March Madness has begun – well, at least in the Newtown youth basketball.

The playoffs got started last weekend, with first-round games. The semi-finals (barring inclement weather, of course) are coming up this weekend (girls) and next with the championship games slated for Saturday, March 22.

In the Junior Boys division –

Mike Murphy canned 14 points and Jared Modzelewski added 11 as the Hornets defeated the Terriers, 50-31. Colin Babbage dished off eight assists while Joe Greenfield grabbed 10 rebounds and Kris Kling made four steals. For the Terriers, Kennedy and McDade popped in six points apiece.

Matt Mascolo canned 13 points and Aron Fay added eight more to lead the Lakers to a 40-38 win over the Wildcats. Sean Ryan (four assists), Chris Meier (five steals), and Ben Neff (10 rebounds) had strong games. For the ‘Cats, Thomas Hutchison poured in 16 points and Mike Frattaroli added six. Jake Burg and Brendan Martin played well.

The Yellow Submarines used a 14-point effort from Eric Dinnan and a 10-point effort from Brian Pennarola to defeat the Knicks 40-28. Kurtis Liska and Tyler Tarantino also led the Subs while Joe Bowen (11 points), Brian Stickles (six points), Nick Szabo and Tim Larsen paced the Knicks.

In the Intermediate Girls division –

Erica Vacaro scored 20 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and made four steals to lead the Blue Devils to a 40-28 win over the Bulldogs. Jennifer O’Connell added five points while Alex White grabbed nine rebounds and made four blocks. Megan Hansen dished off five assists. For the ‘Dogs, Jennifer Greenwood and Ali Swink canned six points apiece and Kendra O’Connor had a solid floor game.

Belle Hydock and Kasey Schulz combined for 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 28-23 win over the Celtics. Makena Cunningham had a fine performance to lead the ‘Dogs while Lindsay Laub (eight points), Megan Sajovic (10 rebounds), Meghan Gibbons and Rachel Fossum paced the Celtics.

Betsy Vendel popped in seven points and Tyler Brindle grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 19-14 win over the Liberty. Michele Davies made six steals and Laura Newberry dished off three assists to lead the Bulls. For the Liberty, Taylor Ansbro and Ashley Soucar popped in four points apiece as Katherine Stanton, Meghan Bridges and Maura McDade all played well.

Meredith LaPerch hit the go-ahead basket with 11 seconds left to play to lead the Gaels to a 21-19 win over the Huskies. Erin Ruddock scored 11 points and Olivia Dillon made six steals while Jen Spanetta, Meagan Kelly and Kelly Sullivan helped power the Gaels. For the Huskies, Becky Trosan scored 10 points and Natalie Villa grabbed 11 rebounds. Meaghan Wilson and Jen Callery also played well.

MIDGET GIRLS

 

ROCKETS versus BULLDOGS: Kyra Murray, Natalie Landfair, Caroline Lawrence and Chelsea Gray led the Rockets while Meagan Larsen, Kendall Svanda, Jessica Fossum and Emma Kingsley powered the Bulldogs.

MUSTANGS versus RIM ROCKERS: Riley Wurtz, Molly McNamara, Megan Murphy and Sarah Cozens had good games for the Mustangs while the Rockers were led by Aria Brownell, Megan Condon, Emily Rowe and Megan Gibbons.

CELTICS versus HUSKIES: Meghan Loose, Casey Kearns, Taylor Johnson and Cady Jackman powered the Celtics while Nicole Gindraux, Jenny Gumbrecht, Morgan Hopper and Laura Curcuruto powered the Huskies.

MIDGET BOYS

 

MEATLOAF versus CELTICS: Eric Bennett, Kevin LeBlanc, Ryan Pasko and Yanni Koutmos played well for the Meatloaf as Sean Deveney, Matt Ryan, Brian Reed and William Little anchored the Celtics.

NETS versus MEATLOAF: Josh Engler, Carter Law, Ben Stoller and Will Northrop had fine floor games for the Nets while Sean Maher, Joey Maggio, Johnny Wlasuk and Jason Marks led Meatloaf.

RED FIREBALLS versus BLAZERS: Kevin Phillips, David Lucia and Timmy Brown led the Fireballs while Scott Keating, Jacob Feinstein, Greg Campbell and Kevin Morrissey powered the Blazers.

HAWKS versus WOLVES: Sean Rossm Andre Cappazo, Kaleb Benore and Garry Braun played well for the Hawks while Dylan Burger, Jacob Leighton, David Tortora and Brandon Body played well for the Wolves.

ORANGE CRUSH versus RAPTORS: Thomas Cascia, Nicholas Badiola, Luke Piazza and Kyle Harrington had fine performances for the Crush as Jack McManus, Thomas Cappoziello, Trey Trudell and Mat Datin played well for the Raptors.

SHARKS versus BLAZE: Alex Saviano, Dominic Fedak, Christopher Tenney and Robert Andreotta played well for the Sharks as Adam Green, Tim Culligan, Jack Kneisel and Chris Haylon anchored the Blaze.

DRAGONS versus EAGLES: Johnny Kerins, Daniel Gallagher, Oliver Powers and Ryan O’Keefe had solid games for the Dragons while the Eagles were powered by the efforts of Rob Koskowski, RJ Roman, Shea Boyle and Tom Stewart.