Celtics Basketball Chalks Up Two Wins In Home Season Opener
The players will also be collecting non-perishable food for local pantries on Saturday, December 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Eden Gourmet in South Orange.
The St. Joseph Celtics basketball season is now underway. Six games were played last weekend with just two wins for the program as they went up against some tough competition.
The Varsity 8th grade boys lost 66-31 in a high-scoring game against Holy Trinity of Westfield. The Varsity 7th grade boys lost 23-13 against Holy Trinity of Westfield. The Varsity Girls won 30-29 in a close game against Holy Trinity. The JV Boys Green team won 17-10 against St. James of Springfield while and JV 5th Grade girls lost 21-17 in a close game against St. James.
Game Highlights
Coach Scott Harvey’s Varsity boys battled hard but lost on Sunday in Maplewood, with a final score of 66-31. The team fought hard with Tajeer Robinson, 9 points, and Scott Harvey, 9 points, 9 rebounds, leading the way for the Celtics. The team’s guards on offense moved the ball well but committed too many turnovers. Coach Harvey said, “One of the things I like about our team is that they never give up even when the score is as lopsided as it was today.”
Celtics Varsity 7th and 8th grade girls, Coached by Donna Bourke and Guy Bourke, enjoyed a thrilling victory over Holy Trinity of Westfield last Sunday. The final score was 30-29. It was a competitive game from the jump ball to the final seconds. The Celtics were led in scoring by Jordan Fields and Amber Bourke with 15 and 11 points respectively. A strong defensive and rebounding effort was led by Lauren Johnson, Olivia Smith, and Raven Cordner. However, it was a total team effort and a great start to the season. The Varsity girls’ next game is Saturday, December 3 at 7 p.m. at the St. Joseph gym.
Coaches Angela Johnson, Larry Johnson, and Dave Garaban’s JV 5th grade girls lost their home opener at St. Joseph’s gym on Sunday with a final score of 21-17. Although the Celtics were down 17-4 at the end of the third quarter, they made an amazing recovery in the fourth.
The game was an entire team effort with aggressive pressing defense, led by Abby Garaban and Hudson Hassler. Abby Valente led the team’s late-game comeback, with six points in the fourth quarter. Sarah Johnson contributed 4 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals. Cece Clarke had great ball handling and scored four points. We also witnessed some sharp rebounding by Rosie Chisolm, Frances Lindsay, and Ellie Rounsavill, and great shooting by Anna Gomez and Merry Meyer. Coach Angela Johnson invited everyone to “cheer the Celtics on” at their next game on Saturday, December 3, at 2:30 pm, at St. Joseph’s gym.
Celtics Holiday Food Drive
This Saturday, December 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Celtics basketball teams will be collecting non-perishable food items at Eden Gourmet in South Orange. Food will be donated to the food pantries at both Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph's. This is a community service project that each CYO team must undertake as part of the Archdiocesan CYO Youth Ministry. This service project is now in its fifth year and has always been a tremendous success and wonderful experience for the players.
St. Joseph's CYO is a shared parish ministry for the parishioners of St. Joseph's in Maplewood and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange. For more information about the CYO program you can visit their web site at www.eteamz.com/stjosephcelticscyobasketball.
