Celtics Basketball teams continue strong showings

Photo:

Abby Garaban of the Celtics JV Girls lines up a foul shot.

The St. Joseph’s Celtics basketball teams had a full schedule of games this past weekend playing some stiff competition but still brought home five wins.

Game Highlights

The Celtics JV 6th grade girls continued their winning ways by defeating St. Helen of Westfield this past Sunday Jan. 29, 23-12. They were led by a balanced scoring attack and aggressive defense, allowing the team to improve its record to 6-3. They have three remaining games where they will look to improve their position for the playoffs.

The Celtics JV 5^th grade girls had another nail-biter weekend of basketball games. The girls split the games with a Saturday Jan. 28 win over Our Lady of Peace, New Providence (15-14) and a Sunday Jan. 29 loss against St. Teresa of Summit (11-10). On Saturday, the Celtics were led in scoring by Grace Petroccia, Anna Gomez, Sarah Johnson, Abby Valente and CeCe Clarke. Ellie Rounsavill, Zoe Gill, and Frances Lindsay led the rebounds with four each. The game was competitive throughout but the relentless pressure defensive by Abby Garaban, Hudson Hassler , Merry  Meyer and Rosie Chisolm  proved too much for OLP. Both games showed great team effort on the part of the Celtics. The next game for the girls is Feb. 3 versus St. Theresa of Kenilworth. The girls have three more regular season games to get ready for the playoffs.

The Celtics JV boys Green team squared off in an away game against St. Johns of Clark on Saturday Jan. 28. The Celtics jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, following two points each from Liam Kagel and Elijah Smith. After falling behind in the second half, the team erupted in the fourth quarter. The Celtics were able to cut a 12-point deficit to six points following great defensive pressure and two steals by Anthony Stoica. The team scored 10 points in the quarter, with three points each from Joe Mastrodonato and Justin Bramwell and two from Noah Perry and Liam Kagel. Despite this amazing comeback, the Celtics fell to St. Johns 27-19. 

The 3rd grade boys won a close one versus St. Gen's of Elizabeth 18-14. Ben Szezepanski led all scorers with eight, all coming in the fourth quarter, followed by Perry Reyes with six and Cole Latimer with four. It was a real team effort with Tommy Coutinho contributing two rebounds and two assists, Mathew Morales pulling down two rebounds, Vincent Zakian and Devin Brown with a rebound each, and Nicholas Aaron being aggressive on defense and grabbing a key steal.

The 4^th Grade boys team split a pair of games this weekend. At OLP in New Providence on Friday Jan. 27 the Celtics fell behind early and could never recover, losing 20 – 12. Scoring was spread evenly with Luke Chmiel, Colin O’Mara, and Ben Peacock each having two points, and Joe Miller and Kalman Kraham each having three. The Celtics turned it around on Sunday Jan. 29 at home, jumping to an early lead and upending St. Helen of Westfield 25 – 18. Ben Peacock had four points and four rebounds, Luke Chmiel had two points and three assists, Aidan Dwyer played stellar defense, Kyle Gonyea had four rebounds and two points, Kalman Kraham finished with nine points, Joseph Miller had eight, and John Cronin and Colin O’Mara each had three rebounds. The team's record is now 7 -1 on the season.

St. Joseph's CYO is a shared parish ministry for the parishioners of St. Joseph's in Maplewood and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange. For more information about the CYO program you can visit their web site at www.eteamz.com/stjosephcelticscyobasketball.