Thunder Blots Out Suns, Knicks Double Up Celtics

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

Cadet Division

Thunder 22 - Suns 15

The Thunder started off their season with a win over the Suns. A great team defense effort was led by Taylor Pendleton and Kyle McHugh, who also let the team in rebounding. The scoring attack was led by John Beatrice with 8 points. Colin Bozek, Dylan Dufresne, and Owen Griffin had 4 points each, and Tommy Branchaud had 2. The offense moved the ball well throughout the game and got solid contributions from Sam Hines & Liam MacDonald.

 Robert Cortes led the scoring for the Suns with 8 points. Sam White had 4 points, Joey Pazyra had 2 points and Gavin Thomasset made a foul shot to account for the rest of the scoring. Douglas Renna, Logan Frost, Damien Hadden and Max Tyler all played good defense and kept the score close. Brady Eagan contributed with solid rebounding and Cody Mercuri made a couple of nice passes.

Hawks 20 Bucks 10

Lead by Captains’ Brady Litton and John Ragucci, the Hawks beat the Bucks 20 to 10. The team played intense defense led by Sreetej Digumarthi who had 4 steals. Sean Connelly, Paul Tower, Litton and Ragucci also played well defensively. The Hawks’ offense was a result of teamwork. Rory Power scored 10 points from passes by Mike Cronin, Sean Murphy and Digumarthi. Derek Munroe also had 2 assists and 2 points. Digumarthi had 2 points. Murphy had 6 points.

The Bucks offense got off to a slow start in the first half but kicked into gear in the 2^nd half with 6 points from Jake Aylward and 4 points from Cam Paolillo. The Bucks defense also improved in the 2^nd half with strong efforts from Julian Costello, Travis Cohen and Cullain Johnson. Colin Fullerton and Brody Mcgratty displayed good ball-handling skills and Zakary Fontaine provided some excellent interior passing.

T-Wolves 20 Rockets 18

 The T-Wolves continued their winning ways by defeating the Rockets 20-18 in the most competitive game of the day. Luke Maresca and Domenic Valway led the way in scoring (8pts each) with help from Joey Arsenault who hit a long range jumper and Derek Wilkinson who stole many balls leading to fast break baskets that were crucial throughout the game. The team, led by Johnny Norwood and Kyle Breen demonstrated solid defense throughout the game helping the T-Wolves fend off the Rockets. Brandon Wood demonstrated excellent ball handling skills and the whole team handled the ball well throughout the game. The game was very close down the stretch until a key defensive stop by Jack Panilaitis and a final huge rebound by Shayne MacDonald completed the victory!

Both teams displayed very good defense and excellent offense sharing the ball among their teammates. The Rockets, which trained by 8 points heading into the final quarter staged a late game rally behind the hot shooting of Cam Pereira and great passing of Josh Astudi. This was able to occur as a result of great defense which was led by Jack Stadtman, Alden Lentz, and Collin Goggins.

Also contributing points on offense for the Rockets were Mihir Bagul who had 4 points and Logan Reinhard who chipped in with 2 points but had an exceptional all around game on offense, defense and rebounding. Jordan MacKenzie showed outstanding passing skills for the Rockets while Devin Stoddard played great defense and rebounded very well. Michael Sullivan played an all around good game handling the basketball, playing very good defense, and finding open men to pass to on offense.

Pistons 10 – Raptors 2

The Pistons used a suffocating defense and excellent teamwork to pick up their first win of the season. Kalu Olu scored the team’s only basket in the first half and Josh Engleken controlled the space under the basket allowing the team to end the half tied. Luke McFadyen scored on a long range jumper late in the third quarter to finally break the tie and from there the Pistons were able to get their offense going. Cam Cimino stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup and the team closed out the scoring on two outstanding Dylan Crowley passes, first to Mark Olu and then to Kalu Olu who both finished off with jumpers in the lane. Jason Barnes made a critical steal in the 4^th quarter when the Raptors were pressing to tie the score. Will McFadyen picked up 3 steals and shut down the Raptor guards. Logan Texiera and Logan Gallagher were strong on the offensive glass all day.

The Raptors 2 points today were scored by Henry Pastena assisted by Brady Lane. The defensive match of the season to date was neck and neck until the Pistons opened up the second half with multiple baskets sealing the win over the Raptors even with the great defense on Michael Wilson, Nicholas Wilson and Richie Raso. The rebounding was dominated by the Pistons height while some aggressive rebounding was seen from Ryan Rosenberg. Raptors were down two players today and the players showed tremendous stamina having to play back to back play periods.

 Knicks 20, Celtics 10

 The Knicks got off to a fast start behind 3 quick first period buckets from Ben Svendsen while Nick Polimeno and Daedon Bere kept solid defensive pressure on the Celtic guards. Trevor Trodden and Aiden Lefler both had key hoops in the second quarter to keep the momentum going for the Knicks heading into halftime. In the 2^nd half Cole Duffett, Will McKay, and Ethan Fleming all scored for the second straight game to give the Knicks a little breathing room. Ethan Exilhomme played another spectacular all around game as he seemed to be everywhere at times scoring, rebounding, and distributing.

 The Celtics were led on offense by Luke Tryder with 8 points and Sean Fahey with 2 points. Both players also had a strong game on the defensive side of the ball. The Celtics were able to move the ball on offensive with great play from Jeremy Perez and Ryan Melo, both of who are proving they are capable of moving the ball up and down the court. Having another strong performance on defense were Rob Ryan, Leo Strangman, and Dominic Searles; all three grabbing rebounds. Anchoring the defense were Cam Loder and Michael Bottaro, both providing strong pressure leading to multiple turnovers. 

Junior Division

Cavs 16, Spurs 10

The Cavs had a great team effort and beat the Spurs in an exciting game but tough loss for the Spurs. Scoring for the Spurs was led by Jake Winter with 4 points and Brandon Melo, Logan Singleton and Josh Winter chipping in with 2 points each. Michael Kelleher, Sean Phaneuf clamped down on defense and had some key steals. On the defense and offensive boards Jared Doyle, Jack Bieren and Ryan Briley came down with same huge rebounds.

The Cavs evened their season record at 1-1 with an exciting 16-10 win over a very good Spurs team. Outstanding offensive efforts turned in by leading scorer Xavier MacShane (8pts), followed by Ryan Anderson (6pts), and John “JP” Murphy (2pts). On the defensive side of the ball William Mance, Ryan Smith, and Savion Piche also turned in outstanding efforts with timely steals, tip balls, and their relentless defensive skills.

Mavericks 20, Sixers 14

The Mavs played a solid game which led to a 20 to 14 victory over the Sixers. Steven Nickerson, Jared Gray, Andrew Enringis and Derek Leffler played good ball with strong defense and big rebounds. Evan Wood was the leading scorer with six points. Chris Zdinak, Anthony Miano, Kyle Marrocco, Shawn Manson and Derek Leffler also raked up points for the Mavs. The Sixers battled back, but the Mavs were able to hold on to the lead. This game was an all-around team effort.

The 76ers had a slow start to the game but made a valiant effort in the end to make it a close 4 point game. The 76ers displayed great team passing giving everyone multiple opportunities for scoring. The 76ers also played great team defense displayed by Dominic Cohen, Arya Mehrabani, Nick Cappiello and Rich Cappiello. 76ers scoring finished with Paul Manzi (4pts.), Jon Mahoney (4pts.), Adam Hines (2pts), Adam Trudeau (2pts.) and Zach Hines (2pts.). Everyone displayed great team work and didn’t give up.

Clippers 20, Wizards 12

For the second week in a row, a wonderful team effort led to another win by the Clippers, 20-12. Matt Pelletier and Tyler Paulding were superb at both ends of the floor, showing off their passing skills and defensive hustle. Patrick Dunn showed off his skills with 2 points, a handful of steals, and even a blocked shot. Owen Gilligan and Matthew Brennan each had games on offense and defense, while Sean Mackenzie contributed to the team’s win with his ball-handling skills. Andrew Ferreira had a great game, contributing to the win with 3 points, multiple rebounds, steals, and smart passing that led to directly to scoring opportunities. Josh Sughrue, who led the team in scoring with 12 points, also contributed with multiple rebounds, steals, and great hustle throughout the game.

Eagles 19 Warriors 10

Warriors came up a little short, losing to the Eagle 19 – 10. Leading the way for the offense was Nate Wilkinson with 6 pts, followed by Jack Kenneally with 4pts. Nick Stephens and Zack Lalonde each had some great shots that just wouldn’t fall. The team demonstrated excellent team defense with key plays from Tyler strong grabbing every loose ball on the floor and good hustle from Mike Bankowski while Alec Strangman and Jason Richardson had some big rebounds to keep the game close.