Cherokee is entering the game after losing a hard-fought contest with Piscataway (NJ) just a few hours ago. St. Joseph’s Metuchen has yet to play today, and is thus well rested. For Cherokee, #22 led the way against Piscataway earlier, scoring 12 points. For St. Joe’s, Steve Rennard '10 is their main man. The rising junior is a top-notch shooter from deep and is the straw that stirs the drink for St. Joseph’s. We’ll see if Cherokee can slow Rennard and utilize its size, or if the guard play of St. Joe’s will be too much.

5:58pm- #42 of Cherokee has opened the game’s scoring, hitting the second of two shots from the line.

6:00pm- St. Joseph’s big man Robbie Ashamole '11 just picked up his second foul in just over two minutes, leading to him being taken out, and Cherokee hitting two free throws to take a 3-0 lead.

6:01pm- St. Joseph’s is on the board, as Gerard Lewis '09 has put in a deuce.

6:03pm- With Cherokee leading 6-2, Nikko Vaspola '09 of St. Joe’s made a nice move to get to the hole and got fouled, but could not finish. He did make one of his two free throws to make it a 6-3 game.

6:05pm- A St. Joe’s basket from Lewis has cut the lead to one-point, 6-5.

6:06pm- Cherokee has taken a timeout with 11:42 to go in the first half, still are up 6-5.

6:08pm- Steve Rennard scored for St. Joe’s, giving the team a one-point lead, 8-7, on a 6-0 run.

6:09pm- An old fashioned three-point play has given Cherokee the lead back with about nine minutes to play in the first half by a score of 9-7.

6:10pm- Gagan Dhaliwah '10 of St. Joe’s got to the rim and finished, tying the game at nine.

6:11pm- Another old-school three-point play has put Cherokee in front, this time 12-9.

6:14pm- With 4:30 to play in the first 20 minutes, St. Joseph’s is behind by a score of 12-11.

6:16pm- St. Joe’s is up 13-12 with 2:30 left in the half. #32 of Cherokee then hit the first of two attempts from the line, tying the game at 13.

6:17pm- Cherokee has called timeout with the clock showing 1:13 and the game still even at 13.

6:18pm- Cherokee hit two shots at the line after the timeout to take the lead. St. Joe’s answered with a bucket at the other end, tying the game at 15.

6:20pm- Cherokee scored a late bucket, and will take a 17-15 lead into the intermission.

6:21pm- Steve Rennard is the top scorer so far with six points. #44 is leading Cherokee with five points.

6:25pm- Cherokee scored a quick bucket to take a four-point lead early in the second half.

6:28pm- Cherokee has scored six points in about four minutes to take a 23-15 lead.

6:29pm- Dhaliwah knocked in a triple to cut the lead to five, 23-18. The squad then took a timeout with 15:28 left in regulation.

6:30pm- Dhaliwah has scored again for St. Joe’s. Cherokee’s lead is down to just three. It’s a one possession game.

6:32pm- After a Cherokee basket, Vaspola of St. Joseph’s hit the first of two free throws, making it a 25-21 game, in favor of Cherokee.

6:34pm- Cherokee’s lead is up to six, 27-21, with just over 11 minutes left in the game, after #6 banked in a mid-range jumper.

6:36pm- An offensive rebound and put-back by Robbie Ashamole has dropped Cherokee’s lead down to just a deuce, 27-25.

6:37pm- Ashamole hit the second of two at the stripe to slice the lead in half. St. Joseph’s is now down by just one, 27-26.

6:39pm- #42 hit two free throws to push Cherokee’s lead back up to three, 29-26, with about 6:00 left in the game.

6:40pm- Lewis missed two shots at the line, so St. Joe’s still trails by three.

6:41pm- Rennard was fouled on a drive to the cup. He swished both free throws to cut the deficit to one-point with about 3:45 left.

6:42pm- Cherokee answered with a quick basket, making it a 31-29 game. Soon after, the team took a timeout with 3:03 to play, with the score staying 31-29.

6:44pm- Dhaliwah of St. Joseph’s scored a basket off a pass from #23, tying the game at 31.

6:45pm- St. Joe’s has taken a two-point lead, 33-31.

6:46pm- #11 was fouled going up for a shot. He hit the second one, giving St. Joe’s a three-point lead, 34-31.

6:47pm- St. Joseph’s forced a turnover and had the possession arrow on its side, so the team will have the ball with about 40 seconds to play, up by three.

6:48pm- Vaspola scored a basket for St. Joe’s to push the squad’s lead up to five, 36-31. #22 of Cherokee then responded with a three-ball, slicing the St. Joe’s lead down to two, 36-34.

6:50pm- Rennard is at the line for a one-and-one with 7.4 seconds to go. He missed the front end.

6:51pm- #13 of Cherokee had a shot bounce off the rim, ending the game. St. Joseph’s has the win 36-34.

In the low-scoring affair, Steve Rennard was the only player to score in double-digits, dropping 12 points and hitting four of five free throws. Gagan Dhaliwah added nine points for St. Joseph’s Metuchen, nailing one three. For Cherokee, #22 was the top dog, scoring nine points, going 2/2 at the stripe, and making a three. #42 scored seven points, connecting on five of six free throws. For St. Joseph’s Metuchen, Gagan Dhaliwah is Northstar Basketball’s MVP winner, while #22 is the honoree for Cherokee.

Note- photo is of Steve Rennard