Nuggets Edge Sonics in Overtime Thriller, 51-49

(Editor's note: the following information was submitted by the coaches and administrators of the Tewksbury Boys Basketball League.)

Senior Division

 Blazers over the Jazz

The Jazz challenged the top team in the SR league and took the Blazers into the final minute of the game before the Blazers secured a hard fought 36-32 victory. This game was a back-and-forth affair featuring great defense, several lead changes, and a tight point spread throughout. Neither team brought their best shooting eye, but both played full tilt on defense for all 32 minutes. The Jazz were led on defense by Kyle Fleury, Billy Petherbridge, and Nick Noel who each dominated under the glass. At the top of the zone it was Nick Valente, Dan D’Entremont, David Dempsey, and Petros Nacopoulos who did a fantastic job slowing the charge of the Blazers. Leading the Jazz offense were Greg Silva running the wing with the soft touch for 6 points, and D’Entremont who hit 1 from long range ending with 7 for the game. Rich Pachucki did a great job of creating some space and getting open, he received some nice feeds from teammates and converted for 4 points of his own. Dempsey gave his usual full-throttle effort, burying a 3-pointer and 1 from the charity stripe to end with 4 points. Petros Nacopoulos drained a 3 late in the 4^th quarter but the clock ran out before the Jazz could regain possession for an attempt to re-capture the lead. Both teams gave their all in this one and it was great preparation for the playoffs that start next week !

Rockets 39, Bobcats 23
This turned into a defensive battle with the Rockets getting blocked shots from Tim Lynch (6pts), Jack Lindsey (2pts), Chris Catizone (2pts), and Andrew Loiselle (2pts). Adding 4 steals were Thomas Willegal and Joe Darrigo. On the offensive side of the ball the high scorers were John Cave (7pts) and Andrew Rogers (7pts). Also hitting the scoring column were Anthony Darrigo (5pts), William Hopkins (4pts), and John Waddell (4pts).

The Bobcats finished up their regular season faced with a big challenge as they were down 2 players yet paired against one of the top teams in the league. Determined to fight to the end the team hung in there as the minutes mounted and took their toll on tired bodies. Proving he’ll be a force for the team next season Robert Papandrea continued his dominance and led the team with 8 points. Working hard and slashing around the Rockets defense Matt Famiglietti put in 5 points. The 4 points that Mike Ladderbush put in doesn’t tell the full story as he was a monster under the basket pulling down rebound after rebound, trying to help the ‘Cats stay in the game. Rounding out the scoring with 2 points each were Andrew Carta, Dan Turosz, and Patrick Leonard. Nick McLaughlin, Matt Cocca, and Steven Lee continued strong on defense helping to provide the team more offensive chances to claw back into the game.
 
TimberWolves edge the 76ers

The TWolves started the season slow but ended strong with a 57-44 victory over the 76ers. The game was up and down but without any practice the effort came out and all players had a nice game. All 11 TimberWolve players came together this season; Mike Baker- has a nice shot, Chris Coste - has heart/skills, Tim Donovan - is a vacuum under the boards, Austin Harrington - Hustler, Blake Hery - full out effort all the time, Joe Lalonde - team player, Tommy Madore - up and down the court every play, David Morris - helps his teammates on and off the court, Anthony Payne - gritty player, Jimmy Quilty - anchor on defense, and Aaron Wenetta - teachable and great effort. The coaching staff is proud of these kids and whatever happens in the playoffs all the players are winners in our book. Thank you to the parents for getting the kids to the games and practices.

The Sixers played arguably their best game of the year Saturday at the Ryan School, but the TWolves came out on top. Leading the attack for the Sixers was Chris Manory with 14 points. Also in double figures was Brian Conneely with ten points. Following were David Barry with six points, Jonathan Tower, Ben Rauseo, and AdamRekkbie with four apiece. Steve Ferreira had two points in the game. Playing hard defensively were Josh Cardero, Brandon Fitzpatrick, Colin Brace, and Tom Catyb. Colin Brace had provided quiet leadership and setting an example of hard work for the other players during his time with the Sixers.

Bucks 43, Knicks 35

The Bucks finish the regular season on a high note by defeating a talented Knicks team. This was a very evenly matched game and the keys to the Bucks victory were solid defense, good ball control, and total team play. Nick Dulock was superb at running the Bucks offense; he was double and triple teamed all afternoon and still managed to get the ball to his teammates for scoring opportunities. Defensively the Bucks were able to keep the Knicks in check by mixing up some zone and man-to-man schemes on defense. Joe Gershman (5pts), Lucas Theisen, Mike Boudreau, and Ryan Letourneau worked very hard on the defensive end of the court. Offensively several players stepped it up a notch for the Bucks; Joey Felix (14 pts), Anthony Barinelli (9 pts) and Andrew Bryan (10 pts). Bryan was also a monster on the boards grabbing a number of rebounds. Rounding out the scoring for the Bucks were Dylan Bartolomeu (2 pts), Chris Meehan (2 pts), and Peter Murray (1 pt).

The Knicks lost to a very good Bucks team in a crucial game leading into the playoffs. The Bucks led on the fast break and were able to stop the inside game of the Knicks. Sean Derrah produced most of the offense for the Knicks with 19 points. Will LeRette left the game in the first quarter with an injury, tried to come back in the second quarter, but was injured again and left the game. The Knicks played tenacious defense, with Chris Allen blocking several shots and the Knicks continued with the defensive pressure by William Ramsey, Jeff Donahue, and Joe Ogden. Jimmy Hutchinson hustled back and many times was the sole defender against the Buck's fast break. Mike McAteer and Nick Constantineau helped control the ball and added scoring. The Knicks played their usual good game, but were over matched by a solid performance by the Bucks.

Bulls defeat the Hornets
The Hornets could not keep pace with the Bulls in a 51-46 loss. Nick Falcone and Cam Skinner paced the Hornets offense. Ron Mallach, Josh Gadue, and Bryan Foti contributed on both ends of the floor. Patrick O’Brien, Mike Reznikow, Nick Salvato, and Ed Duffy rounded out the scoring.

 Intermediate Division

Bobcats 59 Friars 44

The Bobcats finished the regular season on a strong note by pulling off their third straight win, even missing several players. The very aggressive Friars kept the game close throughout, but in the end the ‘Cats pulled away with a solid victory. Waking up the crowd at this early game Daniel Derosa (2 points) started off the scoring and got the team rolling. He also stepped up and played 12 consecutive minutes to help out the shorthanded team. Ryan Casino, even on tired legs as his minutes mounted, continued his dominance and totaled a team season high 20 points. Following behind Casino’s performance were Matty McLaughlin and Phil Borges who both put in 8 points and played solid defense while carrying the responsibility of playing extra back to back times. Robert Page was not to be denied inside and stayed aggressive on rebounds putting in 7 points. Assisted by Nolan Higgins’ defensive presence, Leo Frisella found his shot in the paint and added 6 points for the team down the stretch. Although under the weather, Liam Doherty was still able to add in 4 points before he had to come out of the game, and Akhil Bagul matched these 4 points including a nice hook shot from outside the arc. The best well balanced offensive contribution from the team this season.

Nuggets Edge the Sonics 51-49 in an OT Thriller

The Nuggets and Sonics put on quite a display for the fans for the second time this season. When it was over, the Nuggets pulled away for an exciting 51-49 win over the Sonics in overtime. The Nuggets continue to played unselfish, team basketball with 7 players scoring points in this see-saw battle. The stellar defense of Dave Pesante and rebounding of Doug Connors were instrumental in getting the Nuggets opportunities on the offendive end. Jeff D'Entremont (3), Andrew Pacheco (6) and Jonathan Mooney (7) all had baskets at critical points in this game to keep the game close. Sammy Traynor got heated up again this week and continued to burn up the nets for 23 points. The clutch play and on court leadership of Christian Lucchesi (6) down the stretch and in OT made a huge impact to secure a well earned victory.

A great battle to end the season. Alex Tate poured in 25 pts including the tieing basket with 11 seconds left. The aggressive style of play caught up to the Sonics in overtime and ran into foul trouble. Mike Butler poured in 8 points and other contributors were Jake Aceto 7 Chris Nardone 5. The defense was stellar led by Ryan Indigario, Robbie Gilligan, and Jason Dipietro. Roy Mallach and Robert Connors made key plays throughtout the game. Evan and Novan Iftekahr played extremely well on the boards

Bullets 50 over the Eagles

The Bullets wrapped up the regular season with a victory over a tough Eagles team Saturday morning at the Ryan. It was a tremendous team effort for the Bullets as they kept their 12-0 record intact. All of the Bullets players on the roster contributed to the 50 points put on the scoreboard, lead by Eddie Brenz with 12 points, TJ Contalonis with 9 points and Shea Hiltz with 6 points. A huge defensive effort by Ameen Kalkhoran (2 points) with several blocked shots and steals. Ryan Sughrue ( 4points), Jeff Peirce (2 points) and Kelvin Nguyen (3 points) gave up their bodies while pulling in several rebounds and taking on the Eagle offense. Nick Muise, Corey Indelicato and Brendan Murray each had 4 points as well as several assists to bring home the regular season title for the team. Congratulations to all of the TBBL teams on a great regular season and good luck in the upcoming playoffs.

Jazz 42 Hornets 30

In the second match up in just as many weeks the Jazz defeated the Hornets leaving them with 1 game a piece and tying them for regular season play. Both teams played a strong defensive game and it was very close all the way into the 4th quarter. Offensive passing was a key in coming out on top with some great passing provided by Matt Mitchell, Brandon Alves (4) Jared Roane (16), Jackson Roane (14), Evan Surette (8), and Richie Aronson. Many players took shots on net also but the pressure from the Hornets prevented their success. Providing some excellent defensive coverage for the Jazz were Johnny Melanson, Robbie Daniels, Jack Vasas, Ryan Fay, Billy Catyb and Jimmy Catyb.

Hornets played in another exciting basketball game against an excellent Jazz club. The Hornets got to within 4pts near the end of the third quarter, and brought that momentum into the 4^th. In the 4^th the ball just wouldn’t drop despite getting of some great shots. Zach Smith and Dan McCrevan lead the scoring with 8pts each. Billy Tamboli and Ryan Barry had 6pts each, with Bobby Payne adding 2points The game was much closer than the finale score indicates, and was hard fought right to the end. This was the last game of the regular season and after a slow start the Hornets ended up 6-6 to finish the year. Great job!

Celtics over the Raptors

The Celtics won the opening jump shot to start off the first quarter of the last season game. Alex Regan started the first quarter scoring for the Celtics with six points. The Celtics had a lead and did not let it go. Will Small and Jonathan Zurawski played great defense, setting several picks. A great steal by Garrett Geompel and a smooth lay up, added two more to the board. Derek Cronis and Domenic Catizone made some quick passes and both added numbers to the board. Anthony McNeil and Alex made quick ball recovery and sent the ball up court to Christan Bennett to put up five baskets. Joish Synder got fouled in the third and added one more to the board. In the fourth, the Celtics pulled out all the stops and added ten points to the score closing the game at Celtics 44, Raptors 21. High scorers for the Celtics, Alex 18 and Christan 10. Great game Celtics. Good luck in the play offs.

Junior Division

Celtics over the Cavs

The Celtics ended their 3 game losing streak defeating the Cavs to go into the playoffs on a high note. The Celtics offense, which has had trouble finding the hoop of late, started with points on the first and last shots. Zach DeSanto (2pts) started the offense on the right foot, and Matt Cahill (2pts) ended the scoring with his first points of the year. In between the Celtics saw Kartik Prakash and Jeremy Sencabaugh each score 4 points, Cameron Legvold (6 pts) and Anthony Lucibello had a game high 8 points. The Celtics defense stepped up with great play at both ends by Kevin Carta and Josh Winter.

The Cavs scoring was led by Matt Manoukian with 5 pts and Nate Wilkinson added 2 points Outstanding defensive efforts by Ryann Smith, Xavier MacShane, Jay Gandhi, Matt Pescatore, and Nicholas Borges.

Hornets over the Raptors

Kyle Harkins was the leading scorer with 21 points. Nicholas Catizone helped keep the lead scoring 10 points. Blake and Braden Hiltz, and Shaun Murphy used their great offensive and defensive skills and scored 6 points each. Ryan Meuse played great defense and hustled around the court and contributed 4 points for the team. Alex Kelleher used his speed to set up his teammates with great passes and scored 2 points. Congratulations to the undefeated Hornets!

The undermanned Raptors lost to the Hornets but had some great baskets made by Connor Nugent, Andrew Pierce and Scott Mazzapica. Cameron O'Hearn also score a basket and had great block shot on a breakaway. Matthew Wagner play outstanding defense and DJ Naughton did and exceptional job bring the ball up and passing to his teammates.

Wizards over the Spurs

 The Wizards played hard against the Spurs and showed that with a lot of hard work throughout the season they can come together as a team. Damion Carroll And Ryan Bennett put forth tremendous effort as team forwards. Jake Durant worked hard

Offensively and plays either forward or center depending on what his team needs. Robert Pothier and Anthony Sironi quickly moved around the court and played great defensively.

Warriors 28 Mavericks 23

The Mavericks, finishing at .500 for the season, played another hard fought game against the Warriors that was decided in the final minutes. The Mavericks’ were led by an outstanding all-around game from Kyle Obst who had 18 points, 3 steals, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Riley Frost (4 points, 2 assists, 3 steals) and Anthony Miano (1 point, 3 assists) rounded out the scoring for the Mavs. Keeping the game close throughout was their defense led by Brandon Coolidge (5 rebounds), Michael Lambert (4 rebounds), Kyle Rogers (2 rebounds) and Derek Lefler (5 rebounds).