As we all came out of February Vacation, TBBL action was as exciting as ever. On Saturday, Feb 22nd, All Star squads for each of our 4 in-town divisions squared off in front of packed crowds at the Ryan School. The day started off with a great game from our Cadet Division (2nd & 3rd graders), followed by 3 exciting games capped off with a 1-point game between our two Intermediate squads.
Cadet All Star Game
East 28 West 27
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The All Star day began with a tremendous game between the East (White) and West (Red) All Star teams! In a game that started out slow on the scoreboard with both teams working hard and feeling one another out the White Team took an early 1-0 lead. After strong periods by the games leading scorer Brady McHugh, the West took a 12 point lead only to be cut to 10 at the end of the fifth quarter on a buzzer beater by the East! The East came out on fire after that sixth period and carried play taking a one point lead behind the East’s leading scorer Brian Carleton. The final period was a back and forth affair with the East remaining on top and finishing with a thrilling 28-27 victory!
The East team was very evenly spread out on offense with nine of the fifteen players hitting the scoreboard and four players scoring four or more points in the game. Offensively the East was led by Brian Carleton with five points and was followed up by Timmy Bradley, Cooper Lemieux and Timmy Panilaitis who all scored four points each. Kodie Legrand dropped three big points for the East while being a force on the offense and defensive board as well. Scoring two points each for the East were Dylan Paulding, Alex Arborghast, Romyn Lorick and Ian Maresca.
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Showing exceptional ball handing skills on offense for the East were Billy Burris, Timmy Bradley, Timmy Panilaitis, and Ian Maresca while Maresca, Panilaitis, Carelton and Tristan Leslie did outstanding jobs passing the ball and getting it to open teammates for scores. Running the floor on offense for the East extremely well were Leslie and Shane Exilhomme! Timmy Lepore was very good on offense with several excellent shots that just didn’t fall for him.
Rebounding was a huge key for the East, especially in the second half of the game and they were led on the glass by Alex Arborghast, Romyn Lorick, Cooper Lemieux, Shane Exilhomme and Kodie Legrand. In addition to solid rebounding at both ends, Kodie Legand and Cooper Lemieux were forces inside and around the basket!
Playing very good defense, which helped propel the East in their come from behind victory were Dylan Paulding, Billy Burris, Shea Moynihan, and Adam Ellegood. Brian Carleton and Ian Maresca also played exceptional defense and played all around terrific games. The East squad was directed by head coach Kevin Maresca and was assisted by John Moynihan and Luke Barron.
The West team, coached by Anthony Burgess and assisted by Bobby Hill and Ken Griffin, played a very strong game and came up just short at the final buzzer. The West team who jumped out very strong lead and grabbed a twelve point early advantage played very unselfish and worked very well together. Much like the East squad, the West team shared the ball and was able to have eight of their players hit the scoreboard in the game.
Offensively the West team was led by very overall strong play by Brady McHugh who was the games leading scorer with twelve points followed by Pouriya Mehrabani’s four points. Justin Magee, Ryan Flynn, Noah Rizzo, Jason Svendson, and Kyle Cummings all scored two points each while Anthony Burges scored one point from the free throw line.
Strong defense was played by the West team from Blake Ryder, William Eskenis, Kyle Cummings and Bobby Branchaud. Aggressive rebounding from the West team came from Ryan Flynn, Pouriya Mehrabani, Jason Svendson and Daniel Sullivan.
Very good ball handling and passing skills were on display from Connor Griffin, Justin Magee, Noah Rizzo, William Eskenis, Anthony Burgess, and Michael Hill. Brady McHugh played a very strong overall game on defense as well as rebounding, dribbling the ball down the floor and scoring. The West team played a strong game throughout but came up just short on the scoreboard only. It was a great game and experience for all the players and coaches involved in the return of the TBBL All Star games. It was a terrific end to a super season for all the Cadet players, coaches and parents involved!
