CHS hoop teams begin ECT play

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports editor
The Columbia High School boys’ varsity basketball team, seeded fourth, will begin play in the Essex County Tournament at CHS on Saturday Feb. 4 against the second-round preliminary winner between No. 13 seed Livingston and No. 20 seed Verona.
The Livingston/Verona game was scheduled for this Tuesday. The Cougars received byes in the first and second preliminary rounds.
Evans Osuji scored a game-high 23 points and David Runcie had nine points in the 63-48 win over West Orange on Jan. 24 in West Orange. Justin Martin and Maxim Michel each had six points and Michael Runcie had five points for the Cougars.
Michael Runcie had 15 points, including four three-pointers, Robert Gordon had 13 points with three three-pointers and Maxim Michel posted 12 points to lead the Cougars to a 78-45 home win over Millburn on Jan. 26. The Cougars featured a total of 13 players who scored in the game. Justin Martin and David Runcie each had seven points and Justin Osuji had six points. CHS improved to 11-3.

CHS girls’ hoops to visit University
The 10th-seeded Columbia High School girls’ varsity basketball team, which received byes in the first and second preliminary rounds, will visit No. 7 seed University in the round of 16 of the Essex County Tournament this Saturday Feb. 4 in Newark.
Kyrsten Van Natta had 12 points, including two three-pointers, for the Lady Cougars in a 68-29 home loss to Shabazz on Jan. 24. CHS fell to 2-9.