emerson’s return to the Jamboree after a 30-year absence.

The Cavos had no answer inside for

Matt Monaghan, who scored 27 points on 11 of 20 shooting and had nine offensive rebounds and 11 overall. He hit two quick layups to open the second half and put River Dell up 32-14. The Hawks will now face Old Tappan next Sunday in the Round of 16.

Aidan Diverio had four second-half three-pointers on his way to a team-high 14 points for Emerson. John Dime added 11.