Cadet Division

T-Wolves over Thunder

The T-Wolves (10-1) continued to improve their record their by winning a fast paced game on the long Wynn court Saturday against the hardworking Thunder; the final score was 31-16.  The game was close through the second quarter until the T-Wolves turned up the defense to pull away in the second half.  The scoring was led by Luke Maresca (13pts), Ian Maresca (10pts), Joey Arsenault (4pts), Brandon Wood (2pts), and Abhi Ligareddy (2pts).  Eddie Galante, Derek Wilkinson and Johnny Norwood each had great shot attempts and excellent rebounds.  The team defense was strong, causing many turnovers throughout the game.  

The early morning start proved to be problematic for the Thunder falling behind from the opening tip against the very talented T’Wolves team.  The effort and energy picked up as the game went on and after the slow start it was a very competitive game but the Thunder were not able to overcome the early deficit.

Nicholas Alvarado, Sam Hines and Taylor Pendleton did a great job on the boards, particularly on the offensive glass in the 2^nd half.  The defense was anchored once again by Bobby Branchaud’s excellent on the ball defense with quality supporting contributions from Joshua Maher and Jonathan Spanos in the paint.  The offense played well against the stifling T’Wolves defense with Connor Griffin and Aiden Trulli leading the way with 6 points each and Brady McHugh adding 4. 

Pistons over Knicks

The Pistons saved their best game for last with six of the seven players scoring points.  Dylan Crowley got the Pistons off to a fast start with a baseline jumper and Nicholas DiCioccio scored four of his six points in the first quarter.  Will McFadyen had the hot hand with 12 points and also chipped in with three assists.  Shea Moynihan closed a great first half when he was fouled in the act of shooting and sank a free throw for his first point of the season.  Mark Olu was the scoring star in the second half finishing with eight points on a series of jumpers in the lane.  Josh Engleken put back one of his eight rebounds for a basket.  Simon Dunham played tough defense and prevented the Knicks from getting open shots.  The Pistons showed great effort and demonstrated tremendous passing from beginning to end in closing the season out strong.

BUCKS OVER SIXERS 

The Cadet Bucks finished off a very strong season with one of their most impressive wins against the 76ers . The Bucks completed their season by winning their final 8 games in a row to compile a final record of 9-3. The Bucks utilized strong defense and an effective ball moving offense to gain the win against a very tough 76’ers team. 

The Bucks had even scoring throughout the entire lineup against the 76ers. David Miller, Aiden Crogan and Trent Cutroneo each tallied 8 points with Tristen Leslie adding 4 points and William Humphries contributed 2 points of his own. Humphries scored his first 2 points of the season with an impressive attempt from just inside the free throw line and followed his shot to gain the rebound and put back for the score. Miller, Crogan and Cutroneo each displayed impressive skills with strong jump shooting to go along with tough defense with multiple blocked shots and rebounding. 

Brian Carleton and Dylan Paulding ran the effective offense through strong point guard play to go along with strong defensive. Carleton and Paulding continuously stopped the opposing guards at the top of the key creating tough entry passes as well as an impressive number of steals of their own. Ryan Murphy also played effective minutes from the center position.

Travel Recaps 

Tewksbury 5th Grade White Drops 2

 Tewksbury 5th Grade White lost both of its games this past weekend.  Westford Maroon came to town on Saturday and laid a 50-29 beating on 5W.  In this game, 5W came out flat and got into a big hole early and the team just could not get into any kind of rhythm.  Overall it was a disappointing lackluster performance.  Chris Antonelli and Santino Garofalo led the scoring with 9 and 8 points respectively, followed by Max Cummings (6), Garrett Kingston (4) and Thomas Barinelli (2).  Nicky Iannacci and Evan Mantel turned up the heat on defense in the losing cause. 

 5W had no time to lick their wounds as Sunday brought the 16-1 Billerica Green team to Tewksbury.  But this time, 5W was up for the battle and put a good scare into Billerica Green before ultimately falling 33-26 in a very well-played game.  Battle is an appropriate word as this game proved to be a physical but clean affair.  5W would lose three players to injury - Brodie Tirrell, Iannacci and Mantel - and was forced to finish the game with a short bench.  The sharp shooting of Antonelli carried the offense as he drained 14 points.  Barinelli added 4 points while Kingston, Nolan Timmons, Garofalo and Tyler Keough added 2 points each.  Aidan Doherty was able to help out with his athleticism as this game was played at a hectic pace.  The losses drop 5W's record to 11-9 in conference and 15-10 overall.

 Tewksbury 6^th Grade Blue

Tewksbury Boys Travel 6^th Grade Blue had an exciting weekend. On February 16, 2013 they faced Lowell.  Sean Whelton’s investment in his new Adizero sneakers really paid off as he was the high scorer with 13 points, including one 3 pointer and the first basket of the game.    Derek Schumaker added another 3 pointer during the game and continued with aggressive defense techniques.  Casey DeCost rubbed his sneakers for luck, enabling him to set some great picks throughout the game.  Tony Mannetta had great passes and faked out the other team several times.  CJ Zemetres hogged the rebounds while Connor Nugent excelled at blocking Lowell from the net.   

Several jump balls were called when Michael Rosenberg refused to let go of the ball and Matthew Cahill did not allow the Lowell kids push him around despite their size.

Matthew Cahill (1), Michael Rosenberg (11), Derek Schumaker (14), CJ Zemetres (13) against Lowell.

 On Sunday, 6^th grade Blue topped Chelmsford 37 to 34 in a heated game with Malibu Ken as the referee.  Every player had at least one basket with Tony Mannetta leading the team with 8 points, including one left handed basket. CJ Zemetres played a strong offense and defense, making 5 points, stealing the ball, and making strong passes to his teammates. Matthew Cahill offensively got the ball up the court and stole it, made a U-Turn and pushed it up the court repeatedly.  

Connor Nugent played an aggressive defense by boxing out and grabbing the rebounds the entire game.  Michael Rosenberg took the lead in stealing the ball and calling plays to his teammates.  Francis Pino displayed both speed and stealth, grabbing the ball at the speed of light throughout the game.  David Miller had a few perfect layups even when surrounded by the other team.  Derek Schumaker again refused to give up the ball but this time he also displayed a belly ball technique he must have learned from the Globe Trotters.  Sean Whelton blocked Lowell from the basket with great speed. 

 Tewksbury 8^th Grade Blue

 Georgetown 68 - Tewksbury 46

 Tewksbury Blue faced the Eastern Basketball League leader Georgetown on Saturday. The game was fast-paced from the opening tip off. Tewksbury was short-handed due to injury and illness, but the Redmen gave it their all. Josh Tirrell (8 points, 5 rebounds), David Stein (2 points, 2 rebounds), and Brendan Murray (4 points) got the Redmen on the board early, but Georgetown held a 6 point lead halfway thru the 1H. Andrew Pacheco (12 points) had his best game of the season with some pretty drives to the hoop to keep the Redmen close, but the boys still trailed at halftime 31-21.

Georgetown’s speed, height, and excellent free throw shooting helped them expand their lead to 20 points as the Redmen had 2 more players go down with injuries in the 2H. Ethan Trudeau (4 points), Jon Fuller (4 points, 5 rebounds), and Matty McLaughlin (5 points, 3 steals) helped trim the deficit to 16 points, but Georgetown quickly expanded it back to 20 points. Bryan Lelos (4 points) and Connor Dane (2 points) scrambled to shut down Georgetown, but in the end the Redmen were over-matched and lost by a final score of 68-46.