Combining consistently strong defense and balanced scoring, the St. Joe's CYO 4th Grade Boys beat Holy Trinity of Westfield 20-7 on Sunday. Will Perlman led the defense, which allowed just two baskets from the field and was supported by strong efforts from Roberto Fulweiler and Galileo Hetherington. Chris Erlandsen controlled the boards with 7 rebounds and Darius Plummer had 4 blocked shots.  Offensively, Al-Rahmon Kemp led the way with 8 points and Pat Ryan added two fast break baskets.  Brendan Lackey coolly distributed the ball as Joe Mastrodonato and Ryan Sartori contributed jump shot buckets to the win.

The St. Joe's fifth-grade boys' JV team showed how balanced scoring and a relentless defense can drive them to a pair of victories over the weekend. In victories over Westfield's Holy Trinity and St. John's of Clark, the Celtics shut out their opponents in the fourth quarters to break open close games. Against Holy Trinity Saturday, Henry Kraham turned seven steals into a one-man fast break and Thomas "Buzz" O'Connor patrolled the paint in the hard-fought win. Kraham scored 12 points and O'Connor netted seven in the 35-20 win. Makih Washington chipped in with four points. Trailing 20-19, the Celtics used their speed to outscore the taller Holy Trinity squad 16-0 and seal the game. The next day, a 17-0 run helped the squad to a 31-14 win at St. John's. A fourth-quarter steal and heads-up play by Ben Majtyka triggered the fourth-quarter Thomas Fetner's impressive nine-point, five rebound effort led the team. CJ Carey scored six points and controlled the offense, dishing out three assists. Sean Grafing was a beast on the boards, corralling 11 rebounds. The 7-3 Celtics face Our Lady of Peace next Sunday in New Providence.

Led by the outside shooting of Tajeer Robinson and the fast break lay-ups of Jonathan St. Jean, St. Joseph's JV 6th Grade Boys team, coached by Coach Mike Burke and Tom Owens, raced out to a 24-4 half time lead and easily defeated St. John of Clark by a score of 43-14. The team put on another stellar defensive performance making numerous steals and frequently blocking shots.  Point guards Owen Durkin and Ian Henderson did a good job breaking the press and avoiding turnovers. Centers Jaris Owens and Gabe Fearon continue to improve in regard to their strong moves to the hoop. The team is now 10 and 2 and hopes to finish strong in their final two regular season games.  

St. Joseph's CYO Basketball team made up of 7th and 8th graders from Maplewood and South Orange out-scored the tall team from Assumption 25 to 17 to extend their seven-game winning streak. Dalen Thompson, Hogan Dwyer & Julien Henry had strong performances. The Celtics had a battle in the paint, but out rebounded the six foot plus forwards from Assumption.  The Celtics are looking forward to a rematch against an undefeated OLP team February 13, which has been the only team to beat the Celtics this season. 

St Joseph's CYO Basketball is a shared parish ministry for the parishioners of St. Joseph's in Maplewood and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange.