St. Mary’s 5th grade team 1 went 2-0 this weekend, prevailing in hard-fought, physical battles on the road and at home. In the first game at St. Boniface, Sea Cliff, St. Mary’s fell behind early before charging ahead and pulling away for the 26-14 victory. The offense was led by Michael Mastando (eight points), Charles Balsamo, Will Cargiulo, and Donovan Barcelona (four points each), and Brendan Conniff, Patrick Leder, and Ryan Kolin, who each scored two points. The defense dominated the boards and forced numerous turnovers, led by Brendan Sargent and Christian Alacqua.
In the team’s second game of the weekend, a home game against a talented St. Agnes of Rockville Centre, St. Mary’s got off to an early lead, and St. Agnes attempted to make a comeback. St. Mary’s converted several clutch baskets and key free throws in the second half, and strong defense helped to secure the 25-20 victory. St. Mary’s attacked the basket on offense, drawing numerous fouls and putting St. Agnes in foul trouble throughout the game. The offense was led by Charles Balsamo (10 points), Christian Alcaqua (five points), Donovan Barcelona and Will Cargiulo (four points), and Brendan Sargent (two points). The defense also shut down the St. Agnes attack in the second half, led by Brendan Conniff, Ryan Kolin, Michael Mastando, and Nicolas Ras.
St. Mary’s-7 5th grade CYO team had an away game this weekend against St. Hedwig’s of Floral Park and jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter led by excellent defense by Matt Perfetto, Tommy Tsongas and Dillon Magee. St. Hedwig’s responded with a half-court zone but good ball movement by Alex Cozzi and Brendan Trotta resulted in several open jump shots and a 10-point first half lead for St. Mary’s. Tenacious defense in the third quarter by Chris Diskin and Hunter Panzik led to several fast breaks and some key assists by Joey Terenzi and Peter Vorillas. St. Mary’s kept up the intensity in the fourth quarter to secure a 34-16 victory.
St. Mary’s 8th grade team 1 fell behind early to a very talented team from St. Hyacinth of Glen Head. St. Mary’s stormed back and used a 14-2 run in the third period — out scoring their opponent 20-6 in the period — to recapture the lead they would never relinquish. St. Mary’s used clutch shooting and strong defense down the stretch, including a smothering full-court press, to seal the 55-51 victory. The offense was led by John Mastando (20 points, including eight in the third period and six in the fourth), Nick Quinn (15 points, including eight clutch points in the fourth quarter), Thomas Santella (12 points, including 10 in the decisive third period), and Will Allen (four points, including a three-pointer in the second quarter that added momentum to the St. Mary’s comeback). Jay Schlaefer and Ross Tortora each added two points, scoring important buckets in the first half. Chris Carillo, John Whelan and Thomas Blaney (in his first game back from an earlier injury) made key rebounds and forced several critical turnovers.
St. Mary’s 8th grade team 7 ran their record to 3-0 with a squeaker over St. Gertrude’s, Bayville, 60-56. Led by Timmy Kiggins, Joe Locurto, Steven Vlahakis and Charlie Young on the offensive side the difference in the game was defense. Joseph Mulholland shut down St. Gertrude’s top scorer, holding him to seven points, and, along with Eddie Arnold and Patrick Weber, closed out St. Gertrude’s. Steven Salerno and Duncan Barcelona hit key three-pointers to put the game out of reach.
St. Mary’s 6th grade team 3 beat St. Edward’s on Saturday, 25-18. Marco Motroni scored 10 points. Dan Cataldo, Mike Desena, and Seamus Purcell dominated the boards. James Allen, Aiden Cole, Alex Giacobbe, and Cataldo, also scored. Defense carried the day.
St. Mary’s 7th grade team 2 beat St. Gertrude’s on Saturday in Bayville by a score of 37-33. In the fourth quarter St. Mary’s was down by seven points. Once Marco Falcone scored a basket on an in-bound play, the St. Mary’s offense pulled it together to go on a 13-point run to win the game by four points. Point guards Stefano Troia and Luke Vetrone led the team with eight and 10 points, respectively. Strong defense by Daniel Selby, Marco Falcone and Sean Tintle stopped an aggressive comeback attempt by St. Gertrude. Additional points for St. Mary’s were scored by Marc Baronci, Jesse Bernstone and James Malvey. Great defensive effort with 19 seconds on the clock by Marco Pugliese, Nikola Misetic and Will DeCastro to hold on to the lead.
