Girls

Midgets

Fireballs vs Candy Girls: The Fireballs were led offensively by Maddie Patrick and Carlie Smith, and the defensive leaders were Olivia Grant and Shannon Kelleher. The offensive leaders for Candy Girls were Cameron Powers and Nicole Shairer, and the defensive leaders were Megan LeBlanc and Eileen McCleary.

Hurricanes vs Cavaliers: The offensive leaders for the Hurricanes were Kate Petersen and Katie Ryan, and the defensive leaders were Elise Beier and Laura Augenbrau. The Cavaliers offensive leaders were Sarah Tressler and Olivia Buchler, and the defensive leaders were Corrin Bottom and Rhyssa Swanson.

Dunkin Dasies vs Filan Law Office Dribblers: The Dunkin Daisies were led offensively by Kelsey Pearson and Shea Murphy, and the defensive leaders were Colleen Phaneuf and Taylor McPadden. Offensive leaders for the Dribblers were Kaley Meisenheir and Alea Willis, and the defensive leaders were Annie Minor and Kristina Balough.

Bantams

Badgers 21, Carminuccio’s Huskies 12: Badgers were led in scoring by Tess Davenport and Carly Swierbut. Chloe Bigwarfe and Brooke Antous led the team in rebounding, while Ally Tolson, Kendra Saunders and Nathalie Schickendantz were badger tough on defense. The Huskies were led offensively by Brianna Lovely and Anna Cartelli, with Claire Dubois providing many key assists. Carolina Stubbs, Evie Schwertley and Linda Bomova played ferocious defense.

Law Offices of Gail Matthews Pink Panthers 15, Exploding Oreos 14: Jackie Matthews, Veronica Vodola and Alison Kelleher were the leading scorers for the Pink Panthers, while Jenna Gonski, Madeline Brock and Angela Vodola were the defensive stars for the Cats. For the Oreos, Kimberly Buttery and Sarah Widmann provided the offensive spark for their team. Defensively, Sienna Cummings and Jenna Lavelle played fast, tough “D.”

Juniors

One Eyed Pig BBQ Jayhawks 38, Ken Burns Electric Da Bears 24: In their final game of the regular season, the 3-7 Jayhawks faced off against the 9-1 Da Bears. The Jayhawks had been mauled by Da Bears twice before and the only loss Da Bears have was in a tragic game that ended early due to severe injury. The Jayhawk players knew they had to play with everything to take this game and every player contributed. Top point scorer for the Jayhawks was Emma Horn with 8 (2 free throws) followed by Jessica Mullany with 7 (3 free throws). Chelsea Piccirillo and Nicole Russo scored 5 points each, Emily Turco scored 3, Joanna Vodola and Emily Montoya scored 2 points. Stefanie Carr and Anna Buzzanca each sank free throws for 1 point. For Da Bears, top scorers were Hoyt and Grossano with 6 points each.

Grades 5-6

The Flash 17, Crazy Fruits 15: With a playoff spot at stake, The Flash and Crazy Fruits played a nail biter to the final horn. The Flash pulled out the victory going on a 10-4 run to close out the game led by Allie Indelicato with 6 points in the fourth, with Abbie Pearson adding a bucket. Indelicato tallied 12 points total. Claire Swanson started the scoring early and The Flash defense led by Cathy Hyeon, Katie Basset and Kaitlyn Hull held back the Fruits. Lauryn Ankers was all over the floor setting screens for the shooters. The Crazy Fruits as always showed nonstop passion and enthusiasm for the game in the loss. Emily Dirga and Jaclyn O’Leary led the team in scoring. Tegan Dougherty and Sarah Cizmara led the defensive effort, while Teresa Forlenzo led the team in assists. The Fruits closed out a spirited season and The Flash moved on to face the The Storm on Saturday.

The Storm 29, The Flash 25: The Storm held off a determined Flash team to win their first round playoff game by a score of 29-25. The Flash, coming off a thrilling play-in victory the night before, entered the game with their confidence high and almost pulled off the upset of the top-seeded Storm. Carly Kreshpan led The Storm scoring attack with 14 points, while adding 10 rebounds. Camryn Findley and Megan Kelleher each added 4 points and Christina Sgobbo came up big with two huge baskets to help preserve the win. The No. 8 Flash came together at the end of the season playing tremendous basketball. Olivia Holman led a strong offensive charge along with Julia Anderson who shot 4 of 6 from the charity line along with a basket. Claire Swanson dominated inside dropping in a buzzer-beater at the end of the third. Allie Indelicato had 13 points and Kaitlyn Hull 4 assists. The Flash’s defense nearly won the day by controlling The Storm when they usually take charge. Caitlyn Child, Katie Basset, Lauryn Ankers, Cathy Hyeon and Abbie Pearson were a defensive 5th grade juggernaut in the first half of the fourth. The Flash showed tremendous heart closing out their season. The Storm will face The Lady Hawks in the semifinals, Saturday.

Lady Hawks 28, 56ers 27: The Lady Hawks’ Emily Neave scored 10 points and Sydney Flint scored 6 points to lead the team. The most important points of the game came with just 15 seconds remaining, when Abigail Pereira drained a 15-foot jump shot to put the Lady Hawks ahead by one. Rachel O’Grady led the offense with 4 assists. Nicole Frascatore led the team with 8 rebounds and Larkin Huffman anchored the defense with 5 steals. The 56ers had the bird in hand when the Lady Hawks slipped through their fingers in a last minute loss by one point to knock them out of the playoffs. The 56ers star shooter Emily Bell had to watch injured from the bench as her team turned up the heat to play without her. Danielle Otero stepped up to take command, scoring 14 points (season high for team) against the strong Lady Hawk defense. Ashleigh Shaw scored 6 points and showed an excellent rebounding game. Sarah Dowling scored 5 points and Alexandra Futterman scored 2 points. Excellent screens set by Rachel D’Ausilio and Alexandra Reczek. Tremendous guard defensive play by Grace Larsen and Megan Nahmias. The 56ers closed out a nice season. The Lady Hawks move to take on The Storm having handed The Storm the only regular season loss.

Colonical Chiropractic Dr Schmid Mighty Mustangs 23, Pampered Chef Thunder 18: The Mighty Mustangs had only six players available for their first playoff game. All six Mustangs played their hearts out to earn a hard-fought victory over a very tough opponent. Emma Schmid-Tharnish, Ali Nuzzo, Rebecca Gavel, Casey Muckell, Jenna Ciavara and Natalie Shaker all combined to play truly inspiring, great team defense creating numerous steals, held balls, blocked shots and defensive stops. Natalie Shaker, Casey Muckell and Emma Schmid-Tharnish combined for 23 points to lead the Mustangs into the second round of the playoffs. The Thunder were led by Leon-Gambetta with 8 points and Olivia Hamula with 10. Kayla Pettit, Ava Petrellese and Danielle Powell played strong in the paint. Cory Mangold was a strong leader at the point. Kayla Ward and Amanda Solomon were strong defenders for the Thunder. The Thunder closed out a nice season. The Mustangs take on the Orange Crush in the second round.

Zephyr Lock Orange Crush 30, Rankin Sports Pink Panthers 17: The Orange Crush held back a determined Pink Panther squad in their first round playoff. The Crush were led by Ashley Lynch with 9 points, Isabelle Pryor had 6 and Erin Tressler 5. Vanessa Tucker added 4 points. Shannon Cheh and Lucy Scarangella played tough defense. The Panthers were led by Caroline Caporale with 8 and Hannah Luby with 7 points. Elizabeth Weisberger chipped in a basket. Isabel Shaw played strong defense supported by Sarah Lindell and Alex Sabillion. The Pink Panthers closed out a nice season. The Orange Crush move on to play the Mighty Mustangs.

Grade 6

Newtown 26, Wilton 23: Newtown prevailed in the first round of the FCBL playoffs, despite sleepwalking through the first quarter (an 8-1 deficit). The gap was closed to 14-11 at the half, and Newtown took the lead for good late in the third on a 3-point play by Megan Goyda (10 points, 9 rebounds). Wilton closed to within three late in the fourth, but then Nikki Zaccaro (4 points, 4 assists) hit Hailey Conrad (3 points) with a deep pass to break the press. Conrad was fouled, made the first free throw, and Zaccaro knifed in for the put back on the second to give Newtown a 6-point cushion. Olyvia Shaw (4 steals), Jess Maturo, Meghan Doyle and Jillian Pieretti each added a basket.

Newtown 41, Norwalk 46: The third meeting of the season between these teams followed the same pattern as the first two — Newtown getting behind by double digits early (15-4 in this case) and then coming back, but ultimately falling short. Top-seeded Norwalk had too much height (including a 6 footer who scored 24) for Newtown to overcome in this FCBL playoff semifinal. Newtown pulled to within 16-12 at the half, and Kamdynn Moroney’s (4 rebounds, 2 steals) 3-point play at midpoint of the third closed the gap to 22-20. Newtown, however, could not get the equalizer. Goyda more than held her own among the redwoods, registering 14 points and 14 rebounds. Doyle led a late surge and finished with 8 points. Colleen MCCarthy buried two jumpers for 4 points. Conrad (2 points) had 5 steals and Zaccaro (4 points, 11 rebounds) 4 steals. Cassidy Datin played strong interior defense.

 

Boys

Grade 2

Oranges vs Nighthawks: The Oranges were led by Aiden Finnegan and Neil Kalra’s great shooting day, and CJ Cuomo and Michael Elston had some great offensive rebounds. The defensive squeeze was applied by Connor Smith, Adam Zibluk, Andrew Poseno and Patrick Boyle. Coach Jones and acting assistant coach Tracey Elston led the charge. James Malin, Matthew Williams, Devon Herbstman and Connor Mandarano led the way for the Nighthawks with some great ball handling and passing. Zach Kugler and Brandon Akbas each made spectacular shots driving to the hoop. Andrew Bazura chipped in by setting great screens and working hard on the offensive boards. Gus Coffey, Ryan Ruddy and Chris Shaker were strong on the defensive end coming up with numerous steals and rebounds.

Burnt Bananas vs Maroon Magic: The Burnt Bananas and the Maroon Magic played a hard-fought game. Karl “The Mailman” Miller delivered with an abundance of baskets. Jack Street also tickled the twine for the bananas dominating inside. Nuke Hannan was a power plant with energy on offense and defense. Jake “The Snake” Mailloux and Noah Dinallo passed the ball unselfishly and inspired their team with their smiles. Little Barkley Jacozzi and Grant Baker had solid games running the fast break. Pistol Pete Petersen triggered the offense with some great defense and outstanding outlet passes while “Jumping” Jack Stenz skied high for several rebounds. The Maroon Magic played a fast-paced game this weekend with plenty of action up and down the court as both teams pushed the ball. Danny Pond and Charlie Eppers did a great job pushing the ball up the court and getting back on defense to disrupt the fast break. Matt Sortino and Nick Sortino did a great job on getting the offense started with dribble penetration and then finding the open man. John Sullivan and Kyle Reilly tracked down the rebounds and loose balls with a lot of hustle.

Blue Ice vs Lightning: In their best performance of the season, the Blue Ice got contributions from every player. Conor Dole opened the game with 2 baskets. Jack Mahar had a steal early in the game, and then capped off the day with a nice 2 pointer after receiving a cross-court pass from Steven Cotton. Riley Dole made it into the scoring column with a basket of his own off a feed from CJ Demers. Jake Dandrea drove to the hoop with authority and scored a few points. Miller Tetreault played tough man-to-man defense and scored a nice basket. Steven Leuci and Aiden DellaCorte made it tough for their opponents by swarming on defense and Arav Dave and Nick Sabillon handled the ball well and made several nice passes to their teammates. Lightning’s Nicholas Fischer showed off his offensive skills with several driving layups and jump shots. Ryder Palumbo got in on the scoring action as well, making several baskets. Hayden Miller and Ryan Heran grabbed numerous rebounds and Logan McAloon, Kyle Pettit and Daniel Jaeger played outstanding defense. Brendan Morrissey made several nice passes and Sean O’Sullivan played with his usual energy and toughness, grabbing many steals and rebounds.

Grade 3

Mavericks 32, Danbury 22: The Mavs were led on offense by Jack Mulligan, Joe Rios, Jack Lydon, Nick Kalra, Kyle Sullivan and Josh Taylor. The Mavs were led on defense by Jack Kuligowski, Keenan Murphy, Liam Murphy, Kyle Good, Luke Hannan and Dillon Robinson.

 

Grade 4

Mavericks 36, Adviserstrust.com Heat 22: The Mavericks were led by Jack Sullivan and Mark Leonardi who combined for 17 points. Nicholas Accousti directed the offense from the point. The defense was led by Timmy McCarthy with 5 steals and Cameron Trivers with 7 rebounds. For the Heat, Thomas Hartley and Brennan Mayer combined for 12 points, while James Clifford had 3 assists, Matthrew Dubois had 5 steals and Garrett Norberg, 8 rebounds

Blue Streak 24, Globetrotters 15: For the Streak Kyle Cascone and Trevor Bottom combined for 14 points, while Harry Lucas had 4 assists, Vincent Genovese led the defense with 4 steals, and Reed Hammond had 7 rebounds. For the Globetrotters, John Albanesi and James Schumacher combined for 11 points. Bryan Ingwersen had 3 assists, Ty Dickinson led the defense with 4 steals and Anthony Lynch had 6 rebounds.

Aces 25, Flaming Monkeys 19: Aces were led by the scoring of Sean McCleary and Gabriel Stewart who combined for 12 points. Todd Peterson had 4 assists, while Alex Budd and Tom Luciano led the way on defense. For the Monkeys, Daniel Mason and Riley McCafferty combined for 17 points. Gavin Connors had 3 assists, while Ben Futterman had 5 steals and Jacob Clements had 7 rebounds.

Flaming Monkeys 27, The Beasts 23: For the Monkeys Daniel Mason and Riley McCafferty combined for 20 points. Luke Fischer had 3 assists, while Liam Creeden had 5 steals, and Jack Hannan had 7 rebounds. Jimmy Davies and Faris Kaghat combined for 17 points for the Beasts. Bobby Elston led the offense with 4 assists, while Tyler Clure had 4 steals to key the defensive effort, and Harvey Long had 7 rebounds.

Grade 5

Dynamite 42, Red Bulls 26: The Dynamite were able to jump out to an early lead and then hold off the furious rush of the Red Bulls in the fourth quarter. Matt Principi led the Dynamite with 16 points, while John Finnegan added 11 and Kevin Riccardi 4 points. Robert Murray and Jacob Duffy had strong all-around games both offensively and defensively and were able to help beat the Red Bull pressure in the fourth quarter. Chris Daubert had a strong overall game. Down 29-12 entering the fourth quarter, the Red Bulls, using the full court press, mounted a surge of 12 unanswered points to bring the game to 29-24 with four minutes remaining; only to run into a crevasse, and out of oxygen the rest of the way. Sterling Radasci, Kyle Gaynor, Ryan Patrick, Justin Woodward and Ben Harrison led the valiant comeback. Ben was an avalanche, scoring 8 points and pulling down 5 rebounds in less than 90 seconds to lead the comeback. Evan Landgrebe had his third consecutive strong game for the Bulls scoring 7 points and getting numerous rebounds.

Tornadoes 28, Kia Mazda Nighthawks 22: In a tense Elite Eight playoff game, the Tornadoes fought off a spirited rally by the Kia Mazda Nighthawks and moved on to the Final Four with a 28-22 victory. Eugene Citrano, Jake Pirone and Owen Walsh opened the scoring for the Tornadoes in the first period and they continued to lead the way throughout the second period as the Tornadoes extended their lead to 14-7 at the half. Tenacious man-to-man defense by Ken Malin, Rhett Saunders and Walsh helped keep the tandem of Joshua Dunn, Dylan Sock and Tommy Skrelja in check. Dunn led a surge for the “hawks” as they put up 11 points in the third period and closed to within 22-18. The Tornadoes, behind 4 points from Adam Wolff, 3 from Pirone and a free throw by Tristan Crone fought hard to maintain their lead and countered with some tough rebounding by Matthew Menousek and Jack Bittman to help the Tornadoes maintain their lead. The Tornadoes had a number of chances in the paint throughout the third and fourth periods but could not pry the cover off the rim enough to extend their lead. The key moment in the game occurred late in the fourth period. After a missed shot by the Nighthawks, Jack Buchler hustled after the long rebound and won the battle for the ball. After a time-out, the Tornadoes brought the ball down the court and Jake Pirone scored to make it a 24-18 game with just 2 minutes left in the game. Pirone and Wolff added four free throws as the Tornadoes held on for the win. The Tornadoes look forward to their semifinal game vs the Dynamite this Saturday at 2 pm at NYA.

Celtics 32, Scorpions 27: During the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics were paired up against the Scorpions. This was the third time these teams would be meeting in 5th grade boys basketball during this in-house season, so they knew each other’s strengths and weakness, which resulted in a back-and-forth match through the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. The C’s played tight “D,” but the Scorpions and their potent shooters would not be denied and would match the C’s bucket for bucket in each quarter. The C’s offense was led by Silas “D-Train” Decker and the brothers Harper, i.e. “Jumpshot” Josh and “Never Nervous” Nick. “D-Train” led the team with 14 points, while Nick contributed a tight 7 through his slick guard play. The Celtics went 6 of 8 from the charity stripe, including “Jumpshot” coming up huge and sinking 3 of 4 from the line during the second half. This win for the Celtics was really a team victory, after being behind and coming back, and also having to deal with losing for almost two quarters the C’s high energy big man Alex “Skywalker” Janiak after suffering a severe bloody nose received during play. Michael “The Flash” Narducci played critical second half minutes from his guard position to pick up his teammates and help the C’s overcome the strong Scorpions. The Scorpions ended their season playing their best game all season versus the Celtics. The entire team contributed as they battled up to the end of the game against a Celtic team that has no weaknesses. Offensively they were led by Greg Brissette (13 points) and Ben Terry (8 points). The Scorpions’ entire team played well defensively, especially Daniel Badiola, Doug Carriero and Alex Street. Also playing well were Mark Hall, Connor DiNallo, Jermane Anyoha and Wyatt Moyers.

Heat 24, Huskies 21: In a tight defensive battle, the Heat avenged a loss earlier this season to the Huskies winning Saturday’s opening playoff game 24-21. The Heat once again used a full team effort with seven players reaching the scoring column. Ryan Mailloux directed the offense which was led by Aidan Ford’s 6 points and Ryan Williams’ 7 points. Ryan also had an incredible 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Kai Toomey played great with 3 points, 4 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Heat defense was led by the intensity of Liam and Nate Jones and Jamie Hobar who played strong despite being in foul trouble for most of the game. Andrew Deluca led the Huskies with a double-double grabbing over 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points. Thomas Fitzgerald and David Daria also contributed 4 each, with Christian Adam and Bobby Ward rounding out the scoring with a pair each.

Grade 6

Newtown Gold 42, Fairfield PAL 76ers 37: A frenetic pace and an unfamiliar style seemed to unsettle Newtown Gold in the first half, but later Fairfield faded, falling to a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The 76ers tried to send Gold to the free throw line by committing 16 fouls in the second half, but that strategy came up short. Coach Jack Shpunt kept his team calm in the squall of opposing coach’s screaming, opinionated officiating and a quick Fairfield squad. Andrew Lee (11 points) and Jason Hebner helped keep Newtown in the game in the first half with tough defense and key rebounds. Gavin Stubbs (5 points) blocked and altered many shots as the 76ers tried to take it inside, and team defense took control of the contest. Connery Mayer scored 6 points and Mike Liberante scored 10 as they helped take over the second half, capitalizing on Fairfield’s turnovers and over-zealous press. Colby Olson, Austin Engler, Colin McCafferty and Sam “Bam” Grossano each had 2 points in the “Winning” effort.

Newtown Gold 37, Fairfield PAL Spurs 34: Newtown Gold advanced to the championship game in their playoff bracket by defeating the Fairfield PAL Spurs by 3 points. Tightly contested, this game saw a series of lead changes throughout the entire game, and the Gold boys narrowly escaped a last second 76er 3-point shot that went in and out as time expired. Newtown held an 18-16 lead at half, but the Spurs would not let up. The Fairfield full court press was not a problem for the 6th grade victors, as Connery Mayer, Jason Hebner and Sam Grossano easily rose to the challenge. Newtown’s shots just were not falling despite good looks and sharp passing. Guards Colin McCafferty and Austin “Powers” Engler contributed 2 points each, but more importantly gave up few turnovers and controlled the pace of the game. Lefties Andrew Lee (11 points) and Gavin Stubbs (8 points) hit both the offensive and defensive boards with reckless abandon. Mike Liberante led all scorers with 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Lee went 5 for 8 from the charity stripe. Colby Olson (2 points) protected the paint under the boards, while Newtown’s heady play and aggressive defense led to steals and took the Spurs out of their game. Gold plays Monroe next in their championship round in Darien on Saturday.

Red Storm 31, The Grasshoppers 26: In a play-in game for Saturdays 6th grade playoffs, Red Storm won 31-26. Red Storm was led in scoring by Joe Palanzo with 16 points. Matt Frazzetta dominated under the boards recording 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Jacob Meenan and Collin Villamana played disruptive defense and totaled 3 steals each. Thomas Leuci led the team with 6 assists and contributed 4 points. Tim jaeger played a strong game under the boards and made a clutch basket late to help lead the team to a much needed win. The Grasshoppers swarmed Red Storm in the fourth quarter almost pulling off a big comeback after trailing 23-14 in the third. Ultimately though, there was not enough seconds on the clock to complete the comeback. The Grasshoppers’ All-Star selections Owen McInerney and Jack Reilly finished with 6 points each. Nick Venezia was instrumental in the comeback, stealing the ball three times during full-court press. Conor Brennan was tremendous on defense once again. Early in the fourth quarter he ran the full length of the court and stopped an easy fast-break layup, helping the green nymphs maintain their comeback attempt. Ryan Brello and Patrick Godino scored 4 points each. Ryan Norton, Matt Kretz, Bradley Wiseman and Bradley Capeci scored 2 points each in the game.

Red Storm 33, Newtown Mystery 31: Red Storm won an overtime battle with a score of 31-29. Joe Palanzo led Red Storm in scoring 16 points. Tommy Kitzmiller hit consistently from long range and finished with 8 points. Jack Palermo played strong under the boards and had 8 rebounds. Spencer Burden played strong defensively and finished with 3 steals. In a season that had mostly triumphs and fell short in round one play-offs, I have never been more proud to have coached the Mysteries this year. The whole team gave their all on that court to preserve their perfect record.

Hershey Kisses 40, Blue Ninjas 16: Hershey Kisses cruised to a first-round playoff victory 40-16, behind 20 points and 7 rebounds from Steven Moccio, 10 points, 4 steals and a great floor presence from Will Huegi. Peter Debona and Elliot Bennett each chipped in 4 pts and controlled the paint by combining for a total of 15 rebounds...Tiernan Keane, Aaron Gershon, Nick Lombardo, Phillip Coffey and Robert Lombardo led the defensive effort with a total of 11 steals and 17 rebounds, and Greg Trimarchi played a solid all-around game with 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Blue Ninjas played a great season. The coaches could not have asked for more from this group of boys. They played every game with a great sense of focus, determination and positive attitudes. The coaches would like to thank each player on the team: Chad Azzarito, R.H. Clark, Peter Clifford, Matt Fuchs, Matt Guinee, Matt Krasnickas, Tyler La Croce, Nick Lametto, Bryan Morrissey and David Usher, for a great season.

The Bulldogs 51, Rankin Sports Thunder 49: The Bulldogs played an excellent all-around game against a solid and determined Thunder team. The Bulldogs came out on top with the offense being led by Matthew Bucci and Adam Beckett. Matthew had 26 points, 20 rebounds, 10 steals. Adam Beckett had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals. Will LeMay and Brandon Pavlicek each had 4 points and were solid under the boards with 12 rebounds between them. Hunter Cobb and Andrew Janco each had 2 points each, 7 rebounds and 4 steals between them. Defensively the Bulldogs were led by Thomas Sanczyk and Max Ames who were extremely effective throwing off the offense of the Thunder with key blocking, stealing and rebounding. Between them they had 10 rebounds 3 steals and Thomas had 4 points as well. Evan Kohlsaat with 2 points, 1 steal and Alex Dunleavy with 5 rebounds, 1 steal played major roles in supporting the point guards and creating confusion for the offense, not allowing them to play their game. The Thunder trailed most of the way and fell just short at the buzzer. Justin Dunn led the offense with a blistering 33 points, and Graham Dowd added 11 points along with 3 assists. Eric Mockovac and Paul Whitaker combined for 12 rebounds, and Zach Anderson, Billy Kase and Bryce Griffin hustled on the defense

Grade 7

Newtown Gold 50, Wilton 53: Gold’s official season ended with a first-round playoff loss, but as they did all year, the team did not go quietly. Trailing 36-20 midway through the third quarter, Newtown mounted a furious comeback and found themselves trailing 46-44 after Dillon Palumbo (9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) completed a 3-point play with four minutes remaining in the game. They then had three possessions to tie the game, but could not convert. Wilton responded with consecutive 3-pointers to open a 7-point lead with under two minutes to play. Gold had one last chance as Colin Patrick hit a jumper with ten seconds remaining and then forced a turnover seven seconds later. A final 3-pointer that would have tied the score, however, fell short at the buzzer. Ethan Carpenter played his most complete game of the season, scoring 11 points, dishing 5 assists, pulling down 6 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. Michael Doyle also had a well-rounded game, scoring 6 points, securing 6 rebounds and delivering 3 assists. Matt Maturo had the range from the perimeter, registering game highs in both points (12) and rebounds (9). James Frazzetta hit two big foul shots down the stretch and had 4 rebounds. Joe Duero played big in the paint and corralled 6 boards. Geoff Santore and Tim VanderHave both play tough on the defensive end and scored 4 points apiece. James Accousti and Kieran Lynch played well at the point and contributed a steal and an assist.

Newtown Blue 48, Weston 32: Jared Pearson led the offense with 9 points. Jamie Cocharane had 8 points, Declan Sullivan had 7 points, Andrew Svanda had 6 points and Matt Elias had 5 points. Newtown’s offensive played well.

Carver (Norwalk) 72, Newtown Blue 62: In a very close semifinal game, Mason Mellilo led the team with 16 points, Ryan Shaw had 11 rebounds and 15 points. Matt Gerics had 11 points. Devin Luzietti and Nick Samuelson both played stellar defense keeping the score close. The 7th grade Newtown boys finished the season 14-15. They had 9 games that they lost by 5 points or less.