Hawks Soar Past Rockets; Thunder Rumbles Past Raptors

(Editor's note: The following information was submitted by the coaches and administrators of the TBBL.)

Cadet Division Summaries

 Hawks 28  -  Rockets 20

 In an outstanding game for both teams, the Hawks came away with the hard fought 28-20 victory. The offensive scoring for the Rockets was shared amongst the team very well today with Cam Pereira scoring eight points, followed by Devin Stoddard and Logan Reinhard who had four points apiece, and Mahir Bagul and Michael Sullivan contributing two point each as well. Offensive execution as well as sharing the ball was the key to the Rockets offensive success. Jordan MacKenzie and Mahir Bagul did an exceptional job passing the ball which lead to several assists for each player. Jack Stadtman did a great job defensively and showed excellent aggressiveness at both end of the floor throughout the game. Josh Astudi and Alden Lentz did an excellent job of rebounding, especially on the defensive end of the floor and bringing the ball up the court as well. Colin Goggins was very active inside on both offense and defense while also gathering several rebounds at both ends of the floor while having some tough luck with his shots at the basket.

The game after the first half was very close as the Rockets held on to a one basket lead. Led by Captain Paul Tower, the Hawks made their move. Tower had 3 key rebounds in the second half. Center John  Ragucci had three rebounds and was instrumental from keeping the Rockets from scoring inside. Sreetej Digumarthi was like Spider man jumping fearlessly at the Rocket shooters trying to block shots. Derek Munroe was robbing the Rockets offense by stealing passes. Munroe had 5 steals. Sean Connelly continued to impress on the defensive side with his hustle. It was the second game in a row that Connelly tried to shut down the opposing guards.  Mike Cronin rocked the house with a coast to coast basket that put the game into the Hawks’ favor. Rory Power had 16 of the Hawk’s 28 points. He also played awesome defense that led to Hawk scores. Center Sean Murphy held the Rockets centers from scoring and got  8 points with his outside shooting. Digumarthi had a clutch basket near the end of the 3rd qtr. Munroe had 2 points and Cronin ended up with 4 points. Ultimate team  player Brady Litton helped the Hawk’s scoring with 4 assists and also made a steal in the 4th qtr.

Thunder over Raptors

The Thunder continued their strong team-focused approach with 7 of the 10 players scoring and playing excellent team defense in a victory over the Raptors.  Taylor Pendleton had another solid defense effort and did well on the boards with Sam Hines.  John Beatrice and Kyle McHugh led the team in scoring with 6 points each.  Colin Bozek added 4, Tommy Branchaud, Dylan Dufresne , Owen Griffin, and Aiden Trulli all had 2 points.  Liam MacDonald was instrumental in helping to move the ball on offense, finding teammates for open shots against the aggressive Raptors’ defense. 

The Raptors held tight in the first quarter but down two players this week the Raptors grew tired. Richie Raso led the team with 4 points while Tommy Crawford, Hunter Delonais and Henry Pestana summed up the remaining points. The Raptors defense sent the Thunder to the line with numerous fouls.

Thunder over Celtics

The Thunder got the win over the Celtics in the 2nd game of a rare basketball double-header.  Strong teamwork on both ends of the floor continues to be the strength of the team.  Liam MacDonald and Aiden Trulli, who led the team in assists, helped to set the tone offensively moving the ball well to open teammates.  The balanced scoring came from John Beatrice, Colin Bozek, Tommy Branchaud, Owen Griffin, and Kyle McHugh, all of whom had 4 points each.  Dylan Dufresne made the play of the game knocking the ball away from a Celtic player and the hustling to save the ball before it went out of bounds.  Sam Hines contributed on the defense end as did Taylor Pendleton who also did well with his rebounding efforts on both ends of the floor.

SUNS 16 KNICKS 14

The Knicks dropped their first game of the season against a strong Suns team despite a solid defensive effort led by Trevor Trodden, Aidan Lefler, and Ethan Exilhomme.  The Knicks also had a balanced scoring attack getting contributions from Will McKay, Cole Duffett, Ethan Fleming, and Ben Svendsen.  Justin Murphy picked up a great assist late in the fourth quarter to bring the Knicks within a basket but that was as close as they would get.  Nick Polimeno and Daedon Bere also contributed with strong games at both ends of the floor.

The Suns played their best defensive game of the season in beating a great Knicks

team on Saturday. Damien Hadden and Cody Mercuri had their best games playing

solid defense and forcing turnovers. Max Tyler, Robert Cortes and Gavin Thomasett

grabbed a bunch of second half rebounds helping to hold a potent Knicks team to six

second half points. Joey Pazyra and Doug Renna each scored a basket early in the second half to help spark a ten point third quarter. Brady Eagan capped off the third quarter with four points, two of which he scored from the corner as he was being fouled. Logan Frost made a couple of key steals in the fourth quarter helping to keep the Suns ahead. The Knicks made it a one point game with a fourth quarter basket. Sam White was fouled with 20 seconds left in the game. He made a clutch free throw, the last of his six points, to seal the victory.

Sixers 24 – T-wolves 14

A valiant effort fell short in the second half as the T-Wolves were defeated by the Sixers 26-14.  The T-Wolves only trailed by 2 at halftime behind some great shots by Luke Maresca (2pts), Derek Wilkinson (2pts) and Jack Panilaitis (2pts).  The score stayed close behind solid team defense by Kyle Breen and Johnny Norwood.  Great efforts by Abhi Lingareddy, Brandon Wood and Domenic Valway (8pts) down in the paint and Joey Arsenault at the guard position kept the battle close until the hot shooting Sixers pulled away in the end.

The Sixers played a solid game this week.  Michael Kelly was the high scorer for the Sixers with 7 baskets.  Dan Fleming, Adam Favreau, Corey Butler and Drew Timmons all contributed on the offensive front.  Cole Kimtis, Dhruv Kaushal and Kyle Adams played relentless defense in the center and the down low to keep the T-wolves from catching up offensively.  All the players were concentrating on the rebounds both offensively and defensively, giving them more shots off the boards and more turn overs.

Pistons 18  Bucks 13

The Pistons used a total team effort to defeat a tough Bucks squad 18 – 13.  Josh Engleken had a breakout performance with four points and three rebounds.  Logan Gallagher scored four points and contributed great leadership on the court.  Cam Cimmino chipped in two points and great defense while Kalu Olu made great passes all day in addition to scoring eight points.  Mark Olu and Dylan Crowley each got to the free throw line with great work under the basket.  Will McFadyen and Logan Texiera both had critical steals leading to breakaway attempts at the hoop.  Jason Barnes played tough defense to spark the team to the comeback win.

Intermediate Recaps

Bobcats 27  Eagles 26

For the second week in a row the Bobcats were involved in a close one point game, this time coming out on the winning end. Going toe to toe with a well-balanced Eagles team for four quarters the team pulled it out with under a minute left.

Akhil Bagul and Nolan Higgins (4 points total) each put in 2 key points in the final minute to seal the victory by fighting for rebounds and following their shots. Something their coaches have preached all season. Leading the team’s scoring and fighting hard all game Matty McLaughlin put in 9 points, assisted by Kevin Carta, Matt Boudreau, and Ryan Nickerson, including a clutch foul shot to keep the game close. Close behind in scoring was Robert Page with 7 points who dominated underneath to toss up second, and third chances as the clock wound down. Center Leo Frisella drove hard down the lane and added in 5 points, and remained a tough physical presence to corral multiple inbound passes from McLaughlin. Defensively Nick Borges and Daniel Derosa pestered the very fast Eagles’ players helping to turn the ball back over for more offensive chances. Bagul made a game saving block with under 10 seconds left as the Eagles drove for a winning basket, turning the ball over to the ‘Cats to close out the victory.

Eagles Coach-

The Eagles started slow but then picked things up in the second half, playing outstanding defense and storming back to take the lead only to lose it in the last minute and come up a point short in the end.  Aaron Whitehouse led the Eagles with 13 points, including a nice three.  Nick Catizone scored five, Jeff D'Entremont four, Nick Chinaapi two, and Evan McCarthy and Elijah McTiernan one each.  Alex Kelleher and Justin Brown played great defense and set nice picks to open lanes.

 Raptors 31 - Celtics 25

In their second meeting of the season, the Raptors were well-challenged by a much-improved Celtics team.  Both teams were short players and each team had only 1 substitute player for the game.  Offensively, the Raptors had the following points scored by Scott Mazzapica (3 pts), Hayden Brown (5 pts), Mason Brown (9 pts), Chris Chiccarelli (4 pts) and high-scorer of the game was Kyle Crowley with 12 points. Defensively, all Raptors played well especially Jason Molea, Chris Chiccarelli, Kyle Crowley, Scott Mazzapica, Hayden Brown & Mason Brown.  The game stayed very close throughout and the Raptors had to play carefully when late in the second quarter, Scott Mazzapica had to be taken out of the game due to an injury.  It was an exciting game throughout, but in the end the Raptors came out on top. 

Celtics Coach

The Celtics pulled within 2 points in the fourth quarter to nearly upset the raptors but were unable to take the lead.  David Scarpa led Celtic scoring with a season high 12 points. Derek Chronis had a strong game playing guard and forward, contributing 9 points. Dave Gammons, Jimmy Strickler and Jeff Moore each had 2 points and John Zurawski forced numerous turnovers and steals.

Hornets – 25   Jazz – 23

 The Jazz played a hard game against the Hornets but came up short in the end.

With two team members having minor injuries the Jazz team just couldn’t get to the basket quick enough.  Playing strong in their forward positions were Richard Aronson and Johnathan Melanson.

Shooting Guard Jacob Cofer was quick down the court and played great defensively while Benjamin Connors stayed strong on offense as team Center. 

Bucks 42  Sonics 24

The TBBL Intermediate Bucks rolled to their 9th straight win by outlasting a tough Sonics team and coming away with a 42-24  Win. Offensively the Bucks were led by Jonathan Fuller (14 points), Jared Ward (8 points), &  Kevin Cooke (8points).  Rounding out the Bucks scoring were Patrick Wild (10 points), John Henry Dvorak & Derek Steinbrecher, Kyle Strong with one basket each.   Contributing to the Bucks offensive attack were Jared Ward, who had 4  offensive rebounds and Derek Steinbrecher and Kevin Cooke whose guard play created many of the Bucks scoring chances.  Defensively, Paddock Wild & Jonathan Fuller were beasts on the defensive boards hauling in a combined 18 rebounds, while Raymond Humphrey, Kyle Strong & Kevin Cooke combined for 9 steals. The Bucks face the Celtics team next week and are looking forward to the test.

Sonics Coach-

The Sonics played strong again with a short bench against the Bucks.  Robbie Gilligan was outstanding protecting the net and stopping the rebounds! Sam Fortier played excellent defense along with Brandon Coolidge and both put points on the board.  Patrick Hunt scored his first 3 pointer this season and hustled during the whole game.  Mike Dinapoli had 6 points and some great passes.  Mike Butler continued his scoring streak with 11 points!  Both the Sonics and the Bucks played hard. 

Junior Division Summaries

76ers 23, Mavericks 19

The 76ers played a great all around hard fought game winning by a score of 23-19. 76ers played  terrific defense starting with Rich Cappiello, Arya Mehrabani, Dominic Cohen and Adam Hines. The 76ers also displayed good passing, dribbling and rebounding skills throughout the entire game against a strong opponent. 76ers scoring finished with Nick Cappiello (6pts), Adam Hines (6pts.), Jon Mahoney (5pts.), Paul Manzi (4pts.), and Adam Trudeau (2pt).

The Mavericks suffered their first loss of the season against the 76ers.  Evan Wood, Steven Nickerson, Chris Zdinak, Derek Leffler, Shawn Manson and Andrew Enringis all contributed points.    Jared Gray, Anthony Miano and Kyle Marrocco all had key defensive plays.  Despite losing, the Mavs played a great team game!

Wizards 26 Clippers 21

The Wizards played a tough defensive Clipper's team and squeaked out a 26-21 win. Leading the Wizards in an outstanding offensive performance was Travis Macmurdo with 20 points. Also scoring for the Wizards were Ryan Meuse, Harrison Grayzyk and Nicholas Brooks each contributing with 2 points. Dominating the offensive backboards and running their lanes was Noah Lamonica, Diego Monteiro and  William Andella.  Setting great picks and showing very good passing skills at the point guard position were Ryan Hunt and Ryan Bennett. 

The Clippers combined all the elements of great team play into Saturday’s game against the Wizards. They passed the ball well - superbly in stretches, they hustled all over the court, especially on defense, and they demonstrated a will-to-win attitude that almost carried them past the Wizards on Saturday. But despite their best overall effort to date, the Wizards overpowered the Clippers, 26-21.

It is obvious watching the Clippers that they enjoy playing together as a team. The scoring sheet demonstrates this as six different players contributed to the 21 points scored in Saturday’s game. Joshua Sughrue led the Clipper’s scoring with 8 points, while Matthew Brennan and Richard Kramer each added 4 points of their own. Andrew Ferreira and Alex Karnell both added single baskets and Owen Gilligan sank a 4th quarter free throw for a single point.

Beyond the scoring sheet, they showed that they know what it means to be a part of the Clippers. Alex Karnell, despite hurting his left knee, helped keep the Wizards close by turning in his best defensive effort of the season.  He played a smothering defense and grabbed the ball seemingly every time it came near him. Patrick Dunn also played through pain after taking a hard foul to show off his rebounding, passing, and ball handling skills.

The Wizards were kept on their toes by Matthew Brennan and Richard Kramer as they pushed the ball towards the net, while Andrew Ferreira and Joshua Sughrue showed off their superb ball handling abilities by dribbling around defenders, passing to open teammates, and taking good, quality shots. Matt Pelletier was instrumental in keeping the game close with his hustle and intelligent play at both ends of the floor.

Warriors over the Eagles

The Warriors played one of their best games of the season against one of the top teams in the league. The Scoring was spread out across the board. Leading the way for the Warriors was Derek Wallace with (11pts), followed by Zack Lalonde, and Jason Richardson both with (6pts). Tyler Strong demonstrated excellent passing and ball handeling skills. The whole team showed great hustle up and down the floor. Mike Bankowski missed a few tuff shots and played solid defense down the stretch. Also scoring for the Warriors were Jack Kenneally, Nick Stephens and Nate Wilkinson all with (4pts).

Despite a great effort the Eagles were unable to overcome the offense of the Warriors.   The Eagles were lead in scoring by Andrew Froio with 4 points. James Reardon had 3 points and Nick Perriera and Ryan Joyce each scored two points.   The defensive stars of the game were Matt Ferriero and Patrick Killion.   Matt Fronduto had several key rebounds on the offensive and defensive boards.   Jacob Bragg and Nate Jones played well on both sides of the ball.

Cavs 26  Spurs 22

 The Junior Cavs pulled out a wild, exciting overtime win again a very good Spurs team.  Xavier MacShane led the team scoring with 13 pts.  Other key offensive scoring was turned in by Patrick Letournear 4 pts, William Mance 3 pts, Savion Piche 2 pts, and Quinn McCarthy 2 points.  Great defensive efforts were turned in by Ryan Smith and Ryan Anderson

In an exciting over time game the Cavs out lasted the Spurs for the Victory. With the game coming to an end and the Spurs down a basket Jared Doyle picked a great time to score his first basket of the season and send the game to overtime. Leading the Spurs in scoring for the game was Brandon Melo with 8 points and Justyn Lester with 4. With the rest of the scoring being spread around by Jake Winter, Ryan Briley, Sean Phaneuf and Logan Singleton all having 2. Even in the lose the boys played a great game and were tough on the boards with key rebounds by Jack Bieren, Michael Kelleher and Josh Winter.