Tewksbury 7th Grade Basketball Team Wins Merrimack Valley Championship

 March Madness is an NCAA college tradition, but the Tewksbury 7th Grade Boys took the phrase to whole new level this past weekend.  The Merrimack Valley Basketball League held it Championship Tournament and the Redmen team walked away with the Central Division title after a heart pounding wins over Pelham, Dracut and Methuen in the tournament finals.

 Entering the tournament, the 7th Grade Boys were the number 2 seed after a posting an impressive 14-2 record during the season.  The only two blemishes on the team’s record came at the hands of the division’s perennial powerhouse, Methuen.  In fact, the Redmen boys were 0-8 against the Methuen team over the past 3 years.. 

Earning the number 2 seed in the tournament was not an easy task.  Throughout the year the team experienced ups and downs as many teams do, but never lost their focus.  The 7th Grade boys would periodically win a game by 20 or so points, but for the most part they played in close, exciting games that seem to go down to the final minutes before the victory was clinched.  The Redmen boys embodied the concept of Team with everyone contributing in one way or another to their success.  The hallmark of this team was stout defense and a controlled offense, but more importantly playing the full 32 minutes of each game.  Win or lose the players gave 110% effort and had an uncanny knack for forgetting about failures or successes and moving on to the next play.

The team was built to last with five guards: Jack Bicknell, Mike Catanzano, Justin Keogh, TJ Taddia & Tyler Ward; four forwards: Tyler Harvey, Brett McAllister,  Brayden Nobrega & Chad Oliveira: and two centers: Steve Catanzano and Damian Dugan. The ball handling skills of Mike Catanzano and TJ Taddia were a perfect complement to the sweet shooting touch of Bicknell, Keogh and Ward.  The strong, tough play of Harvey and McAllister was augmented by Nobrega’s smooth outside jump shot, while Oliveira’s take charge overall play drove the team’s success.  The two big men carried intangibles as well, with Steve Catanzano’s rebounding and staggering ability to block shots, while Dugan possessed the agility to move and score at will.  Together they were the right mix of ingredients for the Championship recipe.

The boys started the tournament against Pelham and prevailed by 30 points in the opening round. The Pelham squad came out fast, but the Redmen boys settled in, played their game and cruised to victory.  However, the victory only sealed the boy’s fate that they would play Dracut in the semi finals.

The second game played on Saturday against Dracut was indeed the start of the Madness. During the season the team had met 4 times previously, including invitational tournaments, and the Redmen were 3-1.  However, every game seemed to go down to the last minute and no victory was greater than 5 points.  Dracut had height, quickness and great coaching and before the game started the teams knew it wouldn’t be decided until the very end.

The game lived up to its hype, not for its back and forth nature, but rather due to the dramatic comeback by the Redmen boys.  The boys found themselves down by 11 points with less than 6 minutes to play, but in the end strong defense and timely baskets catapulted them to victory.  The victory allowed the team to get their wish and have another crack at toppling the tournament number 1 seed, Methuen.

 The Finals:

Methuen entered the game averaging 63 points per game and holding a 15-1 regular season record.  The Methuen team breezed through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds in the tournament, dispatching Wilmington and Salem by a combined 78 points.   It may be said that they may have been a little confident in their matchup with the Redmen boys, and on paper it seemed a foregone conclusion.  However, there is a saying… “that’s why you play the game”, victories don’t happen on paper.

The Redmen boys came out against the Methuen team and never let up.  The game was back and forth with neither team leading by more than 5 points at any point in the game.  The first half ended with the score Tewksbury 20 and Methuen 17.  The Tewksbury coaching staff of Tim Taddia, Bill McAllister, Jay Ward and Cam Oliveira put together a masterful plan focused on defense, taking away Methuen’s strengths, the fast break and post play.   Unlike the Redmen, the Methuen team hadn’t played in many close games and seemed bewildered by the fact they were actually losing.  With 30 seconds to play in the game, the score was tied 38 to 38.  The Redmen boys went 6 of 7 at the line in the next 30 seconds, while Methuen could only muster one basket and hit 1 free throw.  The Redmen team held a 3 point lead with 2.8 seconds remaining, and Methuen’s last gasp at a three pointer sailed well past the basket.  The team defeated its old nemesis and walked away with a hard fought win.

Coach Tim Taddia said after the game, “Our boys wanted it more and proved to everybody that they will be a force for years to come.”