Hornets 5th-Grade Hoops Team Goes 18-12 In First Season

The Hudson River Hornets 5th grade boys AAU basketball team finished their first season with an 18-12 record that included advancing to the quarterfinals of the New York City Metro Div. II Qualifier.

The team competed in eight tournaments, winning the Schultz Shootout in April and finishing second in three other tournaments. Their record against sanctioned 5th grade AAU teams was 18-5. They also competed in the United States Junior Nationals Junior Showcase at Hershey Park, Pa.

At the Schultz Shootout, the Hornets' captured the championship with an exciting 47-41 overtime victory over the Rockland Rockets. The Hornets defeated the Edge Athletics (Poughkeepsie), 44-20, Westchester Wildcats (Rye), 45-41, and Orange County Elite (Goshen), 50-20, to reach the title game. In the championship, the Hornets erased a five-point deficit in the final four minutes to force OT and then capture the title with intense defense and clutch shooting

In the New York City Metro Qualifier in West Hempstead, N.Y., the Hornets finished 3-0 in pool play with victories over the Staten Island Stingrays (58-26), Long Island Lightning (51-24) and Brooklyn-Queens Warriors (45-17). They dropped a hard-fought 48-36 decision to New Heights Westchester in the quarterfinals. By advancing to the quarterfinals, the Hornets qualified for the Div. II National Championships in Detroit, Michigan but they declined the bid.

The team included Sean Flaherty (Orangeburg), Michael Kimble (West Haverstraw), Jeffrey Long (Orangeburg), Brian Madden (Stony Point), Tom McGivney (Tappan), Cole McGrath (Congers), Cameron McGrath (Congers), John Morina (Stony Point), Evan Rivera (Pomona), Xavier Rodriguez (Stony Point) and Michael Walker (Stony Point). The team was coached by Bill Madden and Styles McCloud.

The Hornets are an AAU club based in New City with 10 boys and girls teams from fifth grade to 10th grade.