North Carolina takes UConn in Cadet Boys Division

The following was submitted by the Chelmsford Youth Basketball League.

Junior Boys Division (Grades 7-8)

Gary Green, Division Director

Duke 23 - Pittsburgh 20

In a low scoring defensive battle Duke improved to 6-2 with a 23-20 victory over Pittsburgh.  Duke trailed 8-4 after one quarter before coming back to take a 14-10 lead at the break.   Both clubs struggled offensively the rest of the way and a couple of big outside shots late in the game propelled Duke to its 6th win of the season. James Lynch led all scorers for Duke with 10 points followed by 4 from Abdul Shah and 3 each from Dean Carmen, Tim O’Neill and Mike Russo.  Center Suraag Srinivas (8 points) and Delaney Driscoll (7 points) led Pittsburgh which fell to 6-2.

Kansas 50 – Boston College 37

Kansas won their second in a row with an impressive offensive showing against BC as the Jayhawks took a 50-37 win.  The Eagles actually led at halftime 26-25 but Kansas outscored BC 12-5 in the third quarter and ran away with it in the final quarter.  Sean McCartin had another strong contest with 14 points while point guard Ryan Ashness was stellar with 12 points.  Ryan Johnson had a great game with 10 points and Brendan Mann, Ryan Barry and Akhil Mka each had 4 points.  Kevin Murphy led BC with 13 points followed by 10 from Ryan Loftus.

Kentucky 40 – Florida 34

Another win for Kentucky, (8-0) and yet another close game.  Despite having only 5 players’s available Florida hung in but fell 40-34.  The Wildcats led throughout the game but could not put away the gutsy Gators.  Jack Hansbury had a huge offensive game with 23 points including 8 foul shots.  Michael Monaghan scored 6 and Jared Kent scored 5 points.  Nick Spinale was a monster on the boards and scored 16 for Kentucky.  Jon Olsen contributed 12 points while Kevin Reidy was tough down low with 8 points.

North Carolina 44 – Syracuse 39

North Carolina earned their 8th straight win as they held off a hustling Syracuse club 44-39.  The Tar Heels looked like they had an easy win as they led 40-29 with 3:30 to go.  The Orangemen forced many turnovers and actually got to within 3 but ran out of time.  Donovan Loew had his best offensive game of the year with 14 to lead NC.  Mike Misherfi netted 8 points and Austin Polce put up 6 points.  Jason Arnaud scored 18 for Syracuse including 8 in the final quarter.  Tec Pecora scored 8 and David Salomaa added 4 points.

Ohio State 26 – UMass 22

Ohio State outscored UMass 8-2 in the third quarter in route to a 26-22 victory.  Griffin Murray was the game’s high scorer with 9 points.  His Ohio State team mate Evan Lucey scored 7 and Jordan Bukouricz scored 4 points.  Joey Penn had a strong game with 6 points for UMass and CJ Aloi also scored 6 before fouling out in the third quarter.

Michigan State 34 – Villanova 21

After a sluggish star Michigan State took a 34-21 victory over Villanova.  It was 5-2 Spartans after one quarter and they upped the lead to 14-6 at halftime.  Alex Hill keyed the win with 16 points of which 14 came in the second half.  Grant McEnaney had a strong game with 6 points while Evan Smith also scored 6 and Andrew Donahue scored a basket.  Quinn Jackson and Ryan Schweitzer each had 6 for the Wildcats. 

Team Standings:

Kentucky 8-0

North Carolina 8-0

Pittsburgh 6-2

Duke 6-2

Boston College 4-4

Michigan State 4-4

Kansas 3-5

Ohio State 3-5

Syracuse 2-6

Villanova 2-6

Florida 1-7

UMass 1-7 

Junior Girls Division (Grades 7-8)

Joe March, Division Director

Miami 27 - Boston College 26

In exciting CYBL action and with both teams short handed Miami defeated BC in a tough game 27-24. Miami was lead by Shannon Garrity with 15 pts and Gennesis Acosta with 10 points.finishing up the scoring for Miami was Bria Sutton. It was a back and forth battle all night with Yvonne Robinson playing tough defense along with Kendra Malone with some key picks to set up a late game score. Jennifer Reynolds helped out on defense with a key steal to help seal the win. The game had numerous lead changes and was close all the way with neither team leading by more than three points.  Kasey Daly led BC with eight points.  Kelly Duggan played an outstanding game for BC and had six points.  Jacky Arndt and Julia Slattery also had six points each for BC.  Alison Brown, Olivia Knight, Courtney Moore and Nicole Stryker played fine all around games for BC.

Clemson 25 - Duke 16

Duke kept it close against an excellent Clemson squad and Clemson won 25-16.  Jordan Tilley and Jessica Dodge played great defense and scrambled for loose balls and rebounds.  Duke scoring was led by Emily Rubico with 7 points and Elizabeth Thissell with 5 points.  Maggie Tiano scored a basket. Mariah Shield and Bryanna Abboud each sank a free throw.  Clemson shooters got hot later in the game to open a bit of a lead and Duke's shots just weren't falling.  Both teams played great defense."

Tennessee 22 - North Carolina 21

Tennessee continued its winning ways with their third victory in their last four games. This was a close hard fought match by both teams from start to finish. It took a clutch free throw by Gianna Firicano with less than a minute left to seal the win. Brenda Mello led the way for Tennessee (6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals) while Natasha Graves had her best game of the year (5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals). Other notable standouts on defense included Gianna Firicano and Kristy McCann pulling down 5 rebounds each.

Florida State 25 - Maryland 22

Florida State defeated Maryland in Saturday’s game by a score of 25 to 22. The Seminoles built up a good sized lead in the first half, and then had to hold off a surging Maryland team to hang on for the win. The game wasn’t decided till the final minute of play, when a Siobhan LeFreniere basket extended the lead to 3 points.   Grace Gerhardt led the Seminoles with 10 points and great overall play.  Amber Uzzell added 6 points and Bailey Grant chipped in with 5, with both playing great defense.  Katherine Rigney’s 2 points rounded out the scoring. The defensive play of Kelly Driscoll, Sarah Doherty, Meagan DeSalvo, and Isabella Sierra was a big part of the winning effort.

Team Standings:

Clemson 8-0

North Carolina 4-4          

Maryland 4-4

Boston College 4-4

Miami 4-4

Florida State 3-5

Tennessee 3-5

Duke 2-6

Cadet Girls Division (Grades 5-6)

Sue Jillett, Division Director

Seton Hall 27 – Syracuse 20

Seton Hall scored a season high 27 points to defeat a tough Syracuse team. Scoring for Seton Hall were Caitlyn Riley (11), Kaylee Thomas (8), Abbey Gardner (4), Holly Cashman (2), and Karen Ghobrial (2). Helping to set up the scoring with excellent ball handling and passing were Alex Dunn, Kaylee Thomas, Cassidy Moore and Karen Ghobrial. Samantha Gould, Caitlyn Riley, Holly Cashman, Emma Goldberg and Abbey Gardner all played tough defense with key rebounds, steals and defensive coverage. The entire Seton Hall team showed great hustle and spirited play.  Syracuse suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Seton Hall, 27-20.  The win came down to the wire as Syracuse raced to hit baskets until the ending buzzer.  A strong man-to-man defense, multiple steals, and aggressive rebounding kept Syracuse alive. High scorer Stephanie Kosmin with 8 points was on fire with shooting and bounce passing.  Madeline Severance and Lindsey Pratt hit for 2 baskets each, Sara Quirback and Kaitlyn McGowan each scored 2 points on fast breaks.  MaryAlice Jackson was a scrapper,setting picks and screens.  Tatyana Reedy andTanu Kulkarnie owned the boards while Meghan Majeski excelled at dribbling and hitting the open player.  Anna Mullane and Kayla Stone's key plays, steals and aggressive offense kep the team pushing foward until the bitter end. Excellent teamwork Syracuse!

UCLA 22 - North Carolina

UCLA played North Carolina and it was a very close game during all 8 segments.  Victoria Ryder, Kacey Corbett and Gillian Scannell led the team in scoring.  Julia Ashley, Maggie McCartin, Katie Conley and Madison Daley all had a great game playing terrific defense.  In one of the best games of the day UCLA snuck past a very spirited North Carolina squad.  The gym was rocking as the game featured many lead changes and dramatic play between the two teams culminating in a tie score with about a minute to play before UCLA pulled ahead for the win.  North Carolina played a great team defense led Lauren Powell and Mackenzie Connor with strong rebounding from Colleen Connor and Lily Cardonne.  In addition to the many shots rolling off the rim, North Carolina's balanced attack was lead by Camryn Malone with 6 points and Lily Cardonne, Mackenzie Connor, Lauren Powell, Alannah Servin, Sammy Turner and Colleen Connor all chipping in 2pt a piece.

Maryland 26- Notre Dame 14

Perhaps it was the crazy socks the girls wore, or it was the combined twenty-six  steals that allowed Maryland to overcome a three game losing streak to tie their record at 4-4 with a win over Notre Dame.  Tatum Hobby was the high scorer for Maryland with 10 points and an impressive 7 rebounds on the boards.  Katelyn DeSilvio continued her impressive lay-ups with 6 points for Maryland.  Also scoring for Maryland were Rachel Pedersen with 4 points and a basket each for Ali Rubin, Shailagh McCormack and Olivia Beauregard.  The game would not have been  won however without the aggressive defense of Gabrielle Cruz, Kathryn Haynes, Laura Kate Magnuson  and Kaitlyn Anderson who attributed to eight steals combined and several tough defensive plays.

BC 16 - Villanova 4

Boston College kept their undefeated streak alive by defeating a solid defense in Villanova.  Jessica Mathis lead all scorers with 6 points.  Shannon Curran playing under the weather was still able to put 4 points on the board.  Emma Newcomb, Alex Meehan, and Kelly Jollin all scored a bucket each.  The B.C. offense was like a well oiled machine.  Their passing and moving on offense was smooth and fluid.  Each team member contributes for the team every game.

Cadet Boys Division (Grades 5-6)

Larry Khirallah, Division Director

Pitt 30 - Kentucky 16

Both teams came out running with a strong defensive effort. The first five segments proved to be a low scoring defensive battle with Pittsburgh holding the edge 10-4 from top scorers Josh Sogade and Anthony DiChiara. Multiple steals by Tommy Snelson and Andrew Shore paved the way for Pittsburgh to break away in the 6th segment. Exceptional rebounding from Jimmy Burill and Christopher Lyons resulted in Pittsburgh’s Colin O’Brien to score multiple baskets. Kentucky persevered with Thomas Slattery making two foul shots and Luke March’s continued stealing. Harry Gilman and Nick Reinhold for Pittsburgh provided excellent ball handling resulting in several baskets by Jimmy Burrill, Chris Lyons and Tommy Snelson late in the game helping Pittsburgh win.

Duke 24 - Michigan St 14

The Duke Blue Devils may have been missing their head coach, but still put what they’ve learned to good use in their effort against a tough Michigan State team.  Andrew Thayer got the Devils off to a quick 4-0 start with two baskets in the first period.  Michigan State charged back in the second to tie the game before the Devils took back the lead for good in the third on the first of three jumpers on the day by Michael Iovino.  Derek Tyros led all scorers with 10 points while Trace Askenburg and James Ripley each contributed two points to team total.  Josh Pynn, Matt Landers and Cameron Prees each played active defense and fought for rebounds while Ben Dillman demonstrated his strong ball handling and passing skills in the hard fought victory.    It was another hard fought game for the Michigan State Spartans. Despite losing, the team played hard until the final buzzer. Mike Coppa had a stellar game on defense as well as a perfect pick to allow Ryan Willome to score 2 of his 7 points. Tarun Bomma played tough defense under the net, grabbing several rebounds and setting up Nicholas Glekas for 2 of his 3 points. Zachary Phillips played hard on defense as well as contributing 2 points and a steal. Justin Grove hustled all game and had 2 steals. David Jones once again sacrificed his body and made a diving play to save the ball from going out of bounds. Daniel Mandel, Jeremy Guerin and Adithya Rao were key on defense forcing several turnovers and grabbing many rebounds.

No. Carolina 22 - UConn 12

The game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the UConn Huskies was slow to start, but both teams picked up the pace later in the first half.  It was UConn who put the first points on the board. Due to UConn’s strong defense, it took N. Carolina a little time and numerous attempts to make their first basket, until Nick Pottle broke the ice for N. Carolina with an 18 ft jump shot from the strong side.  N. Carolina continued scoring to take the lead, but it was UConn’s offense that came alive scoring three consecutive baskets to tighten the score by half time.  The second half started off much like the first for N. Carolina, until Cameron Arena took control of the floor with three strong drives to the basket for scores.  Cameron Arena lead the scoring for N. Carolina with 8 points and Kyle King contributed 4 points.  Luke Briand, N. Carolina’s Center, grabbed a defensive rebound, drove coast to coast and was determined to score 2 points, and he was successful. Aidan DiPasquale, Nicholas Pottle, Griffin Green, and Patrick Casserly also assisted with 2 points a piece.  Evan Wang, as point guard, provided numerous assists and Cody Miller was a dominant figure under the boards helping N. Carolina to a 22 -12 victory over UConn.  This was truly a team effort for N. Carolina.  The players of both teams showed strong determination and effort throughout the game, which is a true testament to quality behind both coaching staffs.