St. Joseph’s JV Girls White Division 5th Grade moved to 6-0 for the season with a 22-2 win over Koinonia Academy.
Summer Lonning led the way with a double-double, scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Hannah Straub scored her first field goal of the season and had six rebounds. Talia Baptiste scored four points and had four rebounds, and Catherine Holt played a well-rounded game collecting two assists, two steals and four rebounds while scoring two points. Peyton Hollis and Amelia Lisco led the defensive effort with eight steals between them. Holt and Hollis also finished with two assists a piece and Hollis closed out the scoring with two points.
The JV blue boys Meola team had a fun weekend with two road wins. Saturday found them in Clark against perennially tough opponent St. Agnes. The first quarter ended with St. Joe’s up 4-0 and they never relinquished the lead with a final score 16-11. John Pirone led the scoring with 10, and also contributed an even dozen rebounds. Henry Aaron, Liam Haley, and Declan Cavanaugh each contributed a bucket, with 5, 3 and 4 rebounds respectively. Aaron Budd, Conor Cavanaugh and Justin DeVomevourt were tenacious on defense and caused multiple turnovers. Cian O’Connor set amazing picks throughout the game which opened up multiple scoring opportunities for his teammates. Lukas Alexander was tireless at both ends of the court and pulled down 4 rebounds. The play of the game was in the 4th quarter when Aaron passed to Pirone at the top of the key, Pirone pivoted and executed a perfect bounce pass to D. Cavanaugh who laid in a perfect lay up.
Sunday found the team in Cranford with a 35-21 victory against St. Michael’s. The team pulled down a season-high 58 rebounds. Pirone scored 21 points, including 5 from the line, and grabbed 21 rebounds. Henry Aaron scored 8 points, including going 2 for 2 from the foul line and grabbed 6 rebounds. Alexander had 4 points and D. Cavanaugh had 2 with 7 rebounds. Haley and DeVomecourt each had 7 rebounds with C. Cavanaugh and Budd adding 6 and 3 respectively. The team executed a strong full court press in the second half which held the St. Michaels tough offense to 8 points.
The 4th grade Celtics picked up two victories this weekend, taking sole possession of 1st place and improving their record to 7-0. On Saturday, the Celtics defeated Our Lady of Peace 21-12. Will Walsh scored on an offensive rebound early in the game to keep the game close. The game was tied at 9 heading into the 4th quarter. In the final period, the Celtics used their aggressive, trapping defense to frustrate the opponent and close the game on a 12-3 run. Kieran Dawkins led the Celtics in scoring with 10 points and Jerry Browne had 7 points and 8 rebounds. Luke Davenport added 2 points and 6 rebounds. Thomas Campbell, Harrison Zabik and Flynn Larson split time at point guard and ran the Celtics offense efficiently.
On Sunday, the Celtics defeated Holy Trinity 23-12. Kieran Dawkins hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the 3rd quarter and the Celtics closed the game out by outscoring Holy Trinity 12-0. Thomas Campbell handled the ball well and sunk a free throw, and Harrison Zabik converted a steal into a fast-break basket in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, Flynn Larson had 3 of his 4 steals and scored all 3 of his points, including an offensive rebound basket. Will Walsh contributed a key steal and layup in the decisive Celtics run. Tim Van de North added 3 rebounds and Alex Szczepanski had a steal and an assist.
The 6th Grade boys green team picked up a key league win on Sunday, downing St. Michael’s in Cranford 39-27. The Celtics held a 25-10 lead at half-time. Seven Celtics scored as a result of their excellent ball movement and unselfish play. The Celtics press put relentless pressure on their opponent and guards Brendan Dawkins and Patrick Campbell helped the Celtics handle full-court pressure flawlessly. Mike Pirone led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Patrick Campbell had 12 points and Brendan Dawkins added 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Max Larson sunk a basket on a back-door cut and also found William Walsman for a fast-break basket. Nicholas Franklin drained a gorgeous deep jumper and Danny Guarnieri had 2 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Liam Laskowski had 2 assists and 2 steals and Owen Holt and Nicholas Alexander combined for 7 rebounds.
St. Joe’s 6th grade boy’s white team, coached by Keith Meyer, played two home games this weekend, losing on Saturday 22-17 to Holy Trinity, and beating St. Helen’s 17-9 on Sunday. The defense was led by Charlie Giannone, who had 5 steals in Sunday’s game as well as solid play from Derek Mingmongkol. Scoring was accomplished by Callan Bauer who had 6 in the first game, and 4 on Sunday. Declan O’Connell scored 5 on Saturday, and 4 on Sunday. Malachy Meyer 4 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday. Jerimiah Cook scored 2 in each game. Chibuikem Onyemaechi connected for 2 on Sunday, the result of a good pass from Giannone, while Sebastian Pappas swished a free throw. St. Joe’s White team’s record now stands at 5-3.
