The Church of St. Mary CYO High School Boys Seniors basketball team won the Nassau Suffolk Championship upsetting an undefeated St. Vincent’s team, 48-42.
The team is composed of a group of 16 friends with all different levels of basketball ability veteran coaches Joe Pollicino and Pete Klimuszko were able to mold into a cohesive team.
The team was led by Peter John Klimuszko, who did it all on both ends of the floor all season long. Floor leader James Thomas kept the team flowing, while Patrick Pollicino, John Farrell and Will Charbonneau provided necessary scoring punch and shooting accuracy. John Broderick and Tim Curtis provided intensity and strong ability to get to the basket.
Owen Welsh, Mark Ferrone, and Spencer Kaplan were the leaders on the boards, coming up with big plays time and time again against bigger opponents.
On the defensive end, Henry Mullholland, Brad Cirella, Howie Curd, Matt Sears, Rich Lombard and Michael Signorile shut down more experienced players and provided defensive toughness and great team spirit throughout the season.
Congratulations to the team on a job well done.
St. Mary’s-7 5th grade CYO team was back in action this past weekend in front of a packed crowd at Wiest Gymnasium in the semifinals of the Nassau/Suffolk Class A CYO Championships.
The boys from St. Mary’s were up against St. Anne’s, a talented team from Garden City that they had previously defeated twice in the regular season in two thrilling games.
St. Mary’s started the game with its smothering man-to-man pressure defense led by Tommy Tsongas, Hunter Panzik and Dillon Magee. This intensive effort St. Mary’s the edge in early going.
St. Anne’s battled valiantly and outrebounded St. Mary’s, but could not make much headway in the first quarter which ended on a long jump shot by Brendan Trotta for a four point St. Mary’s lead.
The boys from St. Mary’s continued to battle on defense and crisp ball movement by Michael LaSalle and several strong drives to the basket by Peter Vorillas helped St. Mary’s extend its advantage.
The half ended on another buzzer beating long jump shot, this time it was Alex Cozzi of St. Mary’s scoring the basket, giving his team a 10-point lead, 23-13.
St. Anne’s responded like champions in the second half with an intensive half-court press that rattled the home team and cut St. Mary’s lead to 28-24 at the end of the third quarter.
St. Anne’s further turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter and despite fearless drives to the basket by Matthew Perfetto, Joey Terenzi and Chris Diskin, St. Anne’s was able to tie the game.
In a thrilling finish, St. Anne’s took the lead on a late steal and drive to the basket and despite frenetic effort the boys from St. Mary’s were unable to recover and fell 32-30.
The 5th grade boys from St. Mary’s ended the season 12-2, both losses coming by a combined total of four points.
The two teams that defeated St. Mary’s, St. Anne’s, Garden City and St. Pius X, Plainview, met in the 5th grade Class A CYO finals and competed to a triple overtime thriller with St. Anne’s taking the title.
