By: Karen Scheetz
With only one week remaining in the season, the Lambertville Basketball Association is down to the final round of the playoffs.
This past week, each team played and the winners advanced to the final round of the playoffs.
They will be held Saturday, March 20, at South Hunterdon Regional High School in West Amwell.
Here is a look at the games.
Mortgage Mobility 39
Amwell Auto 26
Mortgage Mobility picked up a win Saturday, March 6, over Amwell Auto in the final week of the regular season.
It was a well-played game by both teams.
Mortgage Mobility was led by Devon Troutman with 11 points. Jake Phillips added 10 points, Max Whitaker and Hunter Johnson each finished with eight points, and Paul McMullen added two points. Tom Kilkenney and Alfreo Amendolana played outstanding defense.
Jason Mitchell led Amwell Auto with 10 points, while Shawn Mosby finished with eight points, Cory Conley had five points, Robert Albanir added two points, and Patrick Sullivan scored one point. Jason Shurts played excellent defense.
This game was tight throughout until the last four minutes.
Garefino 16
Amwell Auto won its first-round playoff game over Garefino Saturday, March 13.
Shawn Mosby led the Amwell Auto team with 12 points and multiple assists. He was supported by Jason Mitchell with 10 points, Cody Conley with eight points and Patrick Sullivan and Jason Shurts with two points each. Robert Albanir helped key the defense for the Amwell Auto team.
C.J. Toures led the Garefino team with eight points, and Jonathan Wendeborn and Matt Centeno chipped in with four points each. Hunter Piloski, Patrick Ferry and Kyle Tillet all played well in this game.
Sneakers Plus 10
Devon Troutman sparked Mortgage Mobility in the second half by pouring in 13 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Mortgage Mobility to a first- round playoff win March 13.
Jake Phillips scored six points, Max Whitaker added two points, and Hunter Johnson scored one point to round out the scoring. Tom Kilkenney, Paul McMullen and Alfred Amendolana grabbed several rebounds and played tough defense.
Nick Danese led Sneakers Plus with seven points, including a three-pointer. Chase Opdyke scored two points, and Colby Chatterton added one point for Sneakers Plus. Alex Frazee, Daniel Voorhees, Peter Mercer-Pontier and Corey Kozlawski played great defense.
Wooden’s Home Improvement 37
T-Recs 19
Wooden’s brought a balanced attack into the first round of the playoffs and came away with a victory over a tough T-Recs team.
Eric Romeo and Sam Franzini led the Wooden’s team with eight points each. Matt Hajek and Collin Abrams chipped in with six points each, while Doug Burkett and Kyle Shenck added four points apiece to complete the scoring. Blake Vernon and Kevin McPherson played solid defense and added numerous assists.
The T-Recs team fought a good fight in the game with a balanced attack. Willie Foran led the attack with six points and was joined by Brendon Collins with five points, Collin Cappelle with four points and Adam Warwinsky and Eric Zimmerman with two points each. Zach Tettemer, Ryan Bennett, Ricky Esposito, and Jason Zimmerman played tough throughout the game.
New Orleans Cafe 31
Pedersen Galleries won a classic playoff battle with a tough New Orleans Café team.
Pedersen jumped to an early lead only to find the Café boys right behind them with seconds to play.
E.J. Lewis paced the Pedersen team with 12 points and numerous assists. Zach Marriott established an inside game with nine points and numerous rebounds. Matt Sullivan had four points, Charlie McClelland added three points, Nick Bolles finished with two points, and Renan Pedersen added a point to round out the scoring for the winning team.
Justin Roy led a furious comeback for the New Orleans team with 13 points and numerous rebounds. Tyler Galloway and Conner Weber each scored four points, and Chet Errico finished with two points to complete the scoring. Josh Cullen, Edgar Martinez, Matt Threat-Peters and Jay Hertz kept up the defense and pressure throughout the game.
Pine Creek 9
Sparks 0
Pine Creek defeated the Sparks March 6 to finish the regular season.
Holly O’Shea led the Pine Creek team with seven points, and Leslie Salsbury had two points in this defensive battle. Sarah Phillips, Kayla Bohrer and Bryanna Hartpence all played great defense while Lisa Hoagland, Jennifer Wengryn and Corina Waslin made some great passes.
The Sparks got numerous rebounds from Karlie Schiable, Marina Cordes and Alysha Kritz. Laura Kropp, Stefanie Hutchinson, Amy Gray and Kerry Piel played excellent on defense.
Toy Kingdom 17
The Kiwanis team won its final game of the regular season and clinched first place in a win over Toy Kingdom March 6.
This was a classic battle between the two teams as Toy Kingdom took an early 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kiwanis battled back in the second quarter, scoring 10 points and taking a 15-13 lead at the end of the first half.
The game then turned to a defensive battle with Kiwanis keeping Toy Kingdom scoreless in the third quarter to take a 19-13 lead going into the final quarter.
Defense remained key in the final quarter as Toy Kingdom kept the game close throughout, but Kiwanis eventually prevailed.
Toy Kingdom was led by Kaylin Campbell’s 11 points and many rebounds and steals. Emily Marley, Tory Smiegocki and Tory Brenner each added two points to round out the scoring for Toy Kingdom. Catherine Seeley and Shannon O’Gorman both played great on both ends of the court for their team.
Olivia Hagerty led the way for Kiwanis with 15 points and numerous assists. Taylor Peccarelli added six points and many rebounds, and Carrie Hornberger added two points. Amanda Nielsen and Shryl Myers both played tough defense and put a lot of pressure on the ball while Cayla Esposito and Heather Hills grabbed many key rebounds and caused several jump balls.
Pine Creek 15
Toy Kingdom advanced through the first round of the playoffs March 13 with a win over Pine Creek.
This game was a constant back-and-forth battle right from the start.
Tori Smiegocki received an inbound pass from Kaylin Campbell to put the first two points on the board for Toy Kingdom. The score went basket for basket until Toy Kingdom pulled six ahead, taking a 12-6 lead at the end of the first half.
Pine Creek came back and went ahead in the second half, but Toy Kingdom added a key basket in the final quarter that helped to lead it to victory.
Holly O’Shea was the top scorer for Pine Creek with seven points. Sarah Phillips and Bryanna Hartpence both scored four points each for the team. Jen Wengryn and Corinna Waslin were aggressive on defense with several steals each. Kayla Bohrer, Lisa Hoagland and Leslie Salsbury contributed several rebounds for the team.
Kaylin Campbell was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Toy Kingdom team with eight points. Jean Hubert was tough under the boards and added two points for the team. Emily Marley and Tori Brenner applied a lot of pressure on the top and came away with several steals for Toy Kingdom to help with their team’s eventual victory.
Sparks 2
Kiwanis won its first-round playoff game over the Sparks March 13.
The first quarter was a defensive battle with Kiwanis taking a 2-0 lead at the end of the quarter.
Kiwanis’ offense came alive in the second quarter, scoring 10 points to take a 12-2 lead at the end of the first half. Kiwanis added three points in the third quarter and four points in the fourth quarter to help lead it to its eventual win.
The Sparks got two points from Laura Kropp to help lead its offense. Amy Gray, Kirsten Threat-Peters and Kerry Piel all played great defense, putting a lot of pressure on the ball and causing several turnovers. Stefanie Hutchinson, Marina Cordes, Karlie Schiable and Alysha Kritz all grabbed several rebounds for the Sparks.
Kiwanis was led by Olivia Hagerty’s 11 points and many steals. Taylor Peccarelli added four points while Cayla Esposito and Carrie Hornberger each scored two points.
Amanda Nielsen and Shryl Myers did a great job on defense, causing several turnovers and grabbing many loose balls.
The final round of the playoffs will be held Saturday. Here are the match-ups:
9 a.m. Third- and fourth-grade girls, GSG Construction vs. R&R Painting.
10:30 a.m. Third- and fourth-grade boys, Amwell Auto vs. Mortgage Mobility.
Noon Fifth- and sixth-grade girls, Toy Kingdom vs. Kiwanis.
1:30 p.m. Fifth- and sixth-grade boys, Wooden’s Home Improvement vs. Pedersen Gallery.