TBBL Recaps from week 8

Don't forget to get your tickets to the TBBL Comedy Night this coming Saturday.  All funds raised go to support the TBBL Scholarship Fund.

Cadet Division

Thunder 26 - Pistons 17  

The Thunder held on for the 26-17 victory over a relentless Pistons team.  The Thunder jumped out to a commanding 14-3 halftime lead led by Brady McHugh’s 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half.  The Pistons battled back to within 1 at 18-17 heading into the final 4 minutes of the game.  Connor Griffin sealed the victory coming up with 5 consecutive steals and scoring 6 of his 8 points in the final 4 minutes.  Nicholas Alvarado added 2 points to round out the Thunder scoring.  The Thunder played strong defense throughout the game getting quality contributions from Paul Allen, Cameron Heichman, Joshua Maher and Derek Wogan.  Jason Forbes helped the offense making good passes to get the offense started.  Andre Monteiro had a solid all-around game and led the team in rebounding against a very strong rebounding Piston team.

The Pistons and Thunder faced off this week in a hard fought game.  The Thunder took an early lead but the Pistons kept themselves in the game with scoring by Cooper LeMieux (4 pts), Nick DiCiccio (1 pt) and Tim Bradley (2 pts).  While the Pistons were behind, they managed to keep the game close with some great defensive plays by Morgan Dunham, Jared Krueger, and Mathew Ramsey.  The Pistons made a great run at a comeback late in the game with great scoring by Shea Moynihan (6 pts), Vincent Marchellettsa (2 pts) and Simon Dunham (2 pts) as well as great offensive pressure from Mathew Tramonte and Aaron Ramsey.  Unfortunately, a late run by the Thunder kept the Pistons from achieving the win in this exciting game.

Celtics eclipse the Suns

The Celtics rode strong defense to defeat the Suns.  The Celtics were lead in scoring by Noah Williams with six points.  Romyn Lorick (4), Cade Barron (2), and Alexander Arbogast (2) also scored.  Collin Strong chipped in three rebounds and an assist.  Adam Saad and Matthew Flynn were active on defense making it tough for the Suns to get their offense started.  Carter Forbes contributed a big block under the basket to the defensive effort.  Dominic Johnson made a number of excellent passes giving his teammates the opportunity to score.

The Suns came out a bit slow in the first half of our Game, but really turned it on in the second half. The baskets just didn’t want to drop for the Suns on Saturday. Sean Hirtle received the game ball for the Suns for his hustle and defensive stops. Jake Ryan continues to improve by forcing turnovers.  Robbie Beggan led the team in Steals, while Ryan Mackeen delivered some of his best screens of the season.  Ben Piccolo and Jonah Bennett played strong in the paint, while Anthony Burgess continues to lead the team in offensive and defensive rebounds. Andrew Estabrook and Nicholas Gonzalez showed their offensive skills down low, while Alex DelloRusso played one of his better games of the season.

Sixers 18 – Pacers 13

This week the Sixers came up with another hard fought win.  Ryan Fleming had a season high scoring game with 14 points while multiple assists coming from Pouriya Mehrabani, Kyle Adams and Braydon Aylward.  David Timmons also came up with 2 baskets (4 points).  Nick Foster and Owen Kinnon really stepped up the defense at the top of the key this week making it difficult for the Pacers to get close to the hoop.  John O’Donnell got sick during the game and could only play for one play period but did a nice job while he was there.  Nathan Jolly showed up recovering from sickness and put in one play period also.

Today's game was a great effort by both the Pacers and Sixers! The Pacers were led in scoring with a very strong offensive game by Jack Rennell who scored 5 points, followed by Drew Rennell who had a buzzer beater and 4 points for the game and Timmy Lepore who also had 4 points. Cam Kearney hit a nice jump shot for the final 2 points for the Pacers.  All over the court defensively were Ian Starr, Drew Nestor, Alex Grove and Billy Burris. Jacob Martel & Ryan Thompson led the charge controlling the ball in crucial offensive and defensive plays. Although the Pacers came up short in the end, the very young team showed a lot of heart the entire 32 minutes!

Knicks 11 – Raptors 5

The Knicks won a tight defensive game on Saturday 13-4. In a game that had little offense in the early stages, the Knicks took a quick lead thanks to a basket by Seamus MacDonald. The Knicks were able to extend their lead when Jayden Donaher threw a beautiful pass to Ryan Flynn who was able to convert a tough shot in the lane. The game remained close throughout thanks to some tough defense from Santino D’Ippolito and Tyler Trodden. After seeing their lead dwindle, Quinn Brown made good on a free throw after he was fouled driving to the hoop. Matt Stadtman gave the Knicks some momentum by sinking a foul line jumper as time expired to end the quarter. However, the Knicks were unable to gain any separation until late in the 4th quarter. Scott Lightburn started the scoring spurt by sinking a mid-range jumper and Blake Ryder followed that up with two quick baskets of his own. Scott and Blake also grabbed some tough rebounds and forced several turnovers that helped the Knicks secure a hard fought victory.

Justin Magee, Anthony Naghibi and Jason Svednsen lead the way in scoring for the Raptors.  Great hustle on the defensive zone with rebounds by Eric Bellavia, Luke Montejo, Zach Hayes and Connor Broderick.  Peter Impink and Michael Gaglione executed some great steals on the defensive side of the floor, which lead to many scoring chances.  The Raptors continue to battle for their first win of the season and they continue to play hard each and every week.

T-wolves 27 – Hawks 24

The T-Wolves continued to improve as they won their fifth game of the season in a game of runs against the Hawsks.  After the T-Wolves built an early 12-4 lead, the tenacious Hawks battled back to take a seven point lead in the third quarter before the T-Wolves surged ahead for good in the fourth.  The T-Wolves were led in scoring by Ian Maresca, Colby Flahive, Kodie Legrand, David Forgione, and Edward Galante, whose bucket in the last minute sealed the victory!  Well timed steals and solid middle defense were crucial to the game, exemplified by Colin Hansbury, Chandler Dubay and Jason Morris.  Excellent hustle on both offense and defense was demonstrated by Noah Healey and Evan Galanis against the talented Hawks team enabling the T-Wolves to escape with the victory.

The crowd was buzzing in anticipation of this matchup between the Timberwolves and Hawks. The Hawks Willim Eskenas opened up the scoring for the Hawks with 2 baskets in the first half and ended with a season high 12 points. Michael Carlson played smothering defense throughout the game and contributed a basket in the effort. The Hawks pulled ahead in the second half with baskets from Albie Bosworth (4 points), while Michael Hill had two blocked shots and finished with 2 points, Kyle Cummings had two driving layups and 3 steals to finish with 4 points. Johnny Baker was helpful with his steals, passes and rebounds. Jack Baron had a great drive to the hoop, was fouled and got to the line for two free throws. Ryan Feudo had 2 nice rebounds then brought the ball up court and passed for the assist. A.J. Russo had a stellar defensive play when it was needed most. A.J. got back to cover the T-wolves big man so he could not post up for the low post shot. Aidan MacDonald was a monster on the floor, diving for loose balls, blocking shots and taking high percentage shots to keep the game close. This was the best effort of the Hawks this season.

Bucks bring down the Rockets

The Bucks took on a very aggressive and talented Rockets team looking to continue their winning ways. The Bucks began the game slowly as the Rockets defense created multiple turnovers in the first quarter; however, the game was tied after the 1st quarter at 4 points apiece. The Bucks began to see their shots falling in the second quarter and throughout the remainder of the game and came away with a hard fought victory.  The Bucks were led in scoring by Noah Lehouillier (8 points, including 6 straight points in the 4th quarter), Brian Carleton (6), Dylan Paulding (6) and Tristen Leslie (4).  Carleton, Paulding, Leslie and William Humphries were credited with multiple assists in the game through solid passing in the low post. Aiden Cram continued to provide solid offensive play by setting effective picks to help set up his teammates with open space to operate.  The Bucks utilized a team effort on the defense side of the floor with multiple players standing out throughout the game. Leslie, Scott Miller, Ryan Murphy and Lehouillier were aggressive on the low post resulting in multiple rebounds as well as second and third shot attempts for teammates. Brenden Owens and Ian Shpritzer contributed with very active hands on defense resulting in multiple steals throughout the game.

The Rockets were offensively challenged on this day as a result of the strong defense played by the Bucks!  The Rockets played very strong defense in the first half limiting the Bucks to shots outside the paint, but the Bucks really did a good job getting baskets in transition and as a result of offensive rebounds as the game went along.  The Rockets were led on offense by Timmy Panilaitis with who had four points and Liam Kelly who continues his hot scoring streak with two points.  Colin Buchanan has several opportunities to score around the basket but the ball just wouldn’t fall for him but a great job and effort for him offensively in this game.  Daniel Sullivan and Seamus Naughton did an excellent job passing and setting up others on offense for good shots.  Defensively, Shane Exilhomme, Jimmy Holmes and Timmy Panilaitis played very good defense for the game while Brendan Waddel and Shane Exhilhomme rebounded very well. Jayden Trudeau who was battling illness during the game played excellent defense as well before having to leave the game. It was a good effort by the Rockets who were not able to hang with the very talented, skilled and well coached Bucks team!

Junior Division

Celtics 24 – Spurs 10

Today’s game between the Spurs and the Celtics would be another tough loss for the Spurs. Offensive players of the game were Dylan Dufresne with 3 points, Charles Matsas with 3 points, Kyle Breen with 2 points and Matthew Woods with 2 points . Offensive assists went to Daedon Bere, Samuel Hines and Ryan Rosenberg. Defensive standouts for the Spurs were Trevor Trodden, Joshua Linnehan and Brady Litton.

Warriors 34 – Lakers 29

In a game befitting a matchup of two first place teams the Warriors and Lakers needed overtime to settle the game.  The game was close throughout with Will McFadyen (4 points) and Sean Kaiser (8 points) opening the game with the hot hands.  Julian Costello and Bryan Doherty came up with clutch rebounds and Dylan Crowley added 3 steals as the Warriors forced the Lakers into some tough shots.  The Warriors took a one point lead into halftime and opened up a six point lead early in the fourth behind a full court fast break basket from Sreetej Digmurthi and some terrific outside shooting from Ryan Melo (10 points).  The Lakers then applied great pressure to take a two point lead before Sean Kaiser tied it up with a baseline jumper.  The Lakers went ahead again with 1 minute left but Luke McFadyen grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a second chance score to send the game into overtime.  Early in the overtime period Travis Cohen made a key block to keep the game tied while Luke McFadyen took over on offense scoring 7 of his 10 points in the extra period.

The Lakers got on board early with Mihir Bagul (5 pts) going 1 for 2 from the foul line.  Defensively, the Lakers would continue to tie up the Warriors with good man-to-man coverage by all players.  Sean Fahey (8 pts), Mike Wilson (5 pts), and James Ministeri (4 pts) would keep the game close with clutch baskets throughout.  Jack Stadtman, Nick Polimeno (2 pts), Lee Ghannum would continue with good defense and rebounding on both ends of the court.  Robert Cortes (4 pts) would help the Lakers by keeping as many Warrior players from scoring. Nick Wilson, Abhi Lingareddy, along with Robert Cortes would continue to try and steal and out-rebound the Warriors.

Sixers 22 – Cavs 20

The second meeting between the Sixers and the Cavs proved to be just as exciting and close as the first.  Both teams were evenly matched up but it was the entire Sixers defense that clinched the win in the final seconds of the game. The Sixers were led in scoring by Eric Ndungo with 8 points, Robert Ryan followed with 6 points, and Logan Reinhard and Nik Smith each netted 4 points each.  Aidan Crawson led the team with 3 steals and Nicholas Danielson had a crucial game clinching steal at the end of the game to keep the ball out of the Cavs hands.  Cole Kimtis, Damien Hadden, Paul Spanos, and Jonathan Spanos played strong under the boards with many rebounds both offensively and defensively and helped secure the win.

Wizards 27 – Mavs 14

The Wizards and Mavs played a close first half until Logan Teixiera had a number of steals and 6 points in the last 2 minutes before halftime and 10 points overall. Felix Navarette had a strong game with 4 points and Ethan Exilhomme and David Miller rounded out the scoring with 7 and 6 points. Connor McFadyn and Jason Donaher played aggressive defense throughout the game to limit the Mavs scoring chances. Colin Fullerton, Colin Goggins, Nathan Norwood and Will Forbes worked hard rebounding and Jonny Norwood and Jason Donaher displayed some great passing setting up a number of scoring chances.

Intermediate Division

Thunder 35 – Bobcats 28

The Thunder won a hard-fought battle against the Bobcats this week in a tale of two halves. The Bobcats dominated the Thunder early with the Thunder only scoring two points before half-time. But the Thunder responded with a strong second half, spreading the scoring around between Patrick Dunn, Josh Kasule, John Nowell, Rich Kramer and Andy Ferreira's three-pointer! Center Ryan Joyce brought strong interior defense, while guards Matt Brennan, Robert Chisholm and Derek Leffler passed the ball to create the scoring opportunities.

Wizards 32 – Celtics 29

The Wizards came out on fire in the first quarter scoring 12 points and holding the Celtics to 2 points. The offensive contributions were from Alec Sokol, Matt Perron, Sean McMahon and Xavier McShane. Defensive pressure was generated from Owen Gilligan, Rich Cappiello, Nick Cappiello  and Dominic Cohen. In the second half the Celtics chipped away at the Wizards lead and by the end of the third quarter the score was Wizards 22- Celtics 18. The Wizards displayed great pressure defense all game creating multiple turnovers which led to an increase of scoring opportunities. The Wizards also made their presence known under the boards with great rebounding and with the combination of excellent dribbling and passing they were able to hold on to their lead and win their second  game of the season by the score of 32-29. All players played a great game and again a special thanks to John “JP” Murphy with helping out on the bench.

After the long Christmas break, the Celtics resumed their season against a very tough Wizards team on Saturday. After going down early by as many as 10 points, the Celtics battled back to make it a very close game.  All Celtic players participated and had a very strong showing including Evan Wood with 10 points, Arya Mehrabani with 9 points, Kyle Burris with 4 points, and both Tyler Paulding and Kyle Marrocco chipping in with 3 each. The Celtics experienced some foul trouble but Ryan Smith, Nathan Jones, Patrick Letourneau, and Ryan Anderson managed to keep the team in the game both offensively and defensively.

Heat 43 – Bucks 30

After scoring just 2 points in the first quarter, the Heat found their game, scoring 20 points in the second, taking the lead into the half.  The Heat was able to maintain control of the game the rest of the way, holding off a strong Bucks team.  The Heat offense was led by Andrew Maresca who scored 8 points and also turned in another strong defensive game with multiple blocks and steals,  other top scorers for the Heat where James Reardon with 8 points, Steven Nickerson with 7 points, and Chris Blimberg with 6 points.  Jared Grey, Brian Ndungo and Daryl Quek each put in 4 points to round out the Heat scoring.  Defensively, the Heat put together a great team effort with everyone contributing.

The Bucks jumped out to a first quarter lead but in the end just didn’t have enough to beat a tough Heat team. Jake Dillon had a strong game with 12 points followed by Cam Grace with 6. Chipping in with 4 points each were Riley Auth and Jake Winter with Jason Richardson and Michael Kelleher adding 2 points each. Pat Killion and Pat Rosemond stood out on the defensive end of the floor as well as rebounding providing key effort to the game even if not hitting the score sheet.

Hornets 37 – Jazz 28

The Hornets defeated the Jazz in the back half of their Home and Home series over the past two weeks.  It was another great game by these two teams who have now split their season series.

Senior Division

Hornets 51 – Blazers 26

Scoring for the Hornets was spread throughout the team as they were able to dominate against the talented Blazers. Defensively, the team put on their best performance of the season allowing their lowest points against. The first half was close then the team began to find their rhythm and pull away. Leo Frisella’s solid outside shooting, assisted by Nolan Higgins, led the Hornets with 12 points, finding the basket each time he was on the floor. Matty McLaughlin followed with 10 points, six coming in the first few minutes of the game to get the Hornets off and running. Both Centers Ben Connors (8 points) and Robert Page (6 points) were both huge inside capturing multiple rebounds giving the team second and third offensive chances. Fighting through a shoulder injury Brendan Murray continued the scoring with 5 points, and Sam Fortier drove around the Blazer’s defense for 4 points. Each contributing 2 points to round out the Hornet’s scoring were Nick Borges, Derek Steinbrecher and Daniel DeRosa, a complete team effort to capture the win.

Sixers 40 – Bobcats 31

The Sixers played their best game of the year so far, playing solid defense and taking good care of the ball.  Seven different players scored (eight, if you count the basket we accidentally scored for the Bobcats!), and everyone contributed in one way or the other.  Nick Zullo led the way with 13 points, followed by Nick Catizone with 9.  Bryan Lelos scored 7 and handled the ball magnificently, keeping the ball out of the Bobcats' hands for much of the game.  Pat Carleton scored 5, and Nick Chinappi, Elijah McTiernan, Jonathan Raschella, and Jonathan Zurawski scored two each -- I won't say which of those was for the Bobcats :)  Robbie Gilligan played well underneath; pulling down lots of key rebounds, and Raymond Humphrey set good picks and handled the ball well.

The Bobcats got off to a good start on Saturday, leading 10-4 after the first quarter with buckets from Mike Flynn, Nick Heinze, and Damian Dugan. The Bobcats had many open shots, but struggled to find the bottom of the net. Despite the tough shooting, the Bobcats made a run in the 4th quarter to cut it close with stifling defense and baskets by Jarryd Hickey, Josh Snyder, and Ryan Nickerson.

Magic 51 – Rockets 32

The game stayed close in the first half with both teams fighting hard for a basket. The Magic players turned it on in the second half starting with a big three point shot from Justin Brown. Leading scorers for the Magic were David Stein with 10pts followed by Ryan Ward with (9pts) & Corey Indelicato & Steven Wilson both with (8 pts).

TBBL Travel

Tewksbury 6th grade

In the last 7 days 6th grade Tewksbury white played 3 big games in their division starting with Last Saturday, the 4th, they traveled to Billerica to play a game to decide who would remain unbeaten, rivals in every sense of the word, unfortunately the team came up short losing a close one 31 to 25. Defensively the team played very well; however, they struggled both offensively and on the free throw line. The very next day, still licking their wounds, they came out with vengeance against a very good Haverhill team, Evan Mantel, Aiden Doherty, Joey Branchaud, Thomas Barinelli and Colby Ward smothered there guards with a number of steals and fast breaks. Also contributing defensively were Max Cummings, Sean Phaneauf, along with Jason Martineau who got many assists with their pressure defense, rounding out the teams efforts were Santino Garafalo, Robert Evangelista and Anthony DiSanto who protected the box. A total team effort after a tough loss the night before winning this game with a final score of 45 to 35. offensively the team was led by Thomas Barinelli(10), Evan Mantel(7),Joey Branchaud(7), Santino Garafolo(7),Colby Ward(4),Anthony DiSanto(4). This win was huge and it brought the team to a MVL record of 5 wins and 1 loss.

Now the stage was set for the third game, a rematch with Billerica, 8 wins no losses played at the Wynn on Sunday the 12th. The Tewksbury white team came out on fire. In the first 10 minutes of the game, Billerica was stunned, held to one point for almost ten minutes of play as Team white was relentless in their pursuit of the ball, taking a first half lead of 27 to 13. Billerica, a good team in their own right made a game of it in the second half but Tewksbury white prevailed, never breaking under the pressure and winning 44 to 37. No one player stood out as this was a total TEAM effort in every sense of the word with all the players contributing to what was a very exciting game

Tewksbury Red played very well over the weekend on the way to a 1-1 record. On Saturday, 6 Red played out of its division and challenged Dracut's A team. This is the same team that beat 6 Red soundly in the championship game of the Hood Tournament but that did not intimidate the boys. Rather, it inspired them. 6 Red jumped out to a small lead early and battled Dracut step for step going to the break tied at 22. Dracut started the second half on an 8-0 run forcing 6 Red to play from behind the rest of the way. 6 Red just would not go away and got to within four points late but Dracut pulled out a 42-35 win. Despite the loss, this was a good measuring stick game for 6 Red as they proved they have come a long way since Thanksgiving. Garrett Kingston led all scorers with 11 points followed by Shane Aylward, Chris Antonelli, Tyler Keough and Paul Manzi with 4 points; Greg Sencabaugh with 3 points; Richie Markwarth and Nolan Timmons with 2 points; and Thomas Bradley with 1 point. Nicky Iannacci fought hard against a much bigger opponent and came away with several impressive rebounds.