Corpus Christi 6th Grade Boys basketball season came to an end with an exciting and hard fought loss to Notre Dame in the 29th annual St. Vincent de Paul Classic.

This has been a season in which the boys from Mineola have had to grow and learn through experience, as they moved from a "C" division winner into the much more competitive Long Island CYO "B" division. The transition was hard at first, as they lost their first two games (Notre Dame 11-1, St. Thomas 10-2). But this team never gave up and made both the coaches and the parents proud, as they went .500 the rest of the way, to finish the season at five and seven. Good enough for fifth place and one spot out of a playoff position.

Accomplishments included a first-place finish in our own Corpus Christi second annual tournament and an invitation to the above mentioned St. Vincent Tournament (which we won last year). As the season was competitive, so was this tournament, as teams are invited from all over Nassau County. The first game was a one point, overtime loss to Holy Spirit. The second game had Corpus Christi facing elimination and shorthanded as top scorers Tommy Flynn (injury) and Jimmy Murtha were both out for the tournament.

The story of this game was that the Iron Men from Mineola, with a small squad (height and bench), gave it their all as T.J. Gessner was moved from off-guard to center and scored a game-high eight points. Chris Brostek again controlled the ball at the point with the assistance of Terry Mooney, each scoring two points. Shawn Wachter had his best offensive output with six points and another strong defensive performance. A special thanks to John Hinchcliff, who came to the rescue and gave Corpus Christi some valuable minutes. Last, but definitely not least, was the performance of two unsung players, Frankie Lao and Brendan Reedy. Corpus Christi has enjoyed success the past several seasons and part of the reason is the strong play of all 12 players and this game saw both Lao four points, Reedy two points, shine. Unfortunately, this great effort was not enough though, as Corpus Christi, which had led most of the game, came up short 29-24.

This game, as with the season has earned the players respect from the coaches and parents alike, as the boys from Mineola can be counted on to give it their best effort.