Youth Basketball In New Jersey

Denville PAL 6th Graders run streak to 10 straight (Compliments of the Citizen of Morris County) Denville's PAL 6th grade boys basketball team tied for second place in the Lakeland PAL League standings with a 13-3 league record when they defeated Jefferson 59-32 to extend their winning streak to 10 straight. The defending champions, Denville was seeded fourth in the post-season tournament and opened against Hopatcong on Tuesday evening. "We are playing well and have a nice winning streak going," said coach Carmine Prisco. "I hope we will continue to play like we have been. I think we are getting better every game." Balanced scoring and tough defense does it for Denville. Trailing 11-4 by the end of the opening period, Denville went on a 26-3 run in the second quarter as Jason Prisco ignited the charge, netting 14 of his game high 21 points. It was a two-pronged attack in the second quarter as Sean Lezgus hit the hoop for 10 of his 16 points as the duo accounted for 24 of Denville's 26 point output. Alex Baggot and Jesse Cisco chipped in with four points apiece while Scott Foley and Rory McCloskey contributed three points apiece. Brian Donnelly, Danny Evans, Brian Ferraro and Chris Evans each netted two points to complete the scoring parade as Denville avenged an earlier season setback to Jefferson. Ben Arkush, Steve Giacomo and Mike Sammon also added to the victory. "It's been an exciting season so far and now it's tournament time," added Prisco. "The players have worked hard all year long. We have won 17 of 20 games including the Wayne Y2K Fest, but I know these guys are not satisified yet. They are still hungry and that is the attitude you have to have going into the tournament."

St. Mary's JV "A" squad advances to Upper Morris CYO semifinals (Compliments of the Citizen of Morris County) St. Mary's JV Boys "A" squad advanced to the semifinals of the Upper Morris County CYO tournament by defeating St. Lawrence 42-23 and Corpus Christi 60-27. On Saturday, St. Mary's meets St. Catherine's of Mountain Lakes at the St. Therese Gym in Succasunna. "We looked very sluggish against St. Lawrence on Saturday," said coach Carmine Prisco, "but we played very well on Sunday against Corpus Christi. We played aggressive defense and our scoring in both games was well-balanced." Jason Prisco topped all scorers against St. Lawrence as he went to the hoop for 15 points. Jesse Cisco netted 11 points and Scott Foley dented the cords with 10. Alex Baggot, Brian Ferraro, Nick Luzzi and Mike Trien added two points apiece to the scoring column whole Rory McCloskey played tough defense and crashed the boards. Defense was key as Corpus Christi was limited to two points in the third quarter when St. Mary's upped its lead to 42-16 entering the final quarter. Prisco led the scoring attack with 20 points that included a pair of three-pointers while converting eight of 10 free throw opportunities. Cisco excelled on defense, blocking five shots and pulling down a dozen rebounds while netting 13 points. Foley applied tremendous pressuve on defense, turning a pair of steals into four of his 11 points. Baggot played aggressive defense, dished off 10 assists and tickled the twine with seven points while Ferraro had a positive impact under the boards and netted seven points. McCloskey picked off three steals, grabbed six boards and scored two points. Trien pulled down three rebounds while Luzzi handed off two assists and picked off a pair of steals. St. Mary's improved to 13-1 with the wins. "These guys play with a lot of heart," added Prisco. "I'm very proud of their unselfishness and teamwork."

Hot Shots hit the hoop at Lakeland Hills Family YMCA (Compliments of The Citizen of Morris County) Basket heights were adjusted and distances altered according to grade level as Morris County kids in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade competed in the Annual Hot Shot Contest at the Lakeland Hills Family YMCA. Trophies were awarded to the top three finishers in both the boys and girls divisions in each grade bracket. Proceeds from the competition were donated to the North Jersey Chapter of the Spinal Cord Society.

Kindergarten Boys 1 Jeffrey Norris (Kinnelon) 2 Robert McCormick (Denville) 3 Gregory Hoff (Mountain Lakes) Girls 1 Krystal Wangerin (Boonton) 2 Lauren Lubowitz (Mountain Lakes) 3 Kelly O'Grady (Boonton Township) First Grade Boys 1 Tanner Tripucka (Mountain Lakes) 2 Billy Burgoyne (Boonton Township) 3 Lukas Marker (Boonton) Girls 1 Khadija Roulli (Parsippany) 2 Lauren Stypulski (Boonton Township) Second Grade Boys 1 Scott McWilliams (Mountain Lakes) 2 Jordan Stillman (Mountain Lakes) 3 Kevin Ryan (Mountain Lakes) Girls 1 Jenna Bakstad (Boonton) 2 Laura Cacciabeye (Boonton Township) 3 Maricca Micciche (Kinnelon) Third Grade Boys 1 Paul Whitman (Pine Brook) 2 Darius Bakstad (Boonton) 3 Jack Reilly (Boonton Township) Girls 1 Amanda Solch (Mountain Lakes) 2 Brianna Cuccinello (Mountain Lakes) 3 Cara Fitzgerald (Mountain Lakes) Fourth Grade Boys 1 Alex Beck (Mountain Lakes) 2 Dabiel Agnello (Denville) 3 David Capra (Mountain Lakes) Girls 1 Katie Bakstad (Boonton) 2 Colleen Cacciabeve (Boonton Township) 3 Cassandra Thalman (Denville) Fifth Grade Boys 1 Michael Ruccio (Mountain Lakes) 2 Phillip Dimin (Mountain Lakes) 3 John Hoff (Mountain Lakes) Girls 1 Brittany Press (Denville) 2 Robyn Lightner (Mountain Lakes) 3 Meredith Aronson (Mountain Lakes) Sixth Grade Boys 1 Bobby Devine (Mountain Lakes) 2 Gary Vesper (Dover) 3 Jeff Solimine (Morris Plains) Girls 1 Lauren Dreyfuss (Boonton Township) 2 Georgia Reilly (Mountain Lakes) 3 Christine Pock (Boonton Township) Seventh Grade Boys 1 Chris Ryan (Mountain Lakes) 2 Pablo Loyola (Mountain Lakes) 3 Jimmy Novius (Mountain Lakes) Girls 1 Meghan Cadigan (Mountain Lakes) 2 Sarah Stover (Denville) 3 Maggie Renahan (Mountain Lakes) Eighth Grade Boys 1 Luke Melillo (Kinnelon) 2 Zach Haywotrh (Boonton) Girls 1 Michelle Lopez (Denville)

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Check out the Keansburg Youth Basketball Program Look at the Little Falls Athletic Club Basketball Program New Jersey has several pro basketball teams besides the New Jersey Nets. What do you know about them? Check out our pro basketball site If you have an existing youth sports site of local interest, we welcome the opportunity to add it as an affiliate to our pages. If your youth organization would like a complimentary web site or has a story you would like published on this web site and in your local weekly newspaper, let us know. All inquiries should be made to info@sportsinthegardenstate.com