Another Top Field in CHE Invitational

Another Top Field in the Cherry Hill East Invitational

One of the top high school basketball events of the year is the Cherry Hill East Invitational. The event usually takes place in the middle of February and, besides attracting some of the top teams in South Jersey, it’s a great playoff tune-up for the postseason.

Usually the NJSIAA playoffs begin the beginning of March.

The Invitational often gives teams from one Group size a chance to meet those of another. For instance, this year Paulsboro beat Camden, 68-65 in a classic Cherry Hill East Invitational game. Paulsboro ended up being the Group 1 state champion. Camden was the South Jersey Group 2 champ and played in the state final.

Next year’s Cherry Hill East Invitational field has been selected and the tournament will be staged February 13 and 14, 2016.

Here are the matchups:

February 13
Pitman vs. Rancocas Valley, 3:30
Woodbury vs. Camden Cathoic, 11
Wildwood Catholic vs. Lenape, 12:30
Cherry Hill West vs. Cherry Hill East, 2
Atlantic City vs. Camden, 3:30
Pemberton vs. Cherokee, 5
St. Augustine vs. Winslow Township, 6:30 February 14
Haddonfield vs. Timber Creek, 11
Delsea vs. Washington Township, 12:30
Shawnee vs. Medford Tech, 2
Paulsboro vs. Paul VI, 3:30
Eastern vs. Holy Spirit, 5
Trenton Catholic vs. Bishop Eustace, 6:30 A couple of quick observations:

*One of the highlights is when Cherry Hill East plays Cherry Hill West. Since these Olympic Conference teams are not in the same division, this is the lone time they meet in the regular season. In this past year’s game, East won a 40-38 nail-biter before a packed crowd. East 6-8 junior Tim Perry had a team-high 16 points. Perry will be one of the top players in this tournament next year.

*The Camden and Atlantic City game brings back memories when these two were frequently the top two teams in South Jersey during the 1980s and beyond. Both used to battle on an almost annual basis in the Group 4 playoffs. Next season they should be two of the top teams in South Jersey. Camden’s Jamal Holloway, who will be a senior next season, will return as one of South Jersey’s top players after averaging 16.3 points and 12.7 rebounds.

*St. Augustine vs. Winslow Township could be another Top 10 matchup. Winslow Township has an experienced group returning from this past season’s South Jersey Group 3 champion. St. Augustine, which advanced to the South Jersey Non-Public A final before falling to CBA, 83-77, has one of South Jersey’s top returning players in senior-to-be guard Sa’eed Nelson.

In the loss to CBA, Nelson had 30 points and for the season the Hermits point guard averaged 18.5 points and 7.8 assists. He is one of many headliners who will make this tournament one of South Jersey’s most anticipated regular season events.

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Author: Marc Narducci