Hamilton’s 31 leads High Point boys; girls, wrestlers add wins

Senior guard Aiden Hamilton scored a career-high 31 points along with seven rebounds, Gabe Elston added 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal and Matthew Shepherd totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals to pace the High Point boys basketball team to a 69-49 victory over Kinnelon on Saturday afternoon at home in Sussex.

Joey Elko pulled down 11 rebounds and added four points, one assist and one steal and Colin Tennant had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks to aid the decision.

High Point (6-15) also defeated Kittatinny, 64-53, on the road on Thursday, Feb. 12, led by Shepherd (15 points, three rebounds, two assists), Hamilton (13 points, five assists, three rebounds), Tennant (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Dylan Jenkins (10 points, eight rebounds, two assists) and Elko (eight points, three rebounds, two steals).

The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Dover on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball

Brooke Wagner had a season-high 15 rebounds along with four points, six blocks, three steals and two assists, Claire Sieminski 10 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, Daphne Mathews totaled nine points, six rebounds and two steals and Grace Elston added eight points as the Wildcats earned a 42-33 victory over Vernon on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at home.

Sieminski also collected nine points, 11 rebounds and six steals and Wagner totaled six points, five rebounds, seven blocks and three steals as High Point defeated Kittatinny, 26-14, on Thursday, Feb. 12 in Sussex.

Sieminski, a senior center, has 131 blocks this season, good for an average of 6.2 per game.

High Point (13-8) will host West Caldwell Tech on Friday, Feb. 20 at 4:30 p.m.

Wrestling

Carter Drouin (120 pounds), Gerard Empirio (150), Jayden Ruplall (165), Jack Kithcart (190), Gavin Mericle (285) and Thomas Jaust (113) all won by fall as High Point earned a 47-29 victory over Sparta on Feb. 5 at home.

The Wildcats (11-11) were seeded first for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 team tournament and were scheduled to meet eighth-seeded Glen Rock in a first round match at home on Monday, Feb. 16.

If High Point prevailed, the Falcons would wrestle against fourth-seeded Westwood or fifth-seeded Pascack Hills later on Monday in the semifinal round.

The sectional final will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the home of the highest remaining seed.

High Point is seeking to reach the sectional final for the 17th straight season and its second straight crown.