TBBL had a busy weekend of basketball before the Christmas break across all levels.
Cadet Division (Grades 2-3)
Bucks defeated the T-wolves
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The Cadet Bucks faced a very talented and well coached T-Wolves team as they were looking to continue their winning ways at the season’s midpoint. The Bucks worked very hard throughout the week and the preparation showed as they played their most complete game of the season.
The Bucks received solid contributions up and down their lineup today. Dylan Paulding (6 points) led the team in scoring with Brian Carleton (5), Ryan Murphy (4), Noah Lehouillier (4), Tristen Leslie (2), Scott Miller (2) and Brendan Owens (2) rounding out the scoring. Aiden Cram and William Humphries also were instrumental in the victory with solid defense and rebounding throughout the entire game.
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Paulding and Carleton were very active on the defensive side of the ball playing lock down defense, especially in the second half! Leslie, Miller and Owens stood out for their impressive passing skills and rebounding from the forward positions. Lehouillier and Murphy provided tough defense and rebounding from the center positions throughout the entire game. A great game overall for the entire Bucks team after an excellent week of practice!
The T-Wolves battled hard against the mighty Bucks but came up on the short end of this one. After keeping it close in the first half, led in scoring by Ian Maresca (8pts) and Edward Galante (2pts) the ball just refused to fall through the hoop in the second half. Chandler Dubay and Jason Morris dribbled the ball well and the scorers were set up by excellent assists by David Forgione and Noah Healey. Key rebounds throughout the game were attained by Kodie Legrand and Colin Hansbury. Overall, the team played tough team defense to stay close to the Bucks, demonstrated by great steals and numerous blocks, especially by Evan Galanis.
Rockets 16 – Pacers 6
In what was a much closer game than the score indicated, the Rockets took home a good win against the young up and coming and constantly improving Pacers. The Rockets displayed excellent passing skills on this day and did a great job moving the ball around to one another and making the extra pass! Excellent ball handling skills were shown by Adam Ellegood and Tim Panilaitis while exceptional passing was made by Seamus Naughton, Jimmy Holmes, and Panilaitis. Shane Eximhomme, Brandon Waddell did an outstanding job of rebounding while Shane played tremendous defense alongside Daniel Sullivan and Seamus Naughton. Stepping up and playing very good offense today was Colin Buchanan who had several good shots at the basket that came up just short. Liam Kelly had a very good game on offense dribbling to the basket and making two very good shots along with Brandon Waddell who had several baskets inside the lane. Offensively, the Rockets were led by Waddell’s six points along with four points each for Kelly and Exilhomme while Sullivan chipped in with two points.
The Pacers showed real heart and determination throughout the game and were led in scoring by Billy Burris, Ryan Thompson and Jack Rennell. Thompson’s overall game was superb! Defensively all over the ball and coming up with several steals were Drew Rennell, Drew Nestor and Ian Starr. Just after halftime, the Pacers put on an offensive surge which was led by Alex Grove and Cam Kearney. Kearney displayed excellent ball control and had some close shots that just fell out. An overall good effort for the Pacers who continue to improve each week.
Sixers defeated the Knicks
In an exciting back and forth battle, the Knicks lost a close contest to the 76ers on Saturday. In what was a turned into a defensive struggle, Tyler Trodden, Joey Bourgea and Santino D’Ippolito provided strong defensive efforts from the guard position and each contributed a number of steals. Scott Lightburn also had a strong showing on the defensive end by grabbing several rebounds. Matt Stadtman and Seamus MacDonald chipped in with some strong passing and good team defense . The Knicks offense was led by Blake Ryder and Quinn Brown, both of who scored key baskets that put the Knicks in the lead late in the game. Jayden Donaher also has his strongest game of the season by throwing a number of great passes, grabbing rebounds and playing tremendous defense. But, in the end the Knicks came up just a bit short.
Thunder defeated the Celtics
The Thunder had a strong 2nd half to capture the victory over the Celtics. The Thunder trailed 11-10 before capturing the lead and holding on for the win. Matthew Duggan displayed strong team spirit by coming to support his team even though he was unable to play due to an ankle injury. Paul Allen and Cameron Heichman played tenacious defense throughout the game helping to slow the tough Celtics offense. Nicholas Alvarado and Jason Forbes helped spark the 2nd half run for the Thunder with crisp passing finding teammates for open shots and Bobby Branchaud had several great passes and led the team in assists. The scoring attack was lead by Connor Griffin with 12, Brady McHugh added 8, Bobby Branchaud and Andre Monteiro each had 2.
The Celtics suffered a tough loss at the hands of the very talented and veteran Thunder. Led by Alexander Arbogast’s six points, the C’s held a slim one point lead into the middle of the third quarter. But the Thunder took over from there. Matthew Flynn littered the stat sheet once again with four points, six rebounds and an assist. Daniel Franklin scored his first point of the season. Noah Williams and Romyn Lorick were monsters pulling in rebounds. Cade Barron and Adam Saad contributed strong defensive efforts. Dominic Johnson provided an infectious energy that was a boost to the team.
Pistons defeat the Raptors
The Pistons came out on top against the Raptors this week. The Pistons had a great offensive effort with a lot of players in the mix; Shea Moynihan (2pts), Mathew Ramsey (6pts), Cooper LeMieux (2pts), and Tim Bradley (4 pts) all put points on the board for the Pistons. Vincent Marchelletta and Aaron Ramsey showed great ball handling skills as Piston guards and Jared Krueger and Simon Dunham had some great defensive plays with Simon having several key steals. The whole team improved their rebounding skills both offensively and defensively which was a key component of their win.
It was another tough Saturday for the Raptors as the basketball would just not fall in the hoop. While the Raptors fired away and took many good shots, the ball just would not fall in for them. As the coaches continued to tell the players to hang in there and keep shooting they will start to fall in. The Raptors were led in scoring by Jason Svendsen and Anthony Naghibi. Eric Bellavia, Luke Montejo and Connor Broderick all played the low post on defense and had some nice defensive rebounds. Justin Magee, Daniel Richardson and Zachary Hayes contributed in the offensive by passing the ball for scoring chances. The Raptors continue to work hard in practice and games and look to move forward in search for their first victory.
Suns 15 – Hawks 7
The Suns shined against the Hawks on Saturday. The Hawks delivered a smothering defense from the first to the final whistle. The Suns delivered a well-rounded performance from the whole team which came up with 8 steals, 3 blocks, and plenty of offensive rebounding by Alex Dellorusso, Jake Ryan, Nicholas Gonzalez, and Robbie Beggan. Jonah Bennett scored his best basket of the season. Anthony Burgess & Ben Piccolo landed several baskets and key Blocks, as well. Noah Rizzo delivered 9 clutch points. Ryan Mackeen had his best defensive game yet.
The Hawks came out passing and moving the ball with William Eskenas driving to the hoop, getting fouled and completing the 3 point play. Michael Hill played some stellar defense as well and just missing a nice shot from the outside. Michael Carlson made a nice steal and converted that into a basket. Jack Baron was a force with solid rebounding and passing. Kyle Cummings was fouled driving to the basket and made one out of two foul shots. Ryan Feudo had 2 steals and quick passes to transition into an assist. Nicholas Ingersoll made several inbounds passes to open players to create solid shots for the Hawks. Johnny Baker was outstanding with his ball handling and scoring a basket in the great effort. A.J. Russo played stellar defense in the effort and did a great job tying up his opponent for a jump ball. Aidan MacDonald continues to make nice shots and play great defense.
Junior Division (Grades 4-5)
Cavs 18 – Spurs 4
Today’s matchup between the Spurs and the Cavs would be a tough hard fought loss for the Spurs. The Spurs would come out and score first on a basket by Joshua Linnehan in the 1st quarter but beyond that it would be all Cavs. We would see superb defensive work by Daedon Bere and Brady Litton both pulling in multiple rebounds. There were outstanding offensive plays attempted by Kyle Breen who would create his own plays on the court with Trevor Trodden .They worked to get the ball in deep and take shots but they all came up a little short. Other offensive standouts were Ryan Rosenberg who got in foul trouble early on with his hardnosed playing. Matthew Woods and Samuel Hines would combine their efforts for some nice passing and had plays made defensively. We would also see the rare basket scored for the Spurs by the opposing team.
The Cavs played strong team defense getting contributions from Tyler Leeds, Ddhruv Kaushal , Jason Barnes, Logan Frost, Joey Arsenault, and Justin Charlton. The offensive charge for the Cavs was led by Shayne Macdonald and Joshua Astuti each scoring multiple baskets paving the way for a well-deserved victory.
Sixers 27 – Lakers 25
In a close game from beginning to end, the Sixers came away with the win in a hard fought battle against a tough Lakers team. Leading the Sixers in scoring was Eric Ndungo with 13 points and 2 steals, Nik Smith added 8 points, with Damien Hadden, Paul Spanos, and Logan Reinhard contributing two points each. Strong rebounding both offensively and defensively by Cole Kimtis, Jonathan Spanos, Robert Ryan and Nicholas Danielson, who also had a steal kept the Lakers from scoring and keeping this game close.
The Lakers got off to a fast start with Mike Wilson hitting two jump shots for 4 of his 8 points. The Lakers kept up the offensive attack with great rebounding by Robert Cortes (6 pts). Nick Polimeno with good man-to-man coverage and rebounding. Lee Ghannam using quick hands for a couple of steals.
Jack Stadtman and Nick Wilson both played extremely well with loose ball rebounding and good passing to move the ball up the court. Mihir Bagul (4 pts) and Sean Fahey (7 pts) kept the offense going with clutch shooting and passing but it was not enough to hold off the scrappy Sixers team.
Wizards 26 – Celtics 21
The Wizards and Celtics had an exciting game with 2 evenly matched teams that took overtime to decide the winner. The Wizards played the 1st half with some great offensive looks but couldn’t get the ball to drop consistently and fell behind 13-7. Jason Donaher had 5 points in the 1st half to keep the Wizards in the game and 9 points overall. The Wizards stepped up their defense in the 2nd half with contributions from Connor McFadyn, Felix Navarette, Colin Goggins and David Miller who also added 2 points on offense. The Wizards cut into the Celtics lead in the 2nd half with 3 points from Ethan Exilhomme and 6 points from Logan Teixiera. Both teams fought to the end of regulation but neither team could pull ahead and the game was sent to overtime. Ethan Exilhomme stepped up on offense and scored 6 points in overtime to finally pull ahead of the Celtics.
While the Celtics held the lead most of the game, they were not able to hold off the Wizard who would tie it in regulation and eventually win the game in overtime. Leading the Celtics in scoring was Derek Munroe with 9 points followed by Liam Macdonald with 4, Cameron Loder with 4 Brady Johnson with 3 and Cameron Lamoureux with 2. Aiden Grogan and Logan Auth both played an excellent game on both sides of the ball.
Warriors 23 – Mavs 16
The Mavs got off to a fast start Saturday against a hot shooting Warriors team but ended up falling short 23 – 16. Leading the way on offense for the Mavs were Devon Stoddard 5pts, Mark Olu 3 pts, and Josh Engelken, Cullain Johnson, Paul Tower, and Henry Pestana all had one basket each. Playing great defense for the Mavs were Derek Wilkinson and Jordan Mackenzie.
Intermediate Division (Grades 6-7)
Hornets 41 – Wizards 32
The Wizards played another fantastic game against a good opponent keeping the pressure up on offense and holding strong on defense the entire game. The Wizards were dominant on rebounding on offense, extending scoring opportunities and on defense limiting the Hornets time of possession. Rebounding leaders started with John Murphy, Nick Cappiello, Rich Cappiello and Sean McMahon. The Wizards held their ground on defense which was led by Matt Perron, Alec Sokol, Owen Gilligan, Xavier McShane and Dominic Cohen who caused multiple turn overs and cut down the amount of scoring opportunities for the Hornets. Unfortunately after falling behind early in the second quarter the Wizards were not able to come back and their comeback fell short by the score of 41-32. All players showed tremendous heart and played great as a team.
Jazz 35 – Bobcats 30
The Jazz jumped out to a big lead Saturday against a talented Bobcats team that just kept coming back. Scoring for the Jazz, Josh Donaher with 10 points, Nick Stephens who ripped down over 12 rebounds had 9 points, Nate Wilkinson 6 points, both Ryan Meuse and Shawn Manson had 3 points, Jack Kenneally who played great defense added 2 points. Matt Ferreira, Matt Pelletier, and Mike Bankowski all had great shot attempts and showed great hustle to help preserve the win.
Down by 15 at the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats staged a spirited rally in the fourth, but ran out of time against a tough Jazz team. Andrew Froio led the scoring for the Bobcats with 10 points, while Jon Mahoney (nine), Jared Doyle (six) and Matt Fronduto (five) tallied as well. Billy Chase, Nick Brooks, Sean Mackenzie, Evan Crowley and Tyler Strong joined the entire Bobcats squad in playing aggressive defense down the stretch, which resulted in a number of turnovers and subsequent scoring opportunities.
Suns 47 – Celtics 25
The Suns played a great all-around game of offense and defense. The defense for the Suns was a dominating force led by Ryan Bennett and Jack O'Neill with steals and rebounds. The Suns were led by Sean Whelton with 11 points, Christopher Zdinak with 10 points, William Andella with 8 points, Phadungdet Kaeokit with 6 points, Matthew Dugan and Harrison Graczyk both with 4 points, and Anthony Miano and William Mance each with 2 points.
Heat 50 – Celtics 21
The Heat beat the Celtics on Sunday afternoon by a score of 50 to 21. The Heat played their strongest game of the season, both offensively and defensively, with everyone contributing on both ends of the court. The top stars of the game for the Heat were Steven Nickerson (12 points and 9 rebounds), Andrew Maresca (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals), and Daryl Quek (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals). James Reardon also put together a great game with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals. Brian Ndungo and Jared Gray each added 6 points to help the Heat offensively while Ian Tacey and Diego Monteiro put in outstanding defensive performances.
Hornets 44 – Bucks 23
In a wire to wire dominating performance, the Hornets beat the Bucks 44-23. Doing all the scoring for the Bucks were Jake Dillon with 8, Riley Auth with 6, Josh Winter with 5 and Jason Richardson with 4 points. Giving it their best effort on the defensive end of the floor were Jake Winter, Patrick Killion, Patrick Rosemond, Michael Kelleher, and Kyle Braciska.
Senior Division (Grades 8-9)
Sixers 52 –Rockets 43
The Sixers played another great game of team basketball, sharing the ball and making sure everyone had scoring opportunities. All nine players present scored, with Bryan Lelos (16 points) and Nick Zullo (12 points) leading the way. Nick Catizone and Elijah McTiernan both scored 7, while Pat Carelton, Nick Chinappi, Robbie Gilligan, Raymond Humphrey, and Joanthan Raschella each netted 2.
Hornets 62 – T-Wolves 50
T-Wolves had game tied all the thru half time and into 6th qtr. Josh Tirrell was top scorer with over 12 baskets. T-Wolves played well, good passes but need to work on defense. Boys did well.
The Senior Hornets struggled early against the Timberwolves, and could do nothing right. Mismatched lineups, a late day game, and minimal practice time, led to the team clearly being out of synch. Daniel DeRosa (4 points) finally woke the team up with an acrobatic basket, drawing the foul and completing a three point play. From there the Hornets took charge and never looked back. Leading the Hornets on the scoreboard was Matty McLaughlin who dropped in a team season high 18 points, scoring and drawing fouls each time on the floor. Center Ben Connors followed with 17 points, and was unstoppable beyond the arch putting in 3 consecutive 3 point shots. Defensive stops by Nolan Higgins and Derek Steinbrecher assisted Brendan Murray’s 8 points, coming off of multiple breakaways. Dominant on the boards, Robert Page rebounded to add 7 points to the team’s total, and Leo Frisella (6 points) used his power to drive the lane for 3 points, and he buried a long range 3 pointers. Rounding out the Hornets’ scoring was Nick Borges (2 points) who beat his defender for a nice outside swish. A complete team effort to capture a well-deserved win.
Magic 46 – Bucks 38
Travel
TBBL 7th Grade Blue
CJ Zemetres missed an awesome game as his team mates whaled the Winthrop Vikings, 47 to 18, on Saturday. Derek Shumaker sailed through a sea of blue shirts while Michael Rosenberg rode the waves, grabbed a rebound, and scored the first basket. Connor Nugent breezed through with 12 points, getting basket after basket. Brandon Melo had perfect lay ups and a good YMCA defense. Matt Cahill played the edge and grabbed the ball without going out of bounds, pushed it up the court and scored a basket. David Miller had the wind at his back with his strong, accurate passes. Vinnie Hulme was grounded but controlled the slide and got up to get the ball back. Tony Mannetta worked the ropes by grabbing rebound after rebound. Joe Balboni refused to let the other team pirate the ball away from him despite their best efforts.
Not a team to rest, they got up bright and early the Sunday morning to take on Billerica. They won the first game 44 – 43. Brandon Melo played the part of Scrooge, refusing to let Billerica up the court, using his fast feet to keep them moving. Vinnie Hulme was like an elf scrambling for the ball each time they tried to get control, even when he was double teamed. Tony Mannetta was like the abominable snowman blocking their attempts at the basket. Derek Schumaker yelled “Mike, Mike, Mike!” just like that camel on the commercial and was not afraid to dive for the ball if necessary. Michael Rosenberg sunk the ball into the basket like Santa going down the chimney. Joe Balboni must have had some magic in that old jersey as he bounce passed the ball under the Billerica player’s legs. Casey Decost had legs like Rudolph as he flew around to get the rebounds. Connor Nugent shown like a star atop the tree as he again led the team by scoring 8 points.
Without skipping a beat, the team immediately challenged a larger Billerica team that outnumbered us in players and coaches. Connor Nugent started the game off by tipping the ball out of bounds, so he got a second chance (it is almost Christmas after all). Michael Rosenberg gifted the team with the first basket. Vinnie Hulme stole the ball like the Grinch at Cindy Lou’s house. Joe Balboni, a/k/a Dasher, got the ball up the court time and again. He even took a dive and kept going despite his injury. Tony Mannetta, wearing socks that not only matched his uniform, but were the color of candy canes, was able to win game after game of hot potato with Billerica’s players. Derek Schumaker did not have any cheer when he gave the other team his angry face as he took the ball from them. (Looks like he’ll be getting coal this year.) Coach Darren stroked his beard when the team failed to follow directions, while Coach Mike tipped his hat. Brandon Melo’s run up the court was more intense than Yukon Cornelius mining for peppermint. Connor Nugent, Brandon Melo, Vincent Hulme, and Derek Schumaker entertained us on defense with their version of the Nutcracker Suite with their synchronized shuffles, hands up, knees bent. Casey DeCost pivoted like Frosty and slid up the court with the ball. Brandon Melo was like an elf compared to the Billerica players who just had to hold the ball above his head to keep it from him.
TBBL 6th Grade Travel White team vs Wakefield White
The 6th Grade White team continued their undefeated streak 4-0 in Merrimack Valley Youth Basketball League. Tewksbury commanded the court from the beginning of the game defeating Wakefield 57-27. Tewksbury dominated the game both offensively and defensively, keeping Wakefield scoreless through most of the first half.
Offensively Tewksbury was led by Aiden Doherty (18), Thomas Barinelli (8), Joey Branchaud (8), Anthony DiSanto (6), Sean Phaneuf (5), Evan Mantel (4), Santino Garofalo (4), and Jason Martineau (4). Every player on the team contributed offensively to today’s win.
Defensively Tewkbury dominated the court. Wakefield couldn’t break through the half court press set up by Sean Phaneuf, Joe Branchaud, Aiden Doherty, Thomas Barinelli and Evan Mantel. Forwards Anthony DiSanto and Jason Martineau were relentless in several key plays which shut down the Wakefield offense resulting in turnovers. Also key to the Tewksbury defense are centers Santino Garofalo and Robert Evangelista, both played aggressively under the net.
The White team continues to improve week after week with their play making. The team will next take on Billerica White on 1/4/14 after the holiday break.
TBBL 6th Grade Travel White team vs Methuen
Tewksbury 6th Grade White continued its undefeated MVL season Saturday with a 36-17 pounding over Methuen. Tewksbury won the opening tip off and never looked back as the 6th graders went on a 12-0 run to start the game. By halftime Tewksbury had a 21-6 lead behind the dominating play of Aiden Doherty (12 pts) and Santino Garofalo (4 pts). Max Cummings and Evan Mantel came alive in the second half by crashing the boards and blocking shots to keep Methuen in check. Jason Martineau (2 pts) and Robert Evangelista (3 pts) played monster games on defense by stealing passes, rebounding and out-toughing an aggressive Methuen team. Rounding out the scoring were Colby Ward and Thomas Barinelli with 4 pts each, Sean Phaneuf with 3 pts., Anthony DeSanto and Joey Branchaud with 2 pts.each
TBBL 6th Grade Travel Red
Tewksbury 6 Red had a busy weekend with three consecutive games. The results were mixed as 6 Red sandwiched a win between two losses. Friday night 6 Red travelled to Tyngsboro and dropped a heart breaker 32-29 in a thrilling game. 6 Red struggled in the first half with poor shooting and found itself down by 8 at halftime. The team came out determined in the second half and battled back to within 2 points but could not get over the hump. The scoring came from Richie Markwarth (6 pts), Greg Sencabaugh (5 pts), Garrett Kingston, Shane Aylward, and Thomas Bradley (4 pts each), Chris Antonelli, Nolan Timmons and Paul Manzi (2 pts each).
On Saturday morning, 6 Red traveled to Stoneham and took out their frustrations. In a very rough and tumble game, 6 Red jumped to an early lead and never looked back on the way to a 47-31 victory. Kingston led all scorers in this one with 14 points followed by Bradley with 10. The remainder of the offense came from Aylward, Timmons and Manzi (4 pts each), Markwarth (3 pts), Nicky Iannacci (2 pts), and Sencabaugh and Antonelli with 1 point each. But the best news of the day was the return of Colby Brown who added 4 points in his season debut.
On Sunday morning, 6 Red hosted undefeated Methuen and battled them hard throughout the first half with the teams matching baskets most of the way, but Methuen went on a late run to take a 7 point lead at the break. 6 Red then went ice cold with its first second-half point coming 8 minutes in. By that time, it was clear that 6 Red's legs were spent from the busy weekend and the game spiraled out of control with Methuen leaving with a 51-29 victory. Offensively, it was Kingston and Bradley leading the way with 6 points, followed by Timmons (4 pts), Markwarth , Iannacci and Sencabaugh (3 pts each), and Brown and Antonelli rounding out the scoring with 2 points each. Tyler Keough played tough defensively.
When the dust settled, 6 Red was left with a 4-2 record in league action (10-4 overall) heading into the Holiday break.
Tewksbury White holds on to beat the undefeated Billerica White
Tewksbury White played great defense against Billerica White to hold them to a season low 26 points. The press put alot of pressure on Billerica and the scored 10 points off the turnovers. Travis Mcmurdo led the team with 10 points. Joe Schifano added 5 points. Zach Tyler added 4 points along with 4 assists. Kyle Rossetti Chad Boshetti and Jared Rizzo added 3 each. They hit the boards hard with 21 rebounds between the 3 of them. Riley Frost had a couple of key assists and rebounds. Nick Larson had 2 steals along with 2 rebounds. Kevin Carrol added 2 points and Dalton Bere added a free throw and put alot of pressure on Billerica with his speed on the press Its was a great win with a final score of 35 to 26.
