LBA last-place team upsets first-place team

By: Laura Kropp
   Following are highlights from the first round of the Lambertville Basketball Association playoffs:

Third- and fourth-grade girls


Sneakers Plus 10

Extreme Mowing 5


   In the biggest upset of the day, the last-place team, Sneakers Plus (1-8), edged the first-place team, Extreme Mowing (8-1), to advance to the championship game next week.
   Cassie Barrett scored four points, and Sadie Lerman, Julia Greenwood and Hadley Greenwood each made two points for Sneakers Plus.
   Amanda Myers, Devon Nini and Jessica Hoff played good defense and spread the ball around on offense, keeping Extreme Mowing off balance.
   The ball just was not going in the basket for Extreme Mowing this week. They had several good looks at the basket, but the rims were not friendly.
   They played very hard and tried to mount a comeback, but just came up a little short.
   Jade Assad and Ashley Eick scored two points each, and Bryana Hopkins added one point for Extreme Mowing.
   Hannah Shultz, Cori McClelland, Madison Storcella, Mikayla Stoy and Kendall Storcella helped run the offense for Extreme Mowing.
Kiwanis 13


Niece Lumber 12


   This exciting game went down to the final 20 seconds when Niece Lumber got off an excellent shot in hopes of a win at the buzzer, but the shot just missed.
   Sarah Franzini, lead scorer for Kiwanis, scored eight points. Zully Sandoval made four points, and Amanda Wengryn added one point.
   Kerry Runkle, Maria Lelie, Kacey Abitz and Shelby Bacorn played good defense throughout the game.
   For Niece Lumber, Cydney Caldwell and Meagan Warner each scored four points, and Kayla Marriott and Brittany Kerr scored two points each.
   Carolina Restrepo, Lian Grow, Christina Brush, and Amber Riveiro helped run the offense. Niece Lumber fought hard.
   Both teams played well, and either team had a chance of going to the championship game next week.
   Kiwanis will be facing Sneakers Plus next week.
Third- and fourth-grade boys


The Medicine Shoppe 10

Colonial Sportsmens Club 8


   In what could have been the second upset of the day, the Medicine Shoppe stormed back late to take control of the game and held on for the win as CSC threw up a three-pointer at the buzzer that was just a few feet short.
   This was an excellent game by the CSC boys, who gave the first-place Medicine Shoppe all they could handle this week.
   Both teams played extremely hard in this defensive battle. Medicine Shoppe will advance to the championship game next week.
   Clayton Hope scored four points, Tyler Frazee made three points, Brennan Carey had two points, and Tom Wyckmans added one point for the Medicine Shoppe.
   Teammates Dakota Fiel, Collin Fritschy, Nick Bohrer, Wyatt Fuller, Joseph Ippolito, Sam Tucker and Shane Carey played good defense.
   Keeping the opposition on the run were CSC’s Jimmy Smiegocki, who scored four points, Robert Tomenchok with two points and Thomas McCloughan and Chad Moore each with one point.
   Nick Scamuffa, Thomas Maris, Tyler Hack, Dario Sabidussi, Alex Lucarini, and Alex Del Vecchio grabbed several rebounds.
E.J. Lelie 13


H&H Pools 9


   E.J. Lelie held on to beat H&H Pools in a well-played defensive battle by both teams.
   Brendan Hartpence led the scoring for E.J. Lelie with eight points. Richard Roy made three points, and Andrew Lelie had two points.
   Robbie Quinn, Myles Johnson, Brandon Smith, Miles Smith, Shane Hoyer and Brandon Panetta helped run the offense.
   Josh Phillips made three points, and Miles Mosby, Julian LaPlante and Lukas Robinson each had two points for H&H Pools.
   Zachary Roy, Jonathan Eick, Brendan Duer, Nathaniel Tettemer, Jimmy Barnes, Michael Barnes and Ernie Luster grabbed several rebounds.
   E.J. Lelie moves on to the championship game.
Fifth-and sixth-grade girls


Zanya Spa 16

Garefino 7


   The first place Spa girls continued their winning ways by beating a tough Garefino team.
   Zanya Spa made great passes and set up easy shots to win the first round of the playoffs and move onto the championship game next week.
   Garefino played tough defense and tried to keep Zanya away from the basket, but just came up a little short.
   Emily Marshall scored six points, Heidi Culbertson made four points, and Ryann Tucker and Taylor Caldwell made three points each for Zanya.
   Helping their teammates run the offense were Amy Dupuis, Dain Silvestri, Madeline Colavita and Cassie Fresco.
   Garefino’s Rebecca Williamson scored four points, Mikayla Fulper made two points, and Jessica Esposito added one point.
   Megan Donnelly, Danielle Mundhenk, Julianna Hoff, Kyle Bogdan and Maggie Emge played good defense.
Body Tech Fitness 12


White Dog Studios 8


   Body Tech’s defense won the game by keeping White Dog Studio off the boards.
   The girls for both teams played hard from the start of the game until the final buzzer went off.
   There were plenty of opportunities by both teams, but Body Tech Fitness will advance to the championship game.
   Chelsea O’Neal scored six points, Brett Lelie made four points, and Tiffany Moran added two points for Body Tech Fitness.
   Ali Carlson, Keziah Groth-Tuft, Ashley Luster, Annie Hajek and Jessica MacGregor played good defense throughout the game.
   For White Dog, Clover Stieve made four points, and Eliot Hagerty and Caroline Faulkner each scored two points.
   Kaycee Zelkovsky, Jessica Ramsin, Corrine Miller, Ashley Benthan and Mary Margaret Mumich helped run the offense.
Fifth-and sixth-grade boys


Mike Cifelli’s Sunoco 42

Hart Enterprises 12


   The Cifelli Sunoco boys played a good team game against a Hart Enterprises team that played hard and never gave up.
   For Cifelli’s, top scorer was Grant Jensen, who poured in 12 points. Jake Phillips put in nine points, Devon Troutman scored seven points, C.J. Townes added six points, Patrick Ferry made four points, and Andrew Koval and Liam Piscetelli each had two points.
   Ryan Godown and Cody Burd helped run the offense.
   Robert Albanir poured in 11 of Hart Enterprises 12 points, including three three-pointers. Jason Shurts chipped in one point from the line.
   Kyle Tillett played tough defense on the point guards for Cifelli’s, making it tough to get the ball inside.
   Paul Cally, Aaron Weber, Michael Fialla, Robert Eick and Danny Begg, who helped run the offense for Hart Enterprises, made several great passes, but the shots just did not fall this week for Hart.
   Cifelli will advance to the championship game.
Mortgage Mobility 26


Pine Creek Golf Center 15


   In another well-played game by both teams, Mortgage Mobility was too much for Pine Creek to handle this week.
   The game was close throughout, but the Mobility boys pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure the win and advance to the championship game next week.
   Pine Creek fought and fought, but came up a little short.
   Daniel Voorhees scored 10 points, Jake Whitaker made nine points, Toby Coleman scored six points, and Bishop Castor added one point for Mortgage Mobiity.
   Helping with the win were Jimmy Eick, Alex Frazee, Brad Bolash, Zachary Mastrich and Andrew Nini, who played good defense.
   Scoring for Pine Creek were Jonathan Wendeborn and Cody Conley with nine and six points, respectively.
   Hunter Ploski, Dakota Polenz, Jared Bogdan, Shane Duer and Charles Graycar grabbed several rebounds.
Championships

   The championships are Saturday at South Hunterdon Regional High School.
   Following are the game times and final match-ups:
   The third- and fourth-grade girls play at 9 a.m. with Sneakers Plus vs. Kiwanis.
   The fifth- and sixth-grade girls play at 10:30 a.m. with Body Tech Fitness vs. Zanya Spa.
   The third- and fourth grade-boys play at noon with E.J. Lelie vs. the Medicine Shoppe.
   The fifth- and sixth-grade boys play at 1:30 p.m. with Mortgage Mobility vs. Mike Cifelli’s Sunoco.
   The South Hunterdon junior varsity and varsity girls basketball teams are running the snack shack during these games.