Youth girls’ and boys’ basketball highlights from this past week are as follows:

Girls

Midgets

Fireballs vs Filan Law Office Dribblers: Offensive leaders for the Fireballs were Kaitlyn King and Katie Dirga, defensive leaders were Shannon Kelleher and Jillian Carrino. Offensive leaders for the dribblers were Kaley Meisenheir and Karson Pirone, defensive leaders were Hallie Filan and Ellie Minor.

Dunkin Daisies vs Cavaliers: Offensive leaders for the Dunkin Daisies were Coleen Phanuef and Taylor McPadden, defensive leaders were Kelsey Pearson and Grace Eurell. Offensive leaders for the Cavaliers were Ryssa Swanson and Sarah Tressler, defensive leaders were Madison Hintze and Olivia Buchler.

Candy Girls vs Hurricanes: Offensive leaders for the Candy Girls were Rebecca Alicea and Emma Archiere, defensive leaders were Cameron Powers and Annabel Terry. Offensive leaders for the Hurricanes were Virginia Hepp and Genevieve Murray, defensive leaders were Sarah Nowacki and Cecilia Floros.

Bantams

Exploding Oreos 18, Badgers 12: The Oreos busted out of the gate quickly and never looked back in their victory over the Badgers at Hawley. Offensively for the Oreos, Kimberly Buttery was simply “en fuego”; with 10 points. Sienna Cummings and Jenna Lavelle also contributed to their team’s offensive output. Casey McLean and Sarah Widmann led the Os defensively in rebounding and steals respectively. For the Badgers, Carly Swierbut and Ally Tolson combined for 10 points to lead their team. Chloe Bigwarfe, Kendra Saunders and Tess Davenport were feisty defensive standouts.

Carminuccio’s Huskies 19, Law Offices of Gail Matthews Pink Panthers 6: The Huskies came out firing on all cylinders and proved to be too much for the Pink Panthers on Saturday. The Huskies Anna Cartelli led her team with 5 points, while Julia Sullivan, Annika Brady, and Claire Dubois chipped in 4 points apiece. Julia Clark and Bela deLeon were ferocious on defense for the Huskies. Emily Krasnickas and Veronica Vodola hit big baskets and led the Pink Panthers in scoring. Defensively, the Cats were led by Sonia Ahmmaripour, Madeline Brock and Jenna Gonski.

Grades 5–6

The Storm 40, Rankin Sports Pink Panthers 19: The Storm finished off their regular season in style with a 40-19 victory over the Pink Panthers. Carly Kreshpan continued her dominating play, by scoring 20 points (10 in the fourth quarter) and grabbing 12 rebounds. Julia Bogdanoff chipped in 7 points, while Kayla O’Sullivan and Megan Kelleher added 6 points apiece. The Storm ended the season on an 8-game winning streak and enter the playoffs as the number 1 seed, based on their 10-1 season record. Pink Panthers got 4 points each from Simone Afriyie and Elizabeth Weisberger. Katie McCabe added 2, as did Hannah Luby. Caroline Caporale led with 5. Alex Sabillon provided strong defensive throughout the game.

Rankin Sports Pink Panthers 35, The Flash 16: Caroline Caporale of the Panthers lead all scorers with 16. Elizabeth Weisberger, Hannah Luby, and Katie McCabe also got in on the scoring. Sarah Lindell and Catherine Shaw’s great defense gave the Pink Panthers more opportunities to score. The Panthers play a smart, controlled game. The Flash led by Olivia Holman at the point played strong throughout the game. Allie Indelicato poured in 8 and Abbie Pearson dropped in 6 from long range. Katie Basset and Cathy Hyeon were defensive leaders. Caitlyn Child played tough on the boards with Julia Anderson.

56ers 36, Lady Hawks 24: The 56ers topped the Lady Hawks with a final score of 36 to 24. Red hot shooting from Emily Bell with 10 points, Sarah Dowling and Alexandra Futterman with 8 points each, Danielle Otero and Ashleigh Shaw scored 4 points each and Grace “The Goose” Larsen scored 2 points. The 56ers guards Otero and Shaw dominated the rebound on both ends of the court, with Futterman putting on a show with her move to the outside fadeaway jumper. Defensive stars Megan Nahmias with Larsen, Bell, and Dowling stole numerous dribbles and passes up high, turning in a dizzying fast break blitz. The Lady Hawks played strong particularly in the second, half led by Grace Frost with 8 points. Larkin Huffman added a bucket and Natalie Kelchner 4 points. Emily Neave led the defensive charge with along Rachel O’Grady and Abigail Pereira.

Colonical Chiropractic Dr Schmid Mighty Mustangs 17, Crazy Fruits 11: Natalie Shaker had her best game of the season scoring 15 points, pulling down 10 rebounds, and making 5 steals to lead the Mighty Mustangs to a hard- fought victory. Jordan Williams added a basket, 4 rebounds, and great hustle. Emma Schmid-Tharnish was tough on the boards, pulling down 5 rebounds and Casey Muckell and Rebecca Gavel were relentless on defense coming up with 4 steals each. The Crazy Fruits shined this entire weekend by playing with passion and enthusiasm, which defined their entire season. Tegan Dougherty helped build halftime moment by leading the team in scoring. What amazed the coaches and spectators was a halftime cheer by this amazing team which led the entire gym to clap and cheer for the Crazy Fruits. Emily Dirga also scored multiple baskets and led the team in assists to help close the deficit to four points. Teresa Forlenzo and Emalee Renjalin showed great teamwork with their passing and defense

Zephyr Lock Orange Crush 32, Pampered Chef Thunder 12: Lucy Scaragnella played tough defense along with Vanessa Tucker for the Orange Crush. Isabel Pryor and Dylan Zahansky led in assists. Both Lexy Leidlein and Erin Tressler played strong at the point. Shannon Cheh scored 6 points and Ashley Lynch 14. Olivia Hamula was strong offensively for the Thunder scoring 6 of the team’s 12 points. Kayla Pettit, Sarah Brittin, and Danielle Powell were tough on defense. Cory Mangold, Ava Petrellese, and Tessa Leon-Gambetta rounded out the scoring.

Zephyr Lock Orange Crush 23 Crazy Fruits 12: The Orange Crush were led by Ashley Lynch with 10 points and Madilyn Cole with 5. Vanessa Tucker and Shannon Cheh chipped in a basket each. Shannon Cheh played tough defense along with Lucy Draper and Dylan Zahansky. The Crazy Fruits had their first prime-time game of the season. They came out playing with passion and led at half time against the taller opponent. Jackie Guevera led the way in scoring, while Jaclyn O’Leary led the team in rebounds. Marit Lyons showed great teamwork and passing, while Sarah Cizmara played great defense in leading the team with steals

 

Grade 6

Newtown 52, Fairfield 17: Newtown tried out several defensive formations, all of which proved effective as they cruised to their largest margin of victory (and most points) of the season. Jillian Pieretti recorded her first double-double, leading all scorers with 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Megan Goyda had one too, scoring 11 to go along with 10 boards. Colleen McCarthy was a dynamo on the court and scored a career high 10 points. Nikki Zaccaro had several long inbound passes to beat the press, and contributed 9 rebounds and 6 points. Hailey Conrad shut down Fairfield’s speedy point guard and had 7 steals to go along with her 6 points. Cassidy Datin (4 points) pulled down 5 rebounds, while Olyvia Shaw (2 points) had 5 steals and distributed 3 assists.

Newtown 34, New Milford 19: Newtown came out sluggish and trailed at the half, but then went on to score 23 of the game’s last 28 points. Goyda scored 11, Zaccaro 9, and McCarthy 6. Zaccaro pulled down 13 rebounds, Goyda 11, and Kamdynn Moroney 6 (she added 2 points). Shaw (2 points), Zaccaro, and Pieretti (4 points) combined for 16 steals. Newtown finished the regular season tied for second in the league, with an overall record of 22-8.

Grades 7–8

Connecticut Sun 34, Glover Agency Celtics 29: The lead went back and forth until the third quarter with the swarming press defense by Jaime Calandro, Taylor Zavatsky, and Jess Shairer forcing three consecutive turnovers to help the Sun grab the lead for good. The Sun finally pulled away in the fourth quarter on the accurate shooting of Emily Riley who had 14 points. Brittany Gonzalez with 6, and the rebounding of Aileen Decker (6 rebounds). The Glover Agency Celtics were led again by the duo of Annie Hoffman and Michaela Jackman, who did their best to keep the game close and almost pulled out the close victory.

Boys

Grade 2

Oranges vs Maroon Magic: The Oranges full court game has really come around. Their offense was led by some great moves and shooting by Aidan Finnegan. CJ Cuomo and Dillon Diaspro each had some incredible moves on the offensive end. They put the squeeze on defense with the help of Michael Elston, Neil Kalra, and Connor Smith. The Maroon Magic continue to enjoy playing full court and have shown a great amount of hustle each week. This week Matt Sortino and James Ciaramello did a nice job on defense by sticking to their man like glue playing tough deny defense. Ryan Wagnblas did a good job bringing the ball up the floor and dishing it to a wing player to get the offense started. Charlie Eppers and Matthew Weisgerber showed a lot of hustle by running down loose balls and grabbing rebounds and scoring a few baskets. Kyle Reilly became an offensive threat from the outside after sinking a long range jumper.

Blue Ice vs Lightning: The Blue Ice continue to improve their basketball skills as the season winds down. On Saturday, CJ Demers led the team with superior ball-handling, passing, and shooting. Riley Dole and Conor Dole got their first opportunities to play the guard position and performed well. Jack Maher was a defensive star, staying on his opponent at all times. Nick Sabillon, Steven Cotton, and Miller Tetreault came up with several rebounds and steals on the defensive side. Arav Dave, Steven Leuci, and Aiden DellaCorte each had several touches on offense, making good passes to their teammates.

The Lightning continued to show their improving skills as Logan McAloon, Michael Haddick, and Ryder Palumbo all scored impressive baskets. Sean O’Sullivan added two baskets and a foul shot and Nicholas Fischer made several great backdoor cuts to the hoop. Daniel Jaeger continued his great defense while Hayden Miller and Ryan Heran grabbed numerous rebounds. Kyle Pettit and Brendan Morrissey contributed as well with outstanding defense resulting in numerous steals.

Burnt Bananas vs Nighthawks: The Bananas split the opposing defense with some slithering moves from Jake “the snake” Mailloux and Karl Miller. Jack Street and Nuke Hannan worked the give and go to perfection while Little Barkley Jacozzi cashed in with 10 points. The twin towers of Ben and Ethan Paley along with Noah Dinallo were all over the floor on defense. Grant baker controlled the boards while Pete “the human eraser” Petersen rejected 11 opposing shots. Ryan Ruddy, Chris Shaker, Connor Mandarano, and Zach Kugler led the way for the Nighthawks on offense scoring baskets on spin moves, fast break layups and pull up jump shots. Matthew Williams and Clayton Kunzweiler led the team in steals getting 3 each. Devin Herbstman, Andrew Bazura, Brandon Akbas and JImmy Malin all worked hard on defense pulling down rebounds and making great defensive stops.

Grade 3 Travel

 Mavericks 26, Danbury 20: The Mavs were led on offense by Jack Kuligowski, Jack Mulligan, Joe Rios, and Liam Murphy. They were led on defense by Dillon Robinson, Kyle Good, Luke Hannan, Jack Lydon, and Nick Kalra.

Grade 3 Midgets

Green Hawks: The Green Hawks were led on offense by Jack Lydon, Nick Kalra. and James Tibolla. The Green Hawks were led on defense by Bryan Bailey, Rob Hetzer, and Jackson Hebner. Huskies: The Huskies were led on offense by JP Ford, Liam Murphy, and Luke Azziarito, and on defense by Sean Roche, Justin Engler, Trevor Merrick, and Keiran Coffey.

Hornets: The Hornets were led on offense by Nate Paltouf, Stephen Dooley, and Chris Beal. The Hornets were led on defense by Trey Hazard, Max Hanson, and Tucker Depuy.

Warriors: The Warriors were led by Patrick Grover on offense and Ryan Mcenery on defense.

Newtown Road Race Blue Racers: The Blue Racers were led by on offense by Owen Meeker, Stephen Cheh, and Brandon Lutz. Defensive leaders were Bryce Benson, Eamon Doherty, and Justin De Thomas.

Red Devils: The Red Devils were led on offense by Quinn McAndrew, Rohan Mansukhani, and John Godino; on defense by Dylan Robinson, Keith Carvalho, and Jared Dunn.

Grade 4

Adviserstrust.com Heat 27, Flaming Monkeys 25: For the Heat Tucker Garrity and Harrison Farrah combined for 18 points, while Thomas Hartley had 3 assists, Matthew Dubois had 5 steals, and Garrett Norberg had 8 rebounds. Gavin Connors orchestrated the offense, while Ben Futterman, Jacob Clements, and Liam Creeden set amazing screens and played tough defense. Chris Venezia, Riley McCafferty, and Daniel Mason led a furious comeback from 11 points down to fall short by a basket as time expired.

 Blue Streak 23, Mavericks 19: For the Streak, Trevor Bottom and Ryan Burns combined for 10 points, while Harry Lucas had 4 assists, Vincent Genovese led the defense with 4 steals and Reed Hammond had 7 rebounds. The Mavericks were led by Jack Sullivan and Carter McCleary, who combined for 10 points. Nicholas Accousti directed the offense from the point. The defense was led by Timmy McCarthy with 5 steals and Cameron Trivers with 7 rebounds.

 Globetrotters 30, Aces 19: For the Globetrotters, John Albanesi and Danny Schreiber combined for 12 points. Bryan Ingwersen had 3 assists, Ty Dickinson led the defense with 4 steals and James Schumacher had 6 rebounds. The Aces were led by the scoring of Todd Peterson and Tom Luciano. Alex Budd and Garrett Mandarano led the way on defense.

 Globetrotters 20, The Beasts 18: John Albanesi and Danny Schreiber combined for 14 points for the Globetrotters. Bryan Ingwersen had 5 assists, Ty Dickinson led the defense with 4 steals, and James Schumacher had 6 rebounds. Jimmy Davies had 12 points for the Beasts. Bobby Elston led the offense with 4 assists, while Tyler Clure had 4 steals to key the defensive effort and Harvey Long had 7 rebounds.

Grade 5

Heat 25, Red Bulls 23: In a tight battle the Heat outlasted a talented Red Bulls squad 25-23 in overtime. Eight of nine Heat players broke into the scoring column. Ryan Williams led the way with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks and Ryan Mailloux poured in 5 points while adding 3 steals. Kai Toomey played great, contributing 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals. The Heat defensive leaders were Matt Sadowski with 8 rebounds, Jamie Hobar with 7 rebounds and 6 steals, and Liam Jones who hustled throughout the entire game. Evan Landgrebe dropped in 10 points and led the Red Bulls offense. The Red Bulls built a 20-15 led entering the fourth quarter due to some gritty play by Adam Farley, Kyle Gaynor, and Justin Woodard. However, the Red Bulls could not handle the Heat’s backcourt press and turned over the ball a little too often. Adam Farley made a clutch free throw late in the fourth quarter to maintain a 2 point margin, which eventually forced the game into OT. Ethan Aug, fighting a cold, still managed to add 7 points and numerous rebounds. The Red Bulls started their season with an OT win and finished their season with an exciting well played OT loss. Ben Drew and Kyle Gaynor did a great job on defense. Sam Parsons pulled several rebounds and was a key factor in cooling off the Heat. The Red Bulls look to put all their training and practices this season to the test this weekend as they are seeded sixth in the playoffs.

 Celtics 30, Hornets 7: The Celtics played their last regular season game this past Saturday against the tenacious Hornets. The first quarter was evenly matched between these fifth grade NYBA in-house teams, until the Celtic’s kicked it into high gear and pushed the ball for their customary up-tempo offense, while also playing shut down defense in order to protect the 10 foot objective. Leading the C’s was Josh “umpshot” Harper who played an outstanding game. On defense, Jumpshot’s versatility allowed him to play against the opponent’s point guard, and also against the center, and tallied up numerous boards and steals. Jumpshot also ran the C’s potent offense, finding his open team mates for easy buckets on breaks and in the half court set, while also dropping in 8 points himself. Also playing great D for the Celtics were Cayden ‘The Glove) Dunn and Ian “The Beast” Klepacki. The Glove was fitted to slow down and cover the Hornet’s offense, and as seen all season continued to meet the ball at half court and forced the opponent’s point guard to his weak hand. The Glove’s efforts forced the Hornets into bad shots or resulted in key turnovers. The Beast as a power forward was huge on the boards, and helped to keep the ball alive on offense for additional shots on goal, and kick started the break on defense with his crisp outlet passes to the C’s guards. The Beast also ran the floor well, and kicked in a couple of his own buckets during the C’s patented multilane speedy passing forward fast break. The Hornets played as hard as they could and never gave up against the undefeated Celtics.

Kia-Mazda Nighthawks 34, Scorpions 26: The Nighthawks Joshua Dunn and Tommy Skrelja together scored 21 points. Owen Sullivan, Will Skrelja, and Travis Huzina played unselfish basketball and were key catalysts in their teams win. Dylan Sock at point guard controlled the offense and Christian Lestic and Cameron MacDonald were big underneath the basket keeping the strong Scorpions from taking control of the game. The Scorpions stayed close throughout the game but the Nighthawks got some breathing room in the middle of the third quarter. The Scorpions were led offensively by Ben Terry (10 points), Mark Hall (5 points) and Greg Brissette (4 points). Wyatt Moyers also added 2 going 2-4 from the free throw line. Defensively, Wyatt, Doug Carriero, and Connor DiNallo played a strong game. Rebound leaders for the Scorpions were Alex Street with 10, and Jermane Anyoha with 4.

Tornadoes 30, Black Knights 20: The Tornadoes were led by Eugene Citrano’s 15 points and by Adam Wolff, who was strong under the boards, scoring 8 points (with some nifty moves) and grabbing numerous rebounds, frustrating the Knights. Jake Pirone also was a rebounding machine. Jack Bittman and Tristan Crone refused any of the Black Knights lane penetrations throughout the game. A 9-2 second quarter run is all that was needed for the men in blue as they took a 17-11 halftime lead and never looked back. In the final game of the regular season, the Black Knights played a tough physical game. Several players went crashing to the floor during the game as the boys played their hearts out. Dylan Champagne scored 6 points after shooting 2 for 5 from the field and added a perfect 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Kent Mullen also finished with 8 points as he too was 2 for 5 from the floor and 2 for 5 from the charity stripe. The Black Knights were leading 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and hung on throughout the game against the taller Tornadoes squad. Tommy Coppinger played a very good game at guard, adding 3 points and an assist in the game. Big Teddy Wojcik scored 2 points and had 2 big rebounds. A.J. Salaris scored 2 points and Cameron Champagne 1 (1 for 2 from the line). Anthony Isabella played a good game defensively stopping numerous fast breaks.

Dynamite 39, Huskies 29: The Dynamite jumped out to an early 12-2 lead behind some great shooting by John Finnegan who ended up with 21 points overall. He was helped out by some great picks by both Max Goldstein and Justin Coelho. Avi Dhaya was hustling all over the floor on both offense and defense and came up with a great steal in the fourth quarter to help with the win. Matt Principi and Robert Murray helped run the offense while Kevin Riccardi was the Dynamite “defensive player of the game” with his strong inside presence. The Huskies were once again led by Andrew Deluca’s 11 points and David Daria’s 8. Christian Adam also contributed 4, and came on strong the second half of the season. Ricky Mariani played extremely hard for the Huskies only to foul out early in the fourth quarter. Bobby Ward played his usual tenacious defense as he has done all season.

Grade 6

New Milford 52, Newtown Gold 44: Newtown Gold could not avenge a close overtime loss to New Milford earlier in the season, and came up short at the NYA Saturday. Newtown’s inside game was stifled by their opponent’s sizable front court so they relied on their outside shooting for their offense. Newtown beat the New Milford full court press numerous times for fast break opportunities which led to Colby Olson and Michael Liberante each netting 8 points. Guards Colin “Nutty Chew” McCafferty, Austin Engler, and Connery Mayer distributed the rock well and also had 6 points each. Scotty Bauer (4 points) contributed with defensive rebounding while Andrew Lee and Gavin Stubbs (3 points each) tried to keep the sizable rivals off the boards. Sam Grossano and Jason Hebner had excellent defensive games. Newtown Gold next travels to Stratford to play the Fairfield 76ers Saturday in FCBL playoff action.

Newtown Mystery 40, The Hershey Kisses 23: In yet another hard fought battle, the Mysteries pulled out their 11th victory of the season. In a game that had 8 out of 11 players scoring baskets and a defensive stand that created a wall of difficulty for the other team, the final game was truly a combined team effort. Another hard-fought battle by both teams came down to the wire, but with the help of Noah Seri’s 8 points, Cameron Mitchell’s big 2-point shot, and Jacob Anastasi’s 6 points, The Mysteries pulled out their tenth victory of the season. Despite a great effort, Hershey Kisses lost but Nick Lombardo had 4 points and 4 rebounds, William Huegi chipped in 4 points and 3 rebounds and showed tremendous hustle all game, while Steven Moccio (6 steals) and Phillip Coffey (3 steals) applied tenacious defensive pressure.

The Bulldogs 39, The Blue Ninja’s 25: The Bulldogs offense was led by Alex Dunleavy with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, Adam Beckett with 8 points 3 steals and 10 steals, and Matthew Bucci with 7 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals, and Brandon Pavlicek with 6 points and 11 rebounds. Thomas Sanczyk, Evan Kohlsaat, and Max Ames all had 2 points each and a combined 5 steals and 5 rebounds. The defense did a fantastic job controlling the tempo of the game led by Will LeMay pounding 7 rebounds, Adam Beckett stealing the ball repeatedly and throwing off the offense, Andrew Janco nabbed 5 rebounds.

Addessi Golden Ringers 37, The Grasshoppers 29: Henry Primavera led the way with 14 points, while Tom Adessi added 8 in the victory. Will Whitlock played shutdown defense while also contributing 4 points in the effort. Jeron Schickendantz was all over the floor grabbing 8 rebounds and 3 crucial steals. Will Corbett had 6 assists using his court vision exceptionally well all game. A huge win and team effort for the Golden Ringers.

Addessi Golden Ringers 41, Rankin Sports Thunder 39: In their final game of the season, the Ringers once again found themselves down in the fourth quarter only to come back and steal the win. The offense was led by Austin DeSousa dropping 16 points and Henry Primavera adding 10 points, including 8 in the fourth and the game winning shot with 1.2 seconds left to play. Primavera also led the way defensively shutting down the opposition with ease. Tom Addessi and Jeron Schickendantz were key on the press forcing key turnovers when it mattered the most. The Golden Ringers take a three-game winning streak into the playoffs. The Thunder lost a tough one despite the team’s hustle up and down the floor. Graham Dowd led the offense with 15 points and 5 assists, followed by Justin Dunn with 7 points and 5 more assists. Eric Mockovac and Ryan Marusi combined for 12 boards, and Bryce Griffin and Kevin Arther hustled on defense as well combining for 7 points

Sal e Pepe The Untouchables 26, The Red Storm 22: Red storm were led in scoring by Joe Palanzo with 10 points. Jacob Meenan played great on defense and contributed four points on some clutch outside shooting. Tim Jaeger hit a key free throw late in the game and was strong on the boards with 4 rebounds. Jack Palermo led the defense with 3 blocked shots and 6 rebounds.

Addessi Golden Ringers 47, The Grasshoppers 41: The offense was led by Henry Primavera with 18 points and Austin DeSousa adding another 14. Alex Hess and Parker Johnson were key on both defense and crashing the boards. With five minutes left, and down 10 points, the Ringers played vigorous team defense and forced turnover after turnover to come all the way back and win their fifth game of the season. In game 1 of the weekend Saturday-Sunday doubleheader, the Grasshoppers played their best game of the year but couldn’t hold on to a 35-29 end of the third quarter lead. They outplayed their opponent until the fourth quarter when they couldn’t get out of the Golden Fingers full court press. Owen McInerney had a season high 16 points fed by Patrick Godino, who had 8 assists and 4 points of his own. McInerney and Godino teamed well together earning the dual offensive players of the game the green nymphs. Matt Kretz, Nicholas Venezia, and Jack Riley finished with 6 points. Ryan Brello scored 3 points, including going 1 for 2 from the free throw line. Venezia was 2 for 5 from the floor and 2 for 3 from the charity stripe. Nick sports a .600 free throw percentage, very impressive for sixth grade basketball.

Newtown Mystery 38, The Bulldogs 31: The Bulldogs put forth one of their best efforts of the season. The Bulldogs offense was led by Alex Dunleavy with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and Brandon Pavlicek with 6 points and 11 rebounds. Thomas Sanczyk, Evan Kohlsaat, and Max Ames had 2 points each and a combined 5 steals and 5 rebounds. The defense did a fantastic job controlling the tempo of the game led by Will LeMay pounding 7 rebounds, Adam Beckett stealing the ball repeatedly and throwing off the offense; Andrew Janco nabbed 5 rebounds.

Rankin Sports Thunder 51, The Blue Ninja’s 13: The Thunder benefited from a solid performance across the team, with the offense anchored by Justin Dunn’s 22 points and Graham Dowd’s 10 points and 6 assists. Tim Cervera continued to dominate under the hoop with 12 rebounds, and Zach Anderson was all over the court on defense nabbing 6 steals. Paul Whitaker had an all-around solid performance with 6 points, 7 boards, and 4 blocked shots The Blue Ninja’s continued to play with their “never give up” attitude. The offense was led by Matt Krasnickas and Nick Lametto with 4 points each, while Chad Azzarito and Matt Fuchs provided the additional points. David Usher made a nice free throw toward the end of the game. The defense was put to the test in this matchup, with Matt Guinee, Tyler LaCroce, and Bryan Morrissey leading the way. The Blue Ninja’s had a couple of players hit the DL this week with R.H. Clark breaking his foot and Peter Clifford breaking his arm; both were off the court injuries.

 Sal e Pepe The Untouchables 45, The Red Storm 30: The Untouchables split their double-header behind a strong defensive effort during both games. Led by Ben Dieckman with 4 steals and Chris Anesi with 3 blocked shots, the Untouchables were able to overcome an early deficit and never looked back. Once again, Austin Kasbarian led the way on offense with 14 points. Also making key plays on offense were Nick Lansing and Marc Lasorsa. Ben Marini and Chris Marini dominated the boards all day each securing 5 rebounds. On defense, Justin Gillespie forced 2 turnovers with his tenacious press. Red storm were led in scoring by Joe Palanzo with 12 points. Bryan Silk had a strong game and finished with 4 points. Thomas Leuci led the defensive efforts with four steals and Collin Villamana added another 3 steals.

The Hershey Kisses 36, Sal e Pepe The Untouchables 29: Hershey’s Kisses won 38-29 behind 11 points and 10 rebounds from Elliott Bennett, 11 points and 5 assists from Steven Moccio, 7 pts and 10 rebounds from Peter DeBona, and 4 points from Gregg Trimarchi. Robert Lombardo (6), Aaron Gershon (5), and Tiernan Keane (4) chipped in with strong rebounding efforts. The Untouchables split their double-header behind a strong defensive effort during both games. Led by Ben Dieckman with 4 steals and Chris Anesi with 3 blocked shots, the Untouchables were able to overcome an early deficit and never looked back. Once again, Austin Kasbarian led the way on offense with 14 points. Also making key plays on offense were Nick Lansing and Marc Lasorsa. Ben Marini and Chris Marini dominated the boards all day, each securing 5 rebounds. On defense, Justin Gillespie forced 2 turnovers with his tenacious press.

Grade 7

Newtown 69, Shelton 43. The Newtown boys had a rematch against Shelton where in the first meeting Newtown lost by 4. This time the boys all played well, Jared Pearson led the scoring with 15 points, Nick Samuelson had 11, Matt Gerics and Declan Sullivan each had 8 points. Ryan Shaw, Mason Melillo, and Andrew Svanda controlled the boards with a combined 25 rebounds and 18 points. Newtown boys enter their final tournament this weekend.

Newtown Gold 56, Trumbull 51: Newtown led wire to wire as they played their most inspired game of the season. Matt Maturo had the hot hand, leading all scorers with 19 points. Dillon Palumbo added 7, while Ethan Carpenter, Joe Duero, and James Accousti tallied 6 points apiece.