Gymnasiums in and around Newtown were alive with the sounds of squeaky sneakers as the 2007-08 youth basketball season opened in earnest.

On the travel front, Brendan DeAngelis scored 22 points and grabbed four rebounds to lead the Newtown eighth-grade travel team to a 61-54 win over Danbury PAL. On the in-house front, Kelley Gaston poured in 20 points to lead the Knicks past the Suns, 36-21, in Junior Girls division action.

Here are the results –

TRAVEL

Boys 8th

St. Mary’s of Stratford 55, Newtown 42 – In a balanced scoring attack against an experienced St. Mark’s squad, Kyle Wilcox lead Newtown with 11 points, David Lucia chipped in 10 points and a slashing Brendan DeAngelis contributed 8 points. Unselfish play by Johnnie Kerins, a strong performance on the glass by Erik Samuelson and multiple blocked shots by Josh Barrett, Ryan Crowell and David Lucia could not make up for Newtown’s inability to convert from the free throw line in the loss.

Newtown 61, Danbury PAL 54 – Brendan DeAngelis canned 22 points and grabbed four rebounds to lead Newtown on the road against an athletic Danbury PAL team. Dan Gallagher’s timely three pointers propelled Newtown to a double digit half time lead and Trey Trudell’s steady guard play helped weather a spirited second half come back by the home team. Kyle Wilcox, who contributed a near double-double with 13 points and nine boards, and Josh Barrett, who dished out five assists to go along with his five rebounds, played well in the win.

Girls 7th

The Newtown Attack girls seventh-grade travel basketball team tied for second place in the New Canaan Tip-Off Tournament this weekend. They defeated New Canaan (24-22), Ridgefield (45-29) and Redding (33-13), but lost to Stamford (29-21).

Bridget Power lead all scorers, totaling 30 points in the tournament. Claire Miles and Stephanie Roman scored 12 points each. Meaghan Harkins, Samantha Steimle and Brittany Tolla had a combined 17 assists. Maddy Good and Catie Yakush ripped down 15 boards between them as Erin Kenning and Suzie Gissen provided a much needed spark on offense when the Attack trailed in three games. Kristy Papaj had six steals and also popped in eight points in the tournament.

Boys 6th

Newtown 47, New Milford 19 – Mike Davis and Bubba Le Blanc had 10 points each while Matt Mossbarger and Logan Puleri combined for 13 more in an impressive win over New Milford in the New Haven Boys and Girls Club Tournament. Matt White and Jonah Muniz led a strong defensive effort for the home team.

Trumbull Gardens 45, Newtown 41 – Nick Caggannelo led Newtown with 12 points and Mike Davis added 10 in a tight contest in the New Haven Boys and Girls Club Tournament. Matt Hoyt and Conner Gallagher anchored the defense while Jim Parker had some very nice passes.

Weston 35, Newtown 23 – Mike Davis had eight points and Matt Hoyt added four in a loss in the New Haven Tournament. Jonah Muniz and Matt White were tough under the boards while Conner Gallagher played well defensively.

St. Mary’s 43, Newtown 32 – Bubba Le Blanc led all scorers with 13 points while Matt Mossbarger added eight points to go along with several assists in the first league game for Newtown. Logan Puleri and Jim Parker led the defense, while Nick Caggannelo was strong on the boards.

IN-HOUSE

Junior Boys

Huskies 50, Nets 46 – Dom Fedak scored 16 points and Reid Schmidt added 15 to lift the Huskies to the win. Troy Larsen, Jack McManus and Scott Runkle (6 rebounds) played well. For the Nets, Puleri scored 14 points and dragged down eight rebounds as Mike Mossbarger dished off four assists.

Sonics 57, Huskies 35 – Jake Enriquez popped in 15 points and Joe Davis dished off seven assists to lead the Sonics. Kevin Dennis and Sean Ross played well. For the Huskies, Reid Schmidt canned 13 points while Scott Runkle grabbed 10 rebounds. Troy Larsen played well on D.

Bears 46, Wildcats (#1) 41 – Kevin Phillips canned 16 points and Kyle Harrington pulled down 10 rebounds as the Bears slipped past the Wildcats. Trevor Carey dished off six assists and Alex Riche made five steals. For the ‘Cats, Mario Pizighelli and Matthew Rahtelli combined for 22 points. Sam Langdon and Thomas Primavera had solid defensive games.

Nighthawks 49, Vipers 30 – Mike Scharfenberg scored 16 points and Pat Sullivan grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Nighthawks. Jon Hull and Colin Morris (3 steals) played well. For the Vipers, Brandon Cooper canned 12 points and James Pearson was strong off the glass.

Avalanche 34, Statesmen 30 – Ben Stoller scored 10 points while Sean Burson and Matt Shannon added seven apiece to lead the Avalanche to the win. Mike Allwein had three assists and five steals as Robbie Daigle grabbed seven boards. Every played scored at least one basket with Matt Shannon draining a three-pointer. For the Statesmen, Will Fletcher canned 12 points (including a pair of treys) while Chris Erikson, Harrison Snellback and Chris Devaney (8 rebounds) had good floor games.

Regulators 38, Wildcats (#2) 29 – Mike Lord popped in 14 points and James Mooney added eight more to lead the Regulators to the win. Jack Champagne dished off six assists, Daniel Bethke made five steals and Greg Frattaroli pulled down seven rebounds. For the ‘Cats, Jake Feinstein scored eight points and Mike Daubert, Evan Noonan and Don Morrissey played well.

Maulers 40, Gunners 30 – Mac Morlock scored 10 points as Justin DeVellis and Gabe Ruiz canned nine points each to lead the Maulers to the win. DeVellis also dished off six assists as Morlock grabbed eight boards and Rob Uhde blocked four shots. For the Gunners, Dunnigan and Fiore combined for 21 points.

Nuggets 45, Pride 41 – Mike LoBosco canned 17 points and Kyle Hagerman added 11 to lift the Nuggets to the win. Scott Schmidt and Sam Decker combined to grab 10 rebounds as Devin DiNicola had five points and six assists. For the Pride, Colin Cooper popped in 14 points while Wyatt Depuy (5 assists), Robbie Hughes and John Meyer (7 rebounds) played well.

Standings: Sonics 1-0, Bears 1-0, Nighthawks 1-0, Avalanche 1-0, Regulators 1-0, Maulers 1-0, Nuggets 1-0, Huskies 1-1, Nets 0-1, Wildcats (#1) 0-1, Vipers 0-1, Statesmen 0-1, Wildcats (#2) 0-1, Gunners 0-1, Pride 0-1.

Junior Girls

Da Bears 38, Mercury 24 – Lindsey Jossick popped in 16 points and Molly Mahony added 12 to lead Da Bears. Ellyn Gordon and Luiza Tollkucci had solid floor games. For the Mercury, Alex Powell dropped in seven points as Kristen Grabowski, Shradha Sehani, Jane Sclafani and Heather Leone played well.

Rebels 35, Liberty 21 – Kaitlyn Vos Winkel canned 12 points and made 10 steals and Megan Gibbons added 10 points to lead the Rebels to the win. Christina Caporale dished off eight assists and Kiersten Lynch pulled down 10 boards. For the Liberty, Colleen Cosgrove scored six points while Courtney Escoda had a solid floor game.

Knicks 36, Suns 21 – Kelley Gaston poured in 20 points and Rachel DiVanno grabbed 10 rebounds as the Knicks rolled. Sarah Stofko made five steals. For the Suns, Jessica Haitz and Emily Nacewicz popped in six points apiece while Jane Maher and Steph Perrotti grabbed five boards each.

Hawks 32, Huskies 20 – Lydia Bieter dropped in 14 points as the Hawks cruised to the win. Bianca Salerno, Linda He and Molly Emerthal played well. For the Huskies, Kristy Engler and Michaela Beaudry combined for 10 points. Liz Eiseman sparked the defense.

Standings: Da Bears 1-0, Rebels 1-0, Knicks 1-0, Hawks 1-0, Mercury 0-1, Liberty 0-1, Suns 0-1, Huskies 0-1.

Intermediate Boys (6th)

Celtics 30, Mavericks 25 – Jack Lago canned 10 points and Ben Payne grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Celtics to the win. Matt Wood and Brendan Peterson played well. For the Mavs, Robert Linden had 10 points as Otto Kerler grabbed 12 rebounds. Wesley Morlock and Matt Baldino had nice floor games.

Nighthawks 37, Team And One Ballers 33 – Drew Tarantino popped in 16 points to lead the Nighthawks to the win. Jim Leidlein grabbed six boards as Chris Carroll dished off five assists and Brennan Scott made three steals. For the Ballers, Nathan Kalra poured in 17 points as Jonathan Schwartz and Jordan Sock played well.

Huskies 25, Free Agents 23 – Angel Santos had seven points and Patrick Afriyie sparkled on defense to lead the Huskies to the win. Dan Winn played well. For the Free Agents, Chase Wurtz scored 13 points and made 12 steals to lead the way. Connor Noonan grabbed nine rebounds as Colin Post, Justin Adsitt and Jeffrey Peterson had nice floor games.

Hawks 45, Runnin’ Rebels 27 – Matt Lindell popped in 17 points and Virgil Procaccini chipped in eight more with three assists as the Hawks rolled. Nick Norberg dragged down seven rebounds as Sean Reilly and Pat Rowley played well. For the Rebels, Zach Bergeron dropped in eight points while Grant Ricketts, Austin Raftery and Dominick Scarrangello (6 rebounds) had good floor games.

Huskies 23, Suns 21 – Jacob Moore and Angel Santos dropped in six points apiece to lift the Huskies to another close win. Sam Boland and Dan Winn played well. For the Suns, Riley Cross and Greg LaDestro combined for 13 points. Tim Kelly and Patrick Pierce had good performances.

Standings: Huskies 2-0, Celtics 1-0, Nighthawks 1-0, Hawks 1-0, Mavericks 0-1, Ballers 0-1, Free Agents 0-1, Runnin’ Rebels 0-1, Suns 0-1.

Intermediate Boys (5th)

Sonics 23, Bulldogs 18 – Stephan Grasso canned eight points to lead the Sonics to the win. Joe Santella and Shane Quimby played well and helped lead the Sonics back from a 6-0 deficit. For the ‘Dogs, Will Dalton popped in 12 points as Jason Ferrari and Erik Gibbons had strong floor games.

Celtics 23, Heat 11 – Erik Street scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Celtics to the win. Will Swain dished off four assists and Sean Kemsley made three steals. For the Heat, Ryan Szalay had four points as Connor Lemay and Albert Dean sparkled.

Rockets 20, Knicks 18 – Bobby Archiere scored 10 points and Wiley Zahansky added six more as the Rockets blasted off in their season opener. Eric Cascone grabbed eight rebounds while Jeremy Fellin and Brandon O’Sullivan had solid floor games. For the Knicks, Harry Depuy scored eight points and Bryce Decker grabbed seven rebounds. Kenton McCleary and Tyler Lennox played well.

Twisters 36, Rockets 26 – Jaret DeVellis poured in 18 points as the Twisters downed the Rockets. Sawyer Conrad, Kevin Ovendorf and Alex Klang had nice floor games. For the Rockets,  Bobby Archiere popped in 14 points as Wiley Zahansky dished off four assists, Brandon O’Sullivan made three steals and Eric Cascone pulled down eight rebounds.

Wildcats 21, Scorpions 20 – Patrick Burger scored 10 points and notched some clutch free throws to seal the win for the Wildcats. Andy Dewolfe made three steals, Peter Manfredonia grabbed six boards and Deegan Beuchemin knocked down some critical free throws. For the Scorpions, Colton Moroney and Nick Cirone combined for 14 points as Trevor Lopes pulled down eight boards. Steve Tramontozzi dished off five assists and David Corsi recorded six steals.

Standings: Sonics 1-0, Celtics 1-0, Twisters 1-0, Wildcats 1-0, Rockets 1-1, Bulldogs 0-1, Heat 0-1, Knicks 0-1, Scorpions 0-1.

Intermediate Girls

Dragons 30, Bulldogs 14 – Cassie Ekstrom poured in 20 points as the Dragons powered past the Bulldogs. Sara Greenwood played well. For the ‘Dogs, Emily Grimes canned four points and Megan Logan made five steals.

Wolves 24, Bulldogs 6 – Siena Cicarelli and Julia Frattaroli popped in eight points apiece to lift the Wolves to the win. Taylor Zingaro, Lily Fulmer and Sierra Mather all played well. For the ‘Dogs, Emily Grimes scored four points.

Ghostbusters 23, Nighthawks 10 – The entire Ghostbusters team worked well together with DeAnna Bertola and Abby Callery executing excellent defense, blocking many passes and creating several steals. Hayley Dunn and Anna Northrop displayed keen offensive skills in assisting and scoring. For the ‘Hawks, Valentina Pena and Samantha Kruzshak popped in four points each as Allie Brazo and Ashley Marks played well.

Bluefish 20, Court Jesters 16 – Brittany Gonzalez scored six points to lead the Bluefish past the Jesters. Shana Lynn Evanko, Lindsey Jagoe and Emily Maher played well. For the Jesters, Carley Ferris, Kelly O’Connell and Sara Dos Santos scored four points apiece and Madeline Fletcher sparked the defense.

Standings: Dragons 1-0, Wolves 1-0, Ghostbusters 1-0, Bluefish 1-0, Nighthawks 0-1, Court Jesters 0-1, Bulldogs 0-2.

 

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