6th Grade Red Squad Chops Down Timberlane

(Editor's note: The following information was subm,itted by the coaches and administrators of the Tewksbury Boys Basketball program.)

TBBL Travel Summaries

 Tewksbury 6th Grade Red 50,  Timberlane 26

 Tewksbury 6Th Grade Red continued its winning streak by beating Timberlane 50-26. Leading the scoring was John Ciampa with 14 points and Gavin Macdonald and Jared Mason with 8 points. Also scoring were Troy Acconia, Jess Lamarck, Mason Lorick, Cam Kelly, David Giuggio and Chris Monteneri with 4 points. Great defense by Alex Papageorgiou and Makin Macdonald.

 The team finished 2011 with an overall record of 13 wins and 3 losses in a tough Merrimack Valley Basketball League.  And there’s plenty of optimism that 2012 brings the same results. Very proud of these kids they word hard day in and day out. Good Luck the rest of the way.

Pelham 40   Tewksbury 4th Grade White 25

  The Tewksbury 4th Grade White team squared off against league powerhouse Pelham on Sunday and despite a valiant effort, they came out on the wrong end of a 40-25 final.  Pelham recently ran over everyone at the Hood Tournament Thanksgiving weekend so the boys knew this was going to be a tough battle, but that did not faze them one bit.  4W jumped out to an early lead with some incredible hustle and aggressive defense.  4W led through most of the first half but a late run put Pelham up by 3 at the break.  4W hung tough through the second half and stayed within striking distance.  Another late surge by Pelham put the game away but the final point difference was not indicative of the effort given by 4W.  It was obvious from this game that 4W is on the right path and has made great strides as a team over the past 3 weeks. 

  Thomas Barinelli and Tyler Keough led the scoring with 6 points each.  Joey Branchaud turned in a great effort and added 4 points.  Chris Antonelli chipped in with 3 points and Max Cummings, Evan Mantel and Aidan Doherty each scored 2 points.  Brodie Tirrell and Santino Garofalo did great work on the boards while Nicky Iannacci played tenacious defense including a nice blocked shot.  Jason Martineau showed great hustle on both ends of the floor.

Cadet Division Summaries

 Thunder 18, T’Wolves 9

The Thunder had another great team effort in a win over the T’Wolves 18-9.  It was a very close game throughout with the Thunder pulling away in the 4th Quarter.  The Thunder moved the ball well on offense getting quality contributions from Liam MacDonald.  The ball movement led to another balanced scoring attack getting 4 points each from John Beatrice, Tommy Branchaud, Dylan Dufresne, and Owen Griffin.  Kyle McHugh rounded out the scoring with 2 points.  Sam Hines had another good defensive rebounding effort.  Colin Bozek and Taylor Pendleton led the solid team defensive slowing down the strong inside scoring attack of the T’Wolves.

Despite the warm weather, the offense was cold as the T-Wolves fell for the first time this year 19-9 against the mighty Thunder.  It was a one point defensive battle at halftime with Domenic Valway once again leading the way in scoring (6pts), with help from Derek Wilkinson who hit a free throw, and Kyle Breen who made a great shot after a terrific assist by Jack Panilaitis.  The defensive struggle was spearheaded by Johnny Norwood and Derek Wilkinson at the guard position and Brandon Wood and Abhi Lingareddy down in the paint.  Luke Maresca and Shayne MacDonald had big rebounds and continued to push the ball up trying to spur the team’s offense.  The T-Wolves showed a lot of heart battling to the very end.

Celtics 21, Sixers 19

 The Celtics came away with the victory after a back and forth battle against a tough opponent.  Leading the way on offense with great ball handling and passing were Jeremy Perez and Cam Loder, resulting in scoring from Lucas Tryder (19 pts) and Ryan Melo (2 pts).  The defense proved solid when needed most with great rebounding from Conor Moynihan and Michael Bottaro.  While playing outstanding defense, Robert Ryan, Leo Strangman, and Dominic Searles all made their presence known throughout the game causing multiple turnovers that resulted in points.

 Sixers had multiple offensive basket attempts from every player on the team this game.  Playing for the first time this season was Gaige Dobson, who played strong on both sides and scored 2 baskets, also scoring were Dan Fleming, Drew Timmons, Michael Kelly and Corey Butler.  Adam Favreau,  Dhruv Kaushal, Kyle Adams, Cole Kimtis, Michael Duggan helped their teammates score and defend their hoop.

 Pistons 30 – Hawks 26

 The Pistons played an almost flawless first half putting up 26 points in a tremendous team effort.  The Hawks rallied strongly in the second half to close within 2 points before the Pistons finally held them off with a late basket from Kalu Olu, capping an 18 point day.  Cam Cimino scored 8 points with some strong drives to the basket.  Logan Gallagher and Luke McFadyen added 2 points apiece.  Mark Olu had a great passing game winding up with 3 assists.  Josh Engleken and Jason Barnes each had 4 rebounds starting fast breaks that led to easy baskets.  Logan Texiera played great defense putting pressure on the Hawks shooters.  Will McFadyen and Dylan Crowley handled the ball well running the offense and creating great scoring chances for the rest of the team.

 The Hawks were on their way to the most devastating loss of the season. The Pistons were an offensive machine, scoring at will. Near the end of the first half, the Hawks were down by 20 points before scoring their first basket.

In the second half, the Hawks decided to play intense defense. They did that and much more!

The Hawks came out and stifled the Pistons’ offense. Derek Munroe was stealing passes. John Ragucci was making clutch rebounds. Paul Tower helped slow down the Pistons top scorer from making easy shots. Captain Jack Shreenan and Sreetej Digumarthi continued to stop the Pistons’ offense with tough defense and ball stealing. 

Then the Hawks started to score. Digumarthi’s  5 assists helped the Hawks’ offense flow. Every basket was clutch. Ragucci scored his first basket of the season. Then Shreenan scored near the end of 3rd qtr. Munroe scored 4 points in the second half. Captain Mike Cronin’s dribbling and passing abilities helped the Hawks’ offense get closer to the Piston’s on the scoreboard. Cronin went coast to coast and made a late 3rd qtr baseline jumper. At the end of the 3rd qtr the Hawks were down by 8.

 In the 4th qtr, the Hawks continued their defensive excellence stopping the Pistons from scoring. Sean Connelly and Brady Litton played sound Hawks defense. Connelly created a Piston turnover by intercepting a pass. Litton also slowed down the Pistons’ guards with “in your face” zone defense.  Power took over the game scoring the next 4 points. Power had 14 points during the game; but his most memorable basket was with 22 seconds left when he stole the ball  and scored on the breakaway to put the Hawks within a basket. This forced the Pistons to call a time out now only up by 2 points. The Pistons then put the game away with a basket with 3 seconds left.

What looked like an early-crushing defeat, turned into a nail-biting fight to the end. The Hawks “never give up attitude” helped them get back into the game. One thing is for sure, don’t ever count the Hawks out!

 Raptors 30 – Bucks 13

 Looks like the holiday break is just what the Raptors needed, Coach Tom Crawford told the kids that with great passing come open shots ! And that's what happened today as the Raptors defeated the Bucks by a score of 30-13.

 8 out of 10 players scored with Henry Pestana leading the pack with 8 career high points followed by Christian Marsden' career high of 6 points.

Brady Lane and Michael Wilson contributed with their first points of the season. The Bucks were pressured by Nicholas Wilson, Richie Raso and Jake Pelletier.

 Henry Pestena also had a basket as the buzzer sounded to add some thrill to this match up. Tommy Crawford, Ryan Rosenberg, Hunter Delonais and Richie Raso added additional points to their season score.

Suns over Rockets

Leading the Rockets in scoring were Colin Goggins, Logan Reinhard and Cam Pereira who each scored 2 points. Displaying good passing skills were Jack Stadtman and Jordan MacKenzie. Excellent rebounding was shown by Josh Astudi, Alden Lentz and Devin Stoddard. Mahir Bagul and Michael Sullivan played outstanding defense throughout the game. 

Junior Division Summaries

76ers 26 Clippers 14

The 76ers played a strong consistent game winning by a score of 26-14. 76ers played great defense starting with Dominic Cohen, Arya Mehrabani, Adam Hines, Paul Manzi, Nick Cappiello and Rich Cappiello. The 76ers also displayed great team passing and offensive rebounding giving everyone multiple opportunities for scoring. 76ers scoring finished with Zach Hines (6pts), Paul Manzi (6pts.), Rich Cappiello (5pts), Jon Mahoney (4pts.), Nick Cappiello (3pts) and Adam Hines (2pts.). Great job guys!!

The Clippers suffered another loss this weekend, this time to a strong Sixers team. Despite the lopsided score, the Clippers as a team had a very strong game. Patrick Dunn led the team scoring with 4 points while Joshua Sughrue and Matthew Brennan each contributed with 2 points apiece. The entire team played very well on defense, especially Andrew Ferreira, Tyler Paulding, Matthew Brennan, Patrick Dunn, and Joshua Sughrue who challenged shots, grabbed rebounds, and forced turnovers seemingly every time the ball came near them. Offensively, the team did nicely, too. Owen Gilligan and Alex Karnell each had good games, both taking quality shots that unfortunately just refused to fall in the hoop. Matthew Pelletier, Sean Mackenzie, and Richard Kramer demonstrated their basketball skills by making good passes to their teammates and hustling at both ends of the court. 

Mavericks 22, Cavaliers 10

A solid Mavs team defense lead to a 22 to 10 victory over the Cavs.  Key defensive steals from Shawn Manson, Anthony Miano and Kyle Marrocco led the charge.  The Mavs also had an outstanding rebounding effort led by Steven Nickerson, Jared Gray, Derek Leffler and Andrew Enringis.  Evan Wood, Derek Leffler, Andrew Eringis, Steven Nickerson and Chris Zdinak all contributed to the 22 points to pull off the win against the Cavs.

The shorthanded Cavs lost a tough game against a very good Mavs team.  Xavier MacShane scored all 10 Cavs points.  Ryan Anderson and Patrick Letourneau put in a great effort at offense as well.  Defensive stand outs were Ryan Smith, William Mance, and John "JP" Murphy.

Warriors 24  Wizzards 15 

The Warriors won a very exiting game last night 24 – 15 against a tuff Wizards team. Warriors demonstrated excellent passing and great hustle throughout the game. Leading the way for the offense was Zack Lalonde with 8pts, Jason Richardson & Nate Wilkinson both chipping in 5pts . Alec Strangman knocked down a big shot and pulled down many rebounds to help preserve the lead. Derek Wallace with 4pts. was a work horse on both sides of the floor.  On defense Nick Stephens and Mike Bankowski helped shut down the inside against a talented Wizzards team.

The Wizards lost a close game to the Warriors with a final score of 24-15.  Leading the scoring for the Wizards was Ryan Meuse with eight points.  Also scoring were Ryan Bennett with three points, and Noah Lamonica and Travis Macmurdo with two points each.  William Andella, Sahit Bolla, and Ryan Hunt played a strong offensive game with many rebounds.  Showing impressive ball handling skills and great passes were Harrison Grayzyk, Diego Monteiro, and Nicholas Brooks.

Eagles 24 Spurs 16

The Eagles put in another team effort in their 24- 16 victory over the Spurs.   The defensive stars of the game where Matt Ferreira and Patrick Killion.  Scoring was evenly distributed with Fran Pino, Andrew Froio, Jacob Bragg and Nick Pereirra all scoring 4 points each.  Matt Fronduto, Nate Jones, James Reardon and Ryan Joyce all contributed with two points each.    Good passing and an aggressive defense on the part of the Eagles helped them overcome a very good Spurs team.

In a close first half game the Spurs fell to the Eagles who had a strong second half. It was a full team effort by the Spurs with 7 players hitting the scoring sheet. Leading the scoring was Jake Winter with 4 points followed by Ryan Briley, Justyn Lester, Logan Singleton and Brandon Melo all with 2 points. With a big basket coming on an offensive rebound from Sean Phaneuf with the quick put back. Also, from center Jack Bieren fighting under the basket for the rebound and big put back for the basket. On the defensive end big stops came from Jared Doyle and Michael Kelleher to keep the game as close as possible.