Saturday Recap: Undefeated no more

Two undefeated streaks ended Saturday. One was a good thing, and another, as of right now, not a good thing.

First, the 5th grade lost their first game of the season 14-11.

Trailing 11-4 at halftime, there second half push was not enough to get them over the hump and their record now stands at (5-1).

They lacked the energy and focus needed to stay undefeated and their slow start ended up costing them. A late surge at the end brought them within three points but no closer.

However, with their early season success, they do control their own destiny to the playoffs, and will look to regroup with a good practice tomorrow.

The 8th Grade Red Team was hitting on all cylinders in their showdown against the former first place team.

No slow start this afternoon as they were ready right from the tip. They knew that had a difficult game ahead of them and they played with a sense of purpose from the first whistle.

They raced out to a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and took a 38-14 lead into the half. They played a little sloppier in the second half, but still managed to win in convincing fashion 56-37.

From the rumor mill it seems like the other team was missing their best player and it showed. But the Red Team took advantage of the situation and made a statement that perhaps the road to the championship will now have to go through them.

Miles scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter, and was hobbled by an elbow injury in the second half.

Late in the second quarter, he was fouled on a drive and crashed viciously into the padding. He stayed in the game but he wasn't at 100%.

David was spectacular today and had a career high 10 points, and played solidly on both ends of the court.

What made this game extra special was that everyone on the team, including Michael Fong and Mark scored. It was Mark's first points of the regular season and Michael's first two field goals.

Michael Ng hit a 3 pointer and had 9 points. Jeremy had 8 points and Justin 4 points.

Miles had another double double and his rebounds really set the tempo of the game early on, as his boards on the defensive end were the catalyst to the fast breaks. Offensively, he hovered around the basket and he couldn't be stopped.

In their years of basketball, I don't think they ever played any better than they were in the first 14 minutes of the game.

They took care of the ball. They hit free throws, lay-ups, played solid defense, boxed out. When a team can click like they did earlier today, they are unbeatable.

But there is still a long way to go, and the Red Team still has three more regular season games, and still aren't even a lock for the playoffs. At (4-1), they have a decisive edge to make it into the post-season and would make it a lot easier on themselves if they could perform at this level from here on out.

The 7th grade needed overtime to handle their business this morning.

An absolutely disastrous third quarter by both teams, that featured turnover after turnover and missed shot after missed shot. It didn't look like either team wanted to win the game.

After giving up the first four points in the overtime period, the 7th grade stormed back with six unanswered points, and held on for the 26-24 OT win over St. Brigid.

Garrick collected a rebound in overtime and made the putback to give St. Mary's the lead for good.

With the win, they improve to (5-1), but they are still fighting it right now because this game should not have been as close as it was.

There's a lot of negative energy surrounding the team despite their win, so they'll need to play better to get their momentum going the right direction.

Thought there was no official count, the 7th grade had to have thrown the ball away at least 20 times, if not more. Once again, their free-throws were pretty bad, as they didn't make a single shot from the stripe.

Julio did have a monster second quarter where he scored 8 points. Pablo had 4 of his 6 points in the overtime period.

4th Grade wins again
Jonathan was Jonathan again today and hit the 20 point mark for the third time this season. He had 22 of the team's 30 and the 4th grade improved to (6-0) on the year. Jason scored his season's best 8 points in the 30-8 win.

Their next game however won't be as easy, as they take on a team that has only one loss. It could be a possible championship preview.