MAPLEWOOD – The St. Joseph’s Celtics basketball teams enjoyed fine play recently.
The Sixth Grade boys lost in overtime to Our Lady of Peace in New Providence Friday, 26-23. Down 17-7 at halftime, the team shutout OLP while scoring 10 points to even the game at the end of the third quarter. The comeback included scoring by Malachy Meyer, Declan O’Connell, Callan Bauer and Chibuikem Onyemaechi, strong rebounding by Sebastian Pappas, Charlie Giannone, and O’Connell and tough defense by Derek Mingmongkol. Losing 21-19 with 1 second on the clock in regulation, Declan O’Connell hit foul shots to send the game into overtime and then hit one to knot the score with 32 seconds left. But OLP took advantage of a turnover and quick foul to come out on top.
The boys JV blue Meola team lost 17-16 on Saturday to St. Joseph of Roselle. Justin DeVomecourt was the high scorer with 6 and also had 6 rebounds. Henry Aaron contributed 5 points to the effort, along with 6 rebounds and 7 steals. Liam Haley had a strong game with 3 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Lukas Alexander hit two foul shots, including one in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Aaron Budd and Cian O’Connor were tough on defense and were instrumental in some key turnovers. The team was missing a few players so Dyson Smith joined the team for the game, contributing five steals.
The JV girls moved to 2-0 with a 14-9 win over St. James. Talia Baptiste and Summer Lonning led St. Joseph scoring with 6 points each. Emile Clitus rounded out the scoring with 2 points. Peyton Hollis, Paloma Duvergne and Amelia Lisco played smothering defense helping to hold St. James to 9 points in another great team effort by the JV Celtic girls.
The Fourth Grade boys improved to 2-0 on the season with a Saturday victory on the road at Our Lady of Peace. In the third quarter, Harrison Zabik found Tim Van De North on an inbound play for a layup and Flynn Larson fired a cross-court bounce pass to Zabilk for another layup to spark a 20-5 second-half Celtics run. Six Celtics players scored, led by Kieran Dawkins (11), Larson (6), Alex Szcepanski (6), Zabik (4), Jerry Browne (2) and Tim Van DeNorth. Thomas Campbell ran the point in the fourth quarter as the Celtics closed the game out with a 31-11 victory.
The Sixth Grade green team also picked up its second victory on Saturday, defeating St. Helen’s 37-22. In the third quarter, Nicholas Alexander took charge in transition, providing a significant change in momentum in the game. Patrick Campbell ran the point and tallied 12 points to lead the Celtics, while Brendan Dawkins added 10 points, including a perfect 4-4 at the foul line. Mike Pirone battled junk defenses all game, but kept working to register 9 points and 12 rebounds. Alexander also added 2 buckets and Max Larson chipped in a jump shot to round out the Celtics scoring.
The Third Grade boys won their first game of the season Saturday, defeating Our Lady of Peace 20-11. Ryan Fay led the team in scoring with 12 points, while Eric DeVomecourt and Evan Straub each added 4 points. Defensively, every player contributed, holding OLP scoreless in the second and third quarters. Josh Pieroni and Nathaniel Wack each had 4 of the team’s 17 steals, while Theodore Pappas and Aidan Heindl joined DeVomecourt and Wack to account for 11 of the Celtics’ 21 rebounds.
On Saturday, the Seventh Grade boys prevailed over St. James 42-17. The Celtics were led by Nick Lorenzo and Nico Reyes with eight points each. They received additional offensive support from Kye Haniph, Alexander Werbaneth, Buchi Amobi, and Damien Cateneo by dominating the offensive boards and scoring a combined 25 points in the process. Meanwhile, Ryan Barrett, James Machado, Ryan Nnoli, and Alex Iozzio made valuable contributions with their tenacious defensive effort. On Sunday, the Seventh Grade Celtics lost to St. Agnes team 35-17. After trailing at halftime by 15 points, tenacious pressure defense by Damien Cateneo, Ryan Barrett, Kye Haniph, and Buchi Amobi led a comeback by the end of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Ale and Nick Lorenzo led the offense scoring seven and six points respectively. James Machado, Alex Iozzio, and Ryan Nnoli made a valiant effort to help the team’s comeback attempt.
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