Thunder Rumbles Past Huskies For Title

The Thunder defeated the Huskies 47-40 to win the Newtown Youth Basketball sixth-grade championship on March 27.

The championship game lived up to its billing with the Thunder and Huskies swapping the lead throughout the game. The Huskies led 19-13 at the half and 33-28 going into the final period.  The Thunder defense stepped up its game in the fourth period with full court pressure that turned into a 20-point run that the Huskies were unable to match.

Christian Thanasoulis, who is also the 2010 sixth grade boys’ league MVP, scored 17 points, 8 of those in the fourth period to lead the Thunder offense. Bryan Kiley scored another 10 points and Dylan Tyrrell and Patrick Briscoe each scored 6 points. Spencer Johnson led the team with 5 assists. Thomas Gavel led the defense with 4 steals with Sean Dalton, John Cagganello, and Kevin Chernoff worked the front court and back court to keep their team out front in the closing minutes of the game.

For the Huskies, Declan Sullivan scored 13 points, Gordon Walsh added 10 points and Nick Bourgeois another 7 points. Adam Weber led the team with 4 assists. Matt Stewart, Tommy Elliott, Charlie Fletcher, Holden Turk, and John Delrossi owned the paint for most of the game and created additional scoring opportunities on the offensive boards. Connor Flint and Andrew Ross were constantly on the run to offset the Thunder’s fast break and thwart quick scoring drives.

Both teams played whistle to whistle and gave the parents and fans a great game. The Thunder is coached by Mark Chernoff.