St. Joseph's of Essex County Weeks Two and Three Recaps

Here’s how the St. Joseph’s Celtics basketball teams fared in the third week of the Union County CYO Basketball season.

The St. Joseph’s High School JV Boys team won their season opener over St. Helen’s of Westfield 48-45 in an overtime thriller. Sean Quinn scored nine of his team high 20 points in the overtime period. Joe Starzynski sank four three-pointers on his way to 15 points.

Koinonia Academy of Plainfield defeated St. Joseph’s with ease 31-10 in a JV 5th grade boys game. Koinonia was in control from the opening whistle, jumping to a 20-4 halftime lead by knocking down open jump shots and dominating the offensive glass keeping a number of possessions alive.

St. Joseph’s of Maplewood Pee Wee 3rd and 4th grade girls White team beat St. James 4-2 in a hotly contested game.

Two of St. Joseph’s Pee Wee Blue teams faced off on Saturday. The Meola team won the contest in a close one, 15-12. John Pirone scored six points and was the Meola team’s leading rebounder.

In the second week of the St. Joseph’s varsity girls season, it was a tale of two halves against Holy Trinity of Westfield. On Dec. 6, Holy Trinity dropped a short-handed Celtics team 28-16, after St. Joseph’s only trailed by one point at halftime. On Dec. 7, St. Joseph’s bounced back with a convincing victory over St. Theresa of Kenilworth 31-14. Nine of 11 Celtics players made their way into the scoring column in the victory.

Also on Dec. 7, the St. Joseph’s 8th grade varsity boys team notched its second win on the season, beating St. James 34-24. Justin Cook and Liam Kagel both scored 10 points in the victory.

St. Joe’s Celtics basketball teams had some hard fought games and tough defeats in week two of the Union County CYO season.

St. Joseph’s Pee Wee 4th grade boys Green team lost to Holy Trinity School in Westfield 21-14. Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics trailed by only two points before Holy Trinity sank a few free throws, extending the lead to seven points and sealing the victory.

Holy Trinity defeated the St. Joe’s Pee Wee 3rd grade boys team in convincing fashion. 26-6. John Pirone and Justin DeVomecourt both scored for the Celtics in the loss.

St. Joseph’s 4th grade boys White team lost to St. Helen’s in two closely contested games. St. Helen’s defeated St. Joe’s 18-16 in the first game and 19-16 in the second. The leading scorers were Connor Ward and Malachy Meyer, with 10 points and 12 points respectively.

St. Helen’s of Westfield dropped St. Joe’s in a 5th grade boys JV matchup, 22-7. St. Helen’s raced to a 12-5 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Celtics had a tough time scoring in the second half, as St. Helen’s limited them to only one basket in the half after Alexander Werbaneth knocked down a jumper from the free throw line

St. Joseph’s 7th grade boys varsity team lost to St. Theresa’s from Kenilworth 16-11. The Celtics jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but couldn’t hold the advantage against the bigger St. Theresa’s team. St. Theresa’s dominated the Celtics on the rebounds. Andrew Miller led the Celtics with five points in the loss.

St. Joe’s Pee Wee 3rd and 4th grade girls team won its second victory in as many games versus St. Helen’s of Westfield. Neve McGowan and Leah Connell made their presences felt on defense and by grabbing 10 rebounds and eight rebounds respectively in the victories.

(Photos via Katie Fleetwood)