The St. Aidan's Jaspers, a talented group of seventh grade CYO hoopsters, were recently invited guests of Coach Sal Lagano's New York Institute of Technology Running Bears during a holiday week contest at newly renovated Recreation Hall on the Old Westbury campus. The Jaspers, coached by Owen Kelly and Chris Paggi, have had a rough start to their league season but put on an outstanding show for the spectators attending NYIT's exciting 73-71 victory over non-conference stalwart University of Massachusetts - Lowell.

The Jaspers boast a solid contingent of players who dot the rosters of a number of local community institutions. The core of the team completed their first year of middle school ball playing for the Mineola Middle School under the tutelage of Marty Joyce. These young Mustangs include Tommy Breslin, Peter Ciuffo, Matt Moro, Quinn Paggi, Craig Weber and Ryan Winters. Herricks natives Louis Nikolis and Matt Testani toil for the Junior High Highlanders. Matt Leary is a manager for the Kellenberg Latin School squad while fellow Firebird Bobby Kelly was recently relegated to the disabled list. Frank Fricano of the St. Aidan Upper School supplements his CYO experience with Island Garden Super League play. Most of the Jaspers are playing in a minimum of two basketball leagues this winter.

The CYO schedulers did not favor the Jaspers forcing them to face the class of the B Division early in the campaign. A month later, the squad was bit by the injury bug. The first trio of games found St. Aidan's battling current undefeateds from Our Lady of Victory and St. Edwards in addition to one loss St. Mary's. After a two game winning streak against St. Boniface of Sea Cliff and St. Peter's, the Jaspers dropped a home heartbreaker to traditional powerhouse St. Dominic's of Oyster Bay. Two key cogs of the starting quintet, Kelly and Nikolis, have been hampered by serious knee injuries and have lost significant minutes.

Due to this, a short squad traveled to Old Westbury and had the crowd roaring at intermission. Tech announcer Robert Sinckler memorized player numbers and biographies and kept the packed house informed of each impending basket, rebound and steal with simultaneous play by play and color analysis. When the NYIT and Lowell teams returned from the locker room, they stood stunned marveling at the level of young talent at play on the school's new rubberized surface. The boys were saluted for their effort and given a selection of basketball memorabilia for entertaining the holiday gathering. In addition, the Jaspers' spirited play spurred the Bears to victory after an inspired UMass second half comeback.

Finishing a vacation from school, the Jaspers played in the Christmas Tournament at one of Long Island's most state of the art CYO basketball facilities at St. Bernard's Church in Levittown. The Jaspers return to league play again on January 27 at home against St. Edward in the midst of another grueling stretch against the league leaders to close out the season.

The trip to Tech was a special homecoming for St. Aidan's Team Administrator and NYIT alum Tom Winters who swapped stories with current Athletic Director (and former Running Bear) Clyde Doughty and legendary NYIT hoop coach (and NCAA Division II finalist) Sam Stern. Doughty and Stern regaled Winters with his contributions as Senior Sports Editor for the Campus Slate, NYIT's campus weekly, and as an on-air sports columnist for radio station WNYT. The Jaspers wish to thank Coach Lagano, his players and staff members including Athletic Special Events and Development Coordinator John "Dano" Keahi for their cooperation and cordiality.