Black Hawks Top Celtics For Intermediate Crown

The Black Hawks defeated the Celtics 31-28 in finals of the boys’ Intermediate Division of the Newtown Youth Basketball Association this past weekend.

The championship game turned into an epic battle that wasn’t decided until the final seconds. The first and second halves couldn’t have been more different. In the first half the Black Hawks’ lockdown, man-to-man defense, crisp passing, and well-executed plays gave them a 13-point lead which they carried into the break.

The Celtics never gave up after being down 22-7 in the third quarter and fought hard with a tough full-court press to quickly get back into the game. Back-to-back steals by Cole Dimerjian and David Daria quickly trimmed the 15 point lead to seven. Cole Dimerjian then hit three consecutive 12 footers to bring the Celtics within one at 29-28 with four minutes remaining in the game. A key free throw by Robert Murray and a basket by Evan Landgrebe in the final minutes gave the Black Hawks just enough cushion to hold onto to the win.

The Black Hawks received great defensive efforts by Wally “Smooth” Skrelja, “Dangerous” Doug Carriero, Ben Terry and “Jumpin” Jermane Anyoha. Leading the B-Hawks in rebounding were Robert “The Hammer” Murray with nine, Ben “Tenacious D” Terry, and Thomas “The Commander” Skrelja with six each.

Scoring leaders were Murray 10 points, Skrelja with nine, and Evan “The Enforcer” Landgrebe with six. Also playing a great all-around game for the Black Hawks were Jack “Quick Shot” Ciaramello, Ricky “Who Me” Mariani, and Zack “Continuous Action” DeMeglio.