Communion of Saints Controls Tempo, Beats St. Francis

In the boy's second game of the 2021 Morrissey Classic Tournament, Communion of Saints and St.Francis played a close game as they ended the first half 11-10 with Communion of Saints on top.

#13 Elija Davis and #25 Patrick Spear played the boards grabbing a combined nine rebounds and eight points enabling their team to stay in the game.

As the second half started St. Francis gained ground leading the game 16 to 13 at the end of the third quarter. In the last seconds, Elija Davis finished off St. Francis with the last bucket of the game bringing Communion of Saints to 20 -18 victory. When asked about how his team did so well Patrick explains “To eat your lucky charms” as his final comments.

Sts. Robert & William Powers Past St. Paschal

Coming out the victors of a physical battle, Sts. Robert-William defeated St. Paschal in a 44-33 decision during the 4:00 p.m. game at the 2021 Morrissey Classic. 

Getting off on a fast start, Frankie Oriani from Sts. Robert-Williams nailed two three-point shots from downtown, putting his team up 6-0. 

Sts. Robert-Williams led 22-14 at halftime as the physicality between the two teams intensified throughout the competition.

Working their way back into the game, the score at the end of the third quarter favored St. Robert-William by 13, even after a standout defensive quarter by St. Paschal. 

Late in the fourth quarter Mario Gaspar from St. Paschal made it a 10 point game after hitting a three-pointer from the top of the key. 

As the buzzer sounded signaling the end of the game, the scoreboard illuminated a victory by Sts. Robert-William. 

Frankie Oriani from Sts. Robert-Williams led both teams in scoring during the match, totaling 15 points during the game. He was followed by teammate Lorenzo Oriani who tallied 12 points.

St. Raphael Stifles Mater Dei

In the first round of girl’s games in the 2021 Morrissey Classic Tournament St. Raphael and Mater Dei had a slow start. Both teams were struggling to find the net until Paris Darling grabbed the first basket of the game for St. Raphael. As the game progressed Mater Dei’s #33 Aubrey Terranova shined in the defense battling triple coverage throughout the game. St. Raphael’s #34 Avery Bellack was the shining star of their defense with the combination of Paris Darlings‘s ability to continuously find the basket. Mater Dei did not give up hope as they began to string along a couple points towards the end of the game. Their efforts were not enough as St. Raphael held Mater Dei to under ten points to end the game 23 to 9. Coach Terranova's statement after the game was that of faith as he believes “the heart and the fight of these girls will help them win.”

Holy Trinity vs. Notre Dame

The beginning of this game was very defensive. The Eagles played fast, and put the pressure on. Holy Trinity obtained an early lead, and the score was 16-4 at the end of the first. 

Holy Trinity kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter. The score after two was 23-7 Eagles. Erin Dean had 11 points at the end of the half. 

After the halftime break, defense continued to play a big role for both teams. Notre Dame scored five unanswered points. Those five points were the only points scored in the quarter for Notre Dame. Going into the fourth, the score was 25-12. 

The final quarter of play started at a fast pace. Both teams traded buckets back and forth. The Eagles got hot from behind the arch, and hit a total of 3 three-pointers in the quarter. Holy Trinity held on to their lead, and won the game 36-14. 

Defense Comes up Big; Sts. Robert and William edges St. Gabriel

In the Saturday matchup between St. Gabriel vs Saints Robert & William, it was a defensive battle as each team struggled to gain a lead early on but Robert William pulled ahead as they won the game 20 to 18. At half Robert Williams led 15 to 8 with #23 Elizabeth Dunmire leading the way with 10 points. She continued to tally up the last five points for Robert Williams to finish off the game and put Robert Williams over St.Gabriel. 

For St. Gabriel it was a different story as they tried to battle back from a seven point deficit. Ava Starr, Ella Zampedro, and Maia Ronam all finished the game with four points each as they tried to build a disney comeback story. The girls believe they will succeed this season as long as they work together and play as the team they were in the second half. Coach Mike Rowan gives his respect to Robert Williams, and plans to prove themselves for their next matchup.

Hot Shooting by Lady Bulldogs Prove Too Much for St. Mary's

The game started out slow, with both teams trading empty possessions. But that all changed when Tristan Williams of the Bulldogs got a hot start, scoring an and-one and having a block. Gesu would go on a run for the remainder of the first quarter After 1, the score was 12-8 Bulldogs. Williams scored 8 of the Bulldogs’ first 12 points. 

After three scoreless minutes in the second quarter, the Knights battled back. Halfway through the quarter, the score was 13-12 St. Mary’s. Both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the quarter. At the end of the first half, Gesu held an 19-17 lead. 

Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs put the pressure on. Gesu quickly scored 7 points at the beginning of the quarter. The Knights hung in though, a Fallon Campoletti three made the score 33-26 at the end of the third. 

In the final quarter of play, Gesu pulled away. A Brooke Leedy three sealed the deal for the Bulldogs. The final score was 46-33. 

St. Raphael Holds On For Victory over Sts. Robert and William

Sts. Robert and William and St. Raphael both got off to hot starts with a tightly contested first quarter. The Raiders started out hot with an early 5 point lead.

Sts. Robert and William answered and kept it close all the way through the 1st with an 8-0 run to open up the 2nd quarter.

The second half was just as close with lots of fast break points on both sides of the court. The Raiders pulled away in the 3rd with back to back corner threes.

St. Raphael held the lead through the buzzer with a 43-36 finish in both teams first game of the tournament.

Holy Trinity Too Hot to Handle for St. Francis

The matchup between Holy Trinity and Saint Francis proved to be a lopsided one as Holy Trinity

held their foot on the gas for a 39-14 victory. Joseph Maloof (4) was a highlight in the game for

Holy Trinity, leading both teams in points with a total of (points).

Holy Trinity started the first quarter strong in large part to the play of Collin Crocker who led his

team in rebounds with (rebounds) which amounted to a lot of second chances that Holy Trinity

made sure to take advantage of.

The second and third quarters were very uptempo, leading to a total of 35 shot attempts for both

teams with only a few fouls.

Saint Francis really stepped up their efficiency in the fourth but in the end it proved too little to

amount to a comeback.

Coach Rodriguez for Holy Trinity was pleased with his teams effort and knew that, despite the

team only having two weeks of practice so far this season, effort can always be shown and is

ultimately what helped them to the first round win. Coach Loser for Saint Francis had a lot of

confidence in his teams ability despite the loss and stressed that execution was key to

progressing in the tournament.

St. Gabriel Cruises Past St. Paschal

By Aislyn McQueen

St Gabriel’s explosive offense led them to a 58-26 victory over St Paschal in the first round of games in the 2021 Morrissey Classic tournament. 

In a back and forth attempt for the ball in the first few minutes of the game,  St Paschal’s Alex Mack steals the ball and passes it to Luke Carlton who puts the first three points on the scoreboard. 

Both teams gave their best effort throughout the entire game with strong defensive plays and impressive rebounds. 

Brody Bohr was the offensive star of the Grizzlies finishing with 19 points leading his team towards victory. 

Gesu sneaks by Communion of Saints in Morrissey Classic Opener

By: Luke Potosky

The opening game of the Morrissey Classic between Gesu & Communion of Saints saw lots of

spectacular play from both sides, but it was the Gesu who prevailed 28-22 over Communion of

Saints.

After the first half, it was a stalemate at 15 apiece. Teddy Burke paced Gesu with five points &

Quinn Cummings followed behind with four. Every member of Communion of Saints scored in

the first half, led by Shane Mullady with three.

In the second half, Gesu started to pull away behind the brilliant play of Burke who added nine

second half points. Quinn Kennedy, one of two Morrissey family members playing in this week’s

tournament, paced Communion of Saints with eight points.

Postgame, Burke was grateful for Gesu’s fast start, and Coach Culkar was proud of his team’s

ability to play good defense & make plays when they had to. Kennedy said he is proud to

represent his family’s name, and Coach Lachman of Communion of Saints was impressed with

his team’s hustle and persistence on both sides of the floor.

St. Paschal fends off St. Raphael, are the Morrissey Classic 8th Grade Boys Champions

In the 8th-grade championship game in the Morrissey Classic at Gilmore Academy St. Raphael takes on the St. Paschal Knights. In the first quarter St. Raphael went on an early 8-0 run but St. Paschal was quick to cut the lead before the quarter ended making the score 13-9. #51 Maksym Pakush had two huge threes to keep St. Raphael in the lead, while #5 George Minello kept the Knights in the game with 5 points of his own. The momentum plays continued in the second quarter for St. Paschal allowing them to tie the score at 23 going into halftime. Delond Moss #24 was a large help with keeping the Knights in this championship matchup.

In the second half, the game remained extremely competitive with continuous back and forth offensive scoring possessions for both teams. At the end of the third quarter, St. Paschal claimed the lead with a score of 34-25. In the fourth and late in this championship game, the clutch three from Jimmy Lawless #0 for St. Paschal played a key role in their way to victory. The final score resulted to be 46-39 with St. Paschal winning the championship game in the Morrissey Classic. St. Paschal could not have accomplished the win without the outstanding play of Delond Moss #24 as he had 22 points and 9 rebounds. Even though St. Raphael took the runner up spot the play of Michael Lamirand can't go unnoticed as he was able to score 15 points and bring down 5 rebounds. Congratulations to both teams in making this far in the tournament and good luck to both of them in their seasons to come!

St. Raphael's are your Back-to-Back 8th Grade Girls Morrissey Classic Champions

-Michael Adelman

It was a dominating performance in Sunday's 8th-grade girl's championship from St. Raphael as they defeated Our Lady of Perpetual Help by a final score of 36-23. After a very competitive first quarter, which ended 9-8, the Raiders turned up their defense and took advantage of turnovers to hold the Saints to just 2 points in the second quarter. St. Raphael took a 20-10 lead into halftime.

After the intermission, both teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm as it took over 3 minutes for either team to find a basket. St. Raphael was finally able to get some momentum going and used it to outscore OLPH 10-4 in the third quarter. The Saints showed signs of life in the final period, going on a 7-2 run to begin the quarter and holding the Raiders to zero points in the first five minutes, but the task to erase their 16 point deficit was just too much, as St. Raphael was able to regain momentum and earn the win to claim the Gesu Morrissey Classic Championship for the second straight year.

Brynn Roggenburk led the Raiders with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Cara Heisterkamp added 10 points. Roggenburk and teammate, Sophie Georgiadis represented St. Raphael on the GMC All-Tournament Team after a weekend of stellar play. St. Francis' Katie Pulleti, Holy Trinity's Sarh Karabatsos, and Our Lady of Perpetual Hope's Amor Maker also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.

Bulldogs Too Much for The Warriors (7th Grade)

On a Sunday afternoon at Gilmour Academy, the Gesu Bulldogs faced the St. Robert and William Warriors. The first half was a back and forth battle, with Gesu heading into halftime leading 24-8. There was a lot of hustle on both sides of the ball, with both teams playing tough defense. Joseph Pomnean, #1, stood out for the Warriors in making a big time three, as well as a contested finger roll layup. He ended the first half with 6 of the Warriors 8 points. On the other side, Luke Salata, #23, was the stand-out player for the Bulldogs, making big time shots and rebounds when it mattered most. Gesu finished with 6 rebounds heading into halftime, while Robert and William had 5.

Charlie Young, #42, of the Bulldogs started off the second half by making a runaway layup, assisted by Luke Salata. The game continued to be a defensive battle, as there were many turnovers and defensive rebounds by both teams. Noah Whisler, #34, of Gesu made a three to end the third quarter, pushing their lead to 33-15. The Warriors continued to battle, forcing the game to be intense until the end. Despite their resilient effort, St. Robert and William fell to Gesu, 45-22. Salata was the leading scorer for Gesu, finishing with 10 points, while Pomnean had a game high 11 points.

St. Albert Holds off LCA (7th Grade)

St. Albert came out firing. They started with an unanswered 11 points. The run was ended by Anthony Reali who hit a hardenesk step back jumper. Lakewood Catholic Academy would not go down with out a fight coming back to end the first half with a score of 7-16.

The third quarter started with both teams playing aggressive defense. Gavin Crane and Ryan Kilbane lite it up for the Mustangs, but Anthony Reali kept the Saints in the game cutting the lead to just two with 30 seconds left in the game. The Mustangs aggressive defense and Kyle Dodig court leadership proved to much and the Saints and the Mustangs hang on 31 -29. Gavin Kilbane lead the charge for the Mustangs with 8 points and 5 boards. Anthony Reali had a 12 peice with an additional assist for the Saints.

St. Gabriel Keep Early Lead; Best St. Paschal

David Pfudstein kickstarted the momentum for the St. Paschal Knights by scoring a three right off the bat. Teammate, Connor Egan, scored a basket as well. St. Gabriel answered by James Koenig and Connor Hernan both scoring a basket each. The next basket for the knights came from number 2, Joey Salerno, with an assist from teammate David Pfundstein. Both James Koenig and Conner Hernan added two points each.  After a steal, Zac Titas, took the ball all the way to the basket for another point. Brendan Sawitke, James Koenig, and Bryson Monreal also added points for St. Gabriel, putting them ahead going into the second half, 21-13. 

St. Gabriel came out in the second half wanting to keep their lead. James Koenig contributed 10 rebounds to St. Gabriel’s competitive play. With both teams playing back and forth, St. Gabriel kept their lead throughout the third quarter, but allowed St. Paschal to tighten the deficit, making the score 23-21 heading into the fourth quarter. Both teams kept giving their all for the last quarter, but ultimately St. Gabriel walked away victorious, beating St. Paschal 31-23. 

Gesu Wins a Close One over St. Jude

In both team’s final game of the tournament, GESU defeated St. Jude by a score of 29-27.  In the first half, neither team could reliably hit shots due to the good defense of the opponent.  At the end of the first half the score was GESU 11, St. Jude 10.  After the break, both teams started to grow into the game as more points were scored in the third quarter than in the entire first half.  After half, St Jude started running pick plays for their guards In order to get open shots.  In response, GESU Started running plays between the Castellanos siblings to find their open looks.

GESU #0, Molly Castellanos has a stellar game registering a double double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.  #2 Mary Klung also had a great game with 6 points and 5 rebounds.   For St. Jude, #3, Ava Lucarotti lead the scoring with 9 points, and #30, Sam Clemente had 7.  A steal in the last 2 seconds by Rielyn Jackson prevented St. Jude from getting a chance at a game winning three.

Holy Trinity Controls Destiny; Wins 7th Grade Boys Morrissey Classic Championship

Once the clock hit zero, Holy Trinity became champions. 

Holy Trinity captured the seventh grade boys championship with a dominating 48-19 win over St. Raphael.

St. Raphael put the pressure on the champions early with a back-and-forth affair but then Holy Trinity used opposing team turnovers to get out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. 

Holy Trinity blossomed in the second quarter to go ahead 27-11 and from there, they relied on their strong defensive effort to carry them the rest of the way.

The champions held St. Raphael to just eight points in the second half.

Quinn W. scored a game high 18 points for Holy Trinity and Grant W. supplemented with 14 points.

Our Lady of Perpetual Hope Rallies to Beat St. Francis in Stunning Comeback

By Anna Meyer 

St. Francis jumped out in the opening moments of the game against Our Lady of Perpetual Help this afternoon. The Cougars took a quick 8-0 lead over the Saints. They continued dominating the Saints leading 20-12 after the first quarter. St. Francis kept building off of their momentum when #21 Jake Kavic hit a three point shot to give St. Francis a substantial 31-12. 

The Saints finally were able to end the Cougars scoring run when Josh Richte made a free throw followed by a three pointer made by #22 Jossiah Johnston. Johnson then hit yet another three pointer seconds after. Despite the Saints attempt to comeback, St. Francis led at halftime 38-26. 

In the third quarter, both teams continued to battle on the court. #30 Josh Paul for the Saints hit a pair of three pointers to contribute to his team's effort. Going into the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued to lead the game 48-39. In the final quarter, Our Lady of Perpetual Help started to make their greatest comeback in the game.

The Saints were able to make the score 47-55 courtesy of a three pointer from #23 Dalton Miller. Miller was sent to the free throw line and was able to make all three baskets with just a little over a minute left and changed the score to a five point game with the Cougars leading 55-50. The Saints continued to keep marching into a comeback when JoJo Johnston hit a deep three pointer shot with less than 1 minute left in the game making the game a 2 point margin. Miller hit another three pointer for the Saints and lifted them to a 58-57 lead over the Cougars for the first time in the game. The Saints went on to defeat the Cougars and comeback winning by a final score of 58-57. 

St. Francis' Defense Too Much for Holy Trinity (8th Grade Girls)

A strong defensive effort by St. Francis of Assisi generated a 35-17 win over Holy Trinity in the eighth grade girls basketball tournament. 

St. Francis of Assisi limited Holy Trinity to just four points in the first half. Gabbie M. and Katie P. combined for 27 points for St. Francis of Assisi. Gabbie M. also added seven rebounds.

Holy Trinity outscored St. Francis of Assisi 9-7 in the fourth quarter but their efforts were too late. Sarah K. scored 10 points for Holy Trinity.

Bulldogs Chew Up Holy Trinity

A 13-1 blazing hot start fueled Gesu to a 42-20 win over Holy Trinity in the eight grade boys tournament. 

Holy Trinity found momentum late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter by outscoring Gesu 5-1 but it did not last long as Holy Trinity’s kryptonite was fouls.

Gesu tempered any chance for a Holy Trinity comeback by holding the opposition to just three points in the third quarter. 

Makell B. led Gesu with 13 points and seven rebounds in the game. Julian H. and Anthony H. combined for 13 points for Holy Trinity.