MAPLEWOOD, NJ – The St. Joseph of Maplewood CYO basketball teams gave tough efforts recently.
The Sixth Grade boys Celtic white team lost, 37-29, to Holy Trinity Saturday evening in Maplewood. The team defense was missing three key players, Derek Mingmongkol and Declan O’Connell, both sidelined with injuries, while Charlie Giannone was out sick. To help, Henry Aaron stepped in from the Fifth Grade squad, scoring 2 points. The rest of the scoring was made by Callan Bauer leading the way with 11, Jerimiah Cook with 7, Malachy Meyer with 4, Sebastian Pappas adding 3, and Chibuikem Onyemaechi with 2.
The JV Boys blue Meola team won, 31-25, Saturday on the road against Koinonia Academy. Outscored 15-11 in the first half, the team finished the game playing and rebounding tough. John Pirone scored half of his 20 points in the third quarter, aided by Liam Haley. Henry Aaron had a bucket and foul shot and Declan Cavanaugh added a basket. The team was strong under the boards, with Pirone grabbing 14, and Haley and Aaron each with 8. Lukas Alexander and Cian O’Connor played well offensively and set picks and provided opportunities for the teammates to get open. Aaron Budd and Conor Cavanaugh were relentless on defense and caused multiple turnovers.
The Meola team won Sunday, 24-11, against St. Michael. Declan Cavanaugh had four points and found himself involved in the two plays of the game. In the third quarter, Henry Aaron started to dribble down the sideline and spied Cavanaugh, who had put himself in perfect position for a baseball pass and a layup. In the fourth quarter, Cavanaugh was inbounding the ball under his own hoop and bounced-pass to Pirone for a layup. Liam Haley played well at both ends of the court, with 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Lukas Alexander shared point guard duties and showcased some great ball-handling. He also had a foul shot. Aaron Budd played amazing defense and had a couple of rebounds. Cian O’Connor had two points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Conor Cavanaugh and Justin DeVomecourt played great defense and set strong picks throughout the game.
Two of the St. Joseph’s Third Grade teams battled in a close game Sunday. Coach Mike Nolan’s team jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, but Coach Bruce Rounsavill’s team battled back to win, 19-13. Ryan Fay led all scorers with 9 points. Evan Straub and Nathanial Wack had 4 points each, and Eric DeVomecourt rounded out the scoring for Coach Rounsavill’s team with 2 points. Eric also had 7 rebounds, and Josh Pieroni had 5 steals to lead a strong defensive effort by the whole team, including tough defense from Theo Pappas and Aidan Heindl.
The Girls’ Varsity team had mixed results this weekend. After losing to All Saints on Saturday, 24-13, the Lady Celtics beat St. Aloysius in Caldwell, 27-14. Molly Gray and Lilly Ramos led St. Joe’s scorers for both games.
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