The St Joseph's CYO Basketball 3-4 Girls continued their winning ways by defeating Saint James on Sunday by a score of 20-4. The Celtics jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter up 8-0 and went into the half leading 11-2. Coming out of the halftime break, the Celtics were back at it putting up another 8 points and St. James only able to score one bucket.
It was a balanced team effort with many contributors on offense and defense. Offensively, the Celtics were lead by Connie Labat scoring 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and Lilly Young with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist. The Celtics also added points from Juliana Saling chipping in 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal. Defensively, the Celtics were big on the boards with Emily Brown, Sarah Johnson and Cristina Ricci all pulling down 4 rebounds a piece. Emily and Cristina also contributed on the scoring front with 2 and 1 points, respectively.
For the second week in a row, the St. Joseph's CYO 4th Grade Boys held their opponent to just two baskets from the field, topping St. James of Springfield 11-5 on Sunday afternoon. Joe Mastrodonato, Luke Burke and Brendan Lackey provided the front court pressure while Rowan Marbury and Galileo Hetherington relentlessly patrolled the paint, limiting the longer St. James team's second chance opportunities. Al-Rahmon Kemp blocked four shots and Chris Erlandsen continued to grab clutch rebounds. Pat Ryan netted three points and twice found open guard Robert Fulweiler who nailed the jumpers. Ryan Sartori contributed solid picks and deft passing and Darius Plummer used his rebounding skills at both ends of the court, scoring off missed shots.
The fifth-grade JV team overcame a sluggish first half, cruising to a 25-13 win over Our Lady of Peace in New Providence. An 8-4 run to start the thrid-quarter, triggered by their usual strong defensive effort and a commitment to making the extra pass, helped the Celtics grab control of the game. Henry Kraham and C.J. Carey combined for seven assists to help their teammates get easy baskets. Thomas "Buzz" O'Connor led the team with eight points. He worked with Zach Chmiel and Sean Grafing to control the middle of the floor, with Grafing pulling down seven rebounds. Guards Alex McCarthy and Jalen McGill played fierce defense, allowing Kraham to make four steals. Kraham chipped in with 7 points for the 8-3 Celtics, who will try to avenge an earlier loss to St. Teresa's of Summit, facing them at 4 p.m. Sunday in at the St. Joe's gym in Maplewood.
With their typical suffocating defense and their best shooting performance of the year, St. Joseph's JV 6th Grade Team, directed by Coach by Michael Burke and Coach Tom Owens beat St. Helen's by a score of 47-12. The frequent defensive steals were complemented by the numerous fine offensive assists. They played great team ball with five players getting 3 baskets or more. Michael Robertson punctuated the first half with a spectacular blocked shot of an opponent's field goal attempt and led the team in rebounds and points. When left open, Sean Middleton and Nick Palerma made St. Helen's pay, draining their jump shots. Marcus Nelson dazzled the crowd with his pin-point passes and smooth moves to the hoop. Mark Hollaway played tough under the boards and was sharp offensively.
The JV Girls CYO basketball team had another impressive win defeating Our Lady of Peace 30-9 on Saturday. The team credits their teamwork as the main reason they won. The top scorers were Amber Bourke, Sofie Garaban, Dalila Ricci, and Caila Breslin. Caroline Sekel and Shaina Barry led with five assists each and Olivia Smith, Daniella Clitus, and Olivia Prescod attacked the boards with five rebounds each.
Before the game, Coach Christine Romeo of OLP 7th and 8th grade team stated, "We need to stop St. Joseph's Dalen Thompson's three points shots in order to win this match", and they held Dalen to only one 3-pointer in the St. Joseph 42 to 22 lost. This is only the second lost by the Celtics who were out rebounded by OLP 4 to 1. The Celtics may have a chance to regroup and prepare for the OLP in a playoff game, which were solid on both end of the floor. The March Madness CYO playoffs start in two weeks and the Celtics will likely be the second seed, right behind OLP.
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 and play in the Union County CYO Youth Basketball League.
