Tewksbury Boys Basketball League Week 8 Game Summaries

Here’s a look at all the action in Tewksbury Boys Basketball League play over the past weekend:

Cadet Division (Second Grade)

Terriers vs Minutemen

The Terriers and Minutemen played a close and exciting game on Saturday. The Terriers started out strong and controlled the game with possession and shot quality, but didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoreboard. The Terriers kept at it with solid defense and hustle after loose balls and by the end of the first quarter they were able to get on the scoreboard with a couple of late baskets by Sean Kocsmiersky (6 pts). The Terriers had to fight through some aggressive play by the Minutemen and had 6 foul shots in the game where Ben Barrasso (8 pts) was 2 of 4 from the line. Hunter Gervais (4 pts) and Owen Wall had strong games at the forward position defending the paint. Jake Burns did a great job on the defensive end, especially with the rebounds. He also had a number of nice passes on the offense end to set up his teammates for good shots. Owen Hiltz played very good defense and secured a couple of loose balls and also had a couple of high quality shot attempts on the offensive end. It was a great team effort for the Terriers.

The Minuteman played their best game of the season this Saturday. The team made some great passes and played great defense. The team got scoring from Jason Flavin, Emecka Olu, Jason DiPalma and Payton Haines. Cole Doherty, Jason Grant and Mateus Fraga kept the game close with exceptional defense.

Eagles vs Blue Devils

The Blue Devils overpowered the Eagles in the first half but in the second half, the Eagles turned up the defense led by Dylan McNelley, Brandan Cohen, Brian Donnelly and Brady Schofield. Noah Sederquist, Mikey Colameta and Ben Panilaitis were able to put some points on the board in the second half but the Blue Devils proved to be too much.

Blue Devils continue on their streak. Sam Berry and Sean Maloney moved the ball like Bird and McHale back in the day. Ben Christopher’s steal and go move looked like DJ Johnson. Miller Brooks resembled Parish in the paint. Tyler Bourgea and Nicholas Burgess’ give and go was clearly an Ainge and Walton re-mix!

Junior Division (Third & Fourth Grade)

Thunder 22 – Cavs 14

The short-handed Thunder played a tough Cavs team to remain undefeated. The Thunder’s defense was everywhere blocking shots, stealing passes and grabbing rebounds. The offense was led by Aaron Ramsey who led the team with eight points. Aaron was set up by his brother Matt’s great passing. Matt scored 4 points in the win. Nathan Galanis scored 4 points and made some great passes. Alex Dellorusso had several steals and grabbed both offensive and defensive rebounds, Alex scored 2 points. Evan Galanis played shut down defense guarding the Cav’s point guards he also scored 2 points. Jack Rattey scored 2 points and held him men scoreless. Matt Clark and Ryan King had some good shots and played great defense in the win.

Lakers 36 – Celtics 12

Despite what the score might suggest, for the first 75% of the game the Celtics were holding their own. They played some tough, patient defense while the Lakers made some great passes. Again this week, scoring was evenly distributed. Danny Holmes was the team high scorer with 4 points, while Adam Saad, Ryan Saad, Jimmy Holmes and William Fillmore each had a basket. Jimmy Maloney, Seamus Naughton, Alex Grove, and Santino D’Ippolito each contributed with great hustle. During the last quarter they grew weary from the fast paced game the Lakers played.

Clippers 23 – Heat 8

Seamus Macdonald scored 10 points for the second straight game as he continues to provide a consistent offensive presence in the paint as evidenced by 6 offensive rebounds. Tyler Chesborough and Aiden Leal played really aggressive defense. Liam Kelley got knocked around pretty good while driving to the basket at every opportunity (2pts). Gregory Mercado had a couple of big steals when the Clippers needed them the most. William Holloway led the way with 7 rebounds and three steals. Kenny Ryder had 3 steals and 4 points on great layups down the lane. William Hunt has really improved and was a key part of the offense. Andrew Gallante played good two way basketball and set a really nice pick that led to an uncontested layup. Mason Veits scored 7 points to go along with 5 steals and two blocked shots while playing both PG and down low on separate shifts.

Intermediate Division (Fifth & Sixth grade)

Heat 36 – Warriors 24

The Heat came back on Saturday to beat a very strong Warriors team. Scoring for the Heat was Aiden Crogan (14 points), Derek Wilkinson (10 points), Sean Hirtle (4 points) and Colin Caggiano, James Demato, Ryan Flynn, and Alex Johnston all with 2 points. Eddie Gallant ripped down a couple of big rebounds late to help the Heat keep control of the win.

Celtics 21 – Knicks 18

The Knicks had another solid team effort on both sides of the ball, but it was the Celtics who came away with the win in the final seconds of the game in this second matchup of the season. Nicholas Alavrado had a strong passing performance setting up plays that led to baskets. Leading the way for Knicks was Robert Ryan with 6 points, Billy Erickson and Brandon Waddell both added 4 points each, and Colin Hansbury and Eric Impink followed with 2 points each. Eric Bellavia and Nathan Petrone stood tall in the Center position grabbing 6 rebounds and 1 steal each. Liam Mcdermott and Sam Ros anchored down the forward position with strong rebounding.

Clippers 24 – Cavs 21

It was great game Saturday afternoon with back and forth scoring after a slow start for both teams in the first quarter. It was the Clippers though that came out on top in a nail biter. An all-around team effort with only 9 guys playing great defense and offense together.

The Cavs fell behind early, but battled back thanks to Joey Aresenault’s offense (11 points overall) and 4 points from Anthony Naghibi. Tight defense and strong rebounding from Alex Naghibi and James Carroll helped keep the Cavs close throughout. Tyler Leeds and Scott Lightburn both hit long jump shots to draw the Cavs closer early in the second half and a free throw from Louis Mascia closed the gap to one. But, the Clippers got off a late basket to pull away late and hold on for the victory.

Spurs def. Lakers

The Lakers played a tough game against the Spurs but were not able to come up with a win. The game started slow and the Lakers battled back to tie the game but could never get the lead. Scoring for the Lakers were Tyler Trodden (3), Lee Ghannam (4), Max Mattuchio (2), DJ Bressette (2) and Will Forbes (4). Jacob Martel, John O’Donnell and Justin Darrigo played great defense and Aidan Crawson grabbed a bunch of rebounds. Evan Silva led the Lakers offense and scored 10 points against a tough Spurs defense.

Senior Division (Seventh and Eighth Grade Division)

Cavs 39 – Warriors 31

The game started off as a defensive battle in the first half with the Cavs leading 14-11. Defensive contributions came from Logan Gallagher, Calvin Silva, Alec Sokol and Derek Munroe. Warriors fought hard for every rebound lead by Derek Munroe, Bobby O’Hearn and Rodrigo Coelho. In the third quarter the Cavs were able to increase their lead with the score of Cavs 30-Warriors 19. In the fourth quarter the Warriors made one final push and got to within 5 points of the Cavs but ultimately lost by a final score of Cavs 39-Warriors 31. Scoring totals for the Warriors were Calvin Silva (10pts), Rodrigo Coelho (8pts), Gavin Thomasset (7pts) and Derek Munroe (6pts).

Clippers 50 – Bulls 27

The Clippers started out slow against a very aggressive Bulls team. The Bulls kept the game close for the first half. By the second half, the Clippers team defense came alive with the excellent rebounding of Culllain Johnson (with eight rebounds) and Mike Kelleher (with seven rebounds). Rylie Auth added five rebounds with his eight points. The Clippers got back into their passing team offense which allowed for multiple players scoring. Shawn Manson showed his ability to find the basket with twelve points; Cullain Johnson had nine points and Dylan Dufresne also had nine points (all from the three point line). The scoring didn’t stop there. Josh Linnehan had six points; Jason Barnes added four points and Kyle Brasciska added two points, while showing incredible speed and quickness on defense.

Thunder 33 – Celtics 29

The Thunder played a strong defensive game even into the extra minutes of overtime for their second win of the season. Clutch free throws in overtime were made by Cam Hodgson and Owen Gilligan. Key contributions came from Robert Chisholm, Aiden Lefler and Devin Stoddard.

Heat 44 – Spurs 21

The Spurs entered the game with only 7 players with 2 out with injuries. The Heat lived up to their name, going out to a 14-1 lead. The Spurs fought back with Alex Newcombe making 3 of 4 from the foul line to start putting points on the board for the Spurs. Arya Mehrabani (6 points) led the way for the Spurs trying to cut into the highly talented Heat. Matt Ferreira (3 pts), Rhen Trinidade (2 pts) played good defense trying to slow down the Heat. James Ministeri (3 pt swish from beyond the arch) helped his team with good ball control. Nick Smith (2 pts) left the game early with a knee injury on a loose ball contest. Mike Fowler was the team leader trying to keep his teammates focused adding two foul shots.

Lakers 42 – Knicks 13

The Lakers were on fire from the first tip, jumping out to a 15-1 lead on the strength of their swarming full court press. Matt Rosemond poured in 16 from the point, most of which came off of steals or fast break passes from his hardworking teammates. Ken Wilson added 6 points from the post while pulling down double-digit rebounds. Doug Renna and Matt Woods each added 6 points from the perimeter with great drives and running shots. Jack Keneally added 4 points while continuing to be a dominant defensive force. Ryan Fraser continues to play at 100% hustle, adding 4 points to the Laker’s effort. Mikey Bankowski had some key defensive stops and helped move the ball on the Lakers’ offense. While he didn’t show up on the score sheet, Zach Wilson had his best game of the season with some outstanding defense, and some great assists to help his team.

Travel Division

Tewksbury Fourth Grade White team played their 10th game of the season this past weekend and came away with a well-deserved team victory. They traveled to Westford for this game and met a solid team on both sides of the ball. 4GW offense was led by Ben Piccolo (12 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Luke Montejo (6 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 steals). These big scores were supported by some key passes from Cam Kearney (5 steals) and Colby Flahive (2pts, 4 steals). Jack Baron had a great game on the boards as well with 5 solid rebounds. At the half, Tewksbury was up 16-14. In the 2nd half, Tewksbury came out strong on offense again lead by Billy Burris (6 pts, 4 steals) and Same White (4 pts, 3 rebounds). With the game clock ticking down, the defense stepped up with Damian Ortiz, Braydon Aylward and Michael Gaglione.