The following was contributed by a parent and coaches of St. Joseph’s CYO Basketball team.
The St. Joseph’s of Maplewood Celtic’s CYO basketball season opened November 29-30.
The Celtic’s 3rd grade boys blue team opened the season with a 15-9 loss at home against St. Agnes. Henry Aaron and Liam Haley scored against a tough St. Agnes defense. John Pirone and Cian O’Connor showed strength under the boards grabbing rebounds. Ian Webber and Justin DeVomecourt handled the ball skillfully at point while Cade Minerley and Declan Cavanaugh played a strong defense against St. Agnes shooting.
The Celtic’s 3rd-4th grade girls team opened the season with a 12-10 victory over St. Helen’s of Westfield. Leah Connell scored 6 points, Jamie Fardin scored 4 points and Neve McGowan scored 2 points.
The Celtic’s 4th grade boys green team started off the season with an 18-12 victory over St. Helen’s of Westfield. All eight available players contributed to the win. Max Larson’s early bucket, on an assist from Mike Pirone, staked the team to an unrelinquished lead. Brendan Dawkins (7) and Mike Pirone (6) led the team in scoring and set the tone with nice passing and aggressive defense. Danny Guarnieri also chipped in 3 key points while Patrick Campbell and Liam Laskowski displayed impressive ball-handling skills. Nicholas Franklin’s ball-hawking defense created several turnovers that led to scoring opportunities. Owen Holt helped the Celtics control the backboards, limiting the home team’s scoring chances.
The Celtic’s 4th grade boys white team opened the season at St. Helen’s of Westfield on November 29. The game, which was close through most of the third quarter, ended in a 28-10 loss for the Celtics. Declan O’Connell led the team with 8 points.
The season opener for the Celtics 6th grade boys team featured a rematch of the 5th grade final against St. Agnes from Clark. The Celtics started strong, leading 15-6 at the half. But a late comeback from St. Agnes propelled them to a 22-21 victory. Nicholas Aaron and Derrick Baptiste led the Celtic’s scoring while Mathew Morales anchored the Celtic defense. Coach George Brown said “it was the challenging game we expected. I could not be more proud of the effort of the 6th grade Celtics. We’re looking forward to the re-match next month.”
The Celtics varsity girls 7th-8th grade team opened the season on November 30 with a 43-26 win against St. Theresa of Kenilworth. The Celtics took an early lead utilizing a full court press that generated multiple turnovers and led to several fast break baskets. Lead scorers were Abby Garaban (22), Merry Meyer (8) and Sarah Johnson (8). The Celtic’s great defensive effort was led by Ellie Rounsavill, Sarah Johnson, Hudson Hassler and Zoe Gill.
