Two in a Row for St. Kilian's

The St. Kilian fifth grade boys Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) basketball team won two consecutive games last week, bringing their record from 0-1 to 2-1.

The team hosted St. Mary's last Wednesday night, and in a close game, finished victorious by a score of 28-27. Good team play was key to the win, St. Kilian's coach said.

The game was close for the first two quarters, and at half-time, St. Mary's led by three points. St. Kilian's pulled away from St. Mary's in the third quarter with 16 points, outscoring the St. Mary's team by 11 points. St. Mary's continued to battle, however, making for some excitement. However, St. Kilian's strong team defense and passing ensured the team's win.

Anthony Nunziata, Andrew Budinoff, Brendan Laezza, and Chris Shishko were credited with many rebounds. St. Kilian press resulted in several turnovers that led to scores. At several moments, the team's tenacious defense forced St. Mary's to take poor shots. Patrick Miller, although not scoring in the first two quarters, scored eight points in the third. Ryan Bagnasco also scored eight points. Greg Cerar, had an outstanding game, scoring four points, and playing strong defense and developing good passing.

Steven Blau had four points, Alex Gibilaro two points and Sean McManamon two points. All of St. Kilian's players contributed to the victory, the team's coach said.

After the excitement of Wednesday night's game, St. Kilian's played St. Martin's on Thursday night, finishing victorious with a score of 37-22.

In this game, once again, St. Kilian's played strong defense, and scoring came from many of the team's players. Miller had an outstanding game both offensively and defensively, and led all scorers with 16 points. Nunziata grabbed many rebounds, and overall, played a strong game. Laezza and Bagnasco added to the score with six points each, while also grabbing rebounds and playing tenacious defense.

The rest of the scoring for St. Kilian came from Blau with two points, Cerar with two points, McManamon with three points, and Budinoff with two points. Gibilaro and Shishko also played a solid game.