Mercer County CYO basketball season closes
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie |Correspondent
Athletes from St. Gregory the Great, Hamilton Square, and Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, dominated the finals of the Mercer County CYO Basketball Program Feb. 26 during the daylong series of championship playoffs in the organization’s Broad Street gym. The boys and girls from the two Hamilton teams were among the hundreds of fourth through eighth graders who compete annually in the CYO basketball league, now completing its 60th season.
In the varsity division, first-seed girls from Trenton Catholic Academy completed their undefeated season, besting their St. Gregory the Great opponents by the score of 41-14. Deja King of TCA led her team with 11 points and was named the playoff Most Valuable Player, a title she had earned last year while competing on the junior varsity level.
The first seed boys Blue team from Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Mercerville, who had been undefeated during the regular season, notched another 40-27 win in the varsity championship game over opponent TCA. Damien Hall led his OLS teammates with 16 points to earn the playoff MVP award.
The Junior varsity playoffs featured a familiar duo of competitors. St. Gregory the Great girls, seeded first by dint of their undefeated regular season, defeated their TCA opponents 34-22. Giana Pittaro’s 11 points earned the St. Gregory the Great player the MVP award. Boys from TCA retained the number 1 seed after their undefeated regular season performance by topping St. Gregory the Great 39-27; TCA’s Justin Galea led his team with 11 points and took home the MVP award.
The three playoff games in the girls and boys freshman division saw equally exciting competition. The girls from St. Gregory’s squeaked by their St. Paul Gold (Princeton) foes 13-11; Grace O’Donnell scored 6 points and sank a game-winning shot at the buzzer to help her fellow St. Gregory teammates relish the win. In the boys blue division, TCA surmounted their St. Paul’s White counterparts by a score of 18-5 with the help of Khani Reed’s 8 points. The red and white division boys’ victor was St. Gregory, which defeated St. Mary, Bordentown, 15-13. CJ Pitaro, Zack Wolfsgruber and Owen O’Neil each contributed 4 points to the St. Gregory win.
The Mercer County CYO season runs from November through mid-February; teams consist of boys and girls from either a parish’s school or CCD program with some parishes fielding multiple teams. Competition levels include freshman (players up to fourth grade), junior varsity (up to sixth grade) and varsity (up to eighth grade).
In addition to the tournament winners, teams were fielded from St. Ann, Lawrenceville; Incarnation-St. James, Trenton; St. Raphael-Holy Angels, Hamilton; St. Vincent de Paul, Yardville; and Villa Victoria, Ewing (girls only). The CYO also sponsored a seven-team boys high school league for those players not already on their school teams.
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By Christina Leslie |Correspondent
Athletes from St. Gregory the Great, Hamilton Square, and Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, dominated the finals of the Mercer County CYO Basketball Program Feb. 26 during the daylong series of championship playoffs in the organization’s Broad Street gym. The boys and girls from the two Hamilton teams were among the hundreds of fourth through eighth graders who compete annually in the CYO basketball league, now completing its 60th season.
In the varsity division, first-seed girls from Trenton Catholic Academy completed their undefeated season, besting their St. Gregory the Great opponents by the score of 41-14. Deja King of TCA led her team with 11 points and was named the playoff Most Valuable Player, a title she had earned last year while competing on the junior varsity level.
The first seed boys Blue team from Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Mercerville, who had been undefeated during the regular season, notched another 40-27 win in the varsity championship game over opponent TCA. Damien Hall led his OLS teammates with 16 points to earn the playoff MVP award.
The Junior varsity playoffs featured a familiar duo of competitors. St. Gregory the Great girls, seeded first by dint of their undefeated regular season, defeated their TCA opponents 34-22. Giana Pittaro’s 11 points earned the St. Gregory the Great player the MVP award. Boys from TCA retained the number 1 seed after their undefeated regular season performance by topping St. Gregory the Great 39-27; TCA’s Justin Galea led his team with 11 points and took home the MVP award.
The three playoff games in the girls and boys freshman division saw equally exciting competition. The girls from St. Gregory’s squeaked by their St. Paul Gold (Princeton) foes 13-11; Grace O’Donnell scored 6 points and sank a game-winning shot at the buzzer to help her fellow St. Gregory teammates relish the win. In the boys blue division, TCA surmounted their St. Paul’s White counterparts by a score of 18-5 with the help of Khani Reed’s 8 points. The red and white division boys’ victor was St. Gregory, which defeated St. Mary, Bordentown, 15-13. CJ Pitaro, Zack Wolfsgruber and Owen O’Neil each contributed 4 points to the St. Gregory win.
The Mercer County CYO season runs from November through mid-February; teams consist of boys and girls from either a parish’s school or CCD program with some parishes fielding multiple teams. Competition levels include freshman (players up to fourth grade), junior varsity (up to sixth grade) and varsity (up to eighth grade).
In addition to the tournament winners, teams were fielded from St. Ann, Lawrenceville; Incarnation-St. James, Trenton; St. Raphael-Holy Angels, Hamilton; St. Vincent de Paul, Yardville; and Villa Victoria, Ewing (girls only). The CYO also sponsored a seven-team boys high school league for those players not already on their school teams.
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