Fierce Leaving it All on the Courts

Fierce Leaving it All on the Courts

Today at the 2017 Roundball Classic, the Fierce program left it all out there.   13-Under Seawright won 2 of 3 to qualify for Sunday's Championship Game. The squad was led by the scoring of Matt Vivona, Sean Donohue, Eamon Jones and Liam Ryan... the rebounding of Tobey Sappern and Aston Martin... and the defense of Jack Balsano, Jack Murphy and Jake Fitzpatrick.   13-Under Lipow had its own pair of imposing victories over two teams from Rhode Island. In a 48 - 34 win in the first game - Charlie Began, Griffin Harding and Max Andrews went to work on both ends of the floor. In the second game, Jack Petrafesa opened up action "unconscious" with 4 consecutive three-pointers, and the Fierce never looked back. Thomas Schindler, Dillon Mannix and Sean Racette caught the shooting bug and sprayed in shots from around the perimeter. Jack Knott and Stephen Keating brought the interior defense in what turned out to be a 30 point victory.   11-Under Bindner put together two furious comebacks in their games today, but fell short. Gavin McCarthy and Ben Davenport handled the ball and made clutch plays. Jonathan Morris was ripping down the boards. Wyatt Dodge, Emmett Derby and Griffin Rothe all contributed key plays.

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Fierce 11-U Split Easter Challenge

Fierce 11-U Split Easter Challenge

Today at the Brewster Easter Challenge, 11-Under Bindner split a pair of tough games vs the Kingston Komets and CT Roughriders. Gavin McCarthy led all scoring, with help from Ben Davenport and Griffin Rothe. Nicolas Alvarez gave the Fierce an inside presence down low with a big day of rebounding.

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Fierce Pride at the Junior Tip Off

Fierce Pride at the Junior Tip Off

On Day 1 of the Jr. Tip Off tournament, the Fierce program came to play.   13-Under Lipow pulled away from CT Elite Basketball in a 58-36 win. Stephen Keating was pushed beyond his limits in a dominating performance down low. Charlie Began was in attack mode from the start, and Luke Brodsky was making smart plays off the bench. In their later 49-45 upset victory over the Wallingford Warriors, Jack Petrafesa refused to lose and stepped up with big plays all across the 2nd half of action. Charlie Began put the team on his back with 20 points, to go along with high energy defense and rebounding. Dillon Mannix was clutch down the stretch with his outside shooting, hustle to the loose balls, and protecting possessions as the Warriors were desperate to force a turnover. Jack Knott never left the game because of strong rebounding. Sean Racette made important contributions off the bench on both sides of the ball, and Thomas Schindler drilled perhaps the biggest 3-pointer of the game with under 4 minutes remaining.   In their two games, 13-Under Seawright was led by Liam Ryan's shooting and scrappy defense. Jack Balsano also brought the defense and rebounding. Eamon Jones, Sean Donohue and Theo Vergakis carried much of the scoring load. They look to bounce back tomorrow morning vs CT Elite Basketball.   11-Under Bindner couldn't have asked for a better debut together. Their full-court press was too much for Connecticut Elite Basketball to handle on way to a 48-8 win. Then they played to the end against the always elite New York Rens. The Fierce had the game within 6 points at 4 minutes remaining but the Rens had too much size. Gavin McCarthy and Luca Antonio led the Fierce in scoring, with contributions from Wyatt Dodge. Ben Davenport helped control the game tempo and set up the offense with strong ball-handling for the Fierce.

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Fierce at the 2017 Border Wars

Fierce at the 2017 Border Wars

On Day 1 of the ZG Border Wars, 13-Under Seawright fell just short to Dishin and Swishin and were led on both sides of the ball by Matt Vivona and Eamon Jones. Jack Balsano was all over the loose balls and offensive glass, and Sean Donohue brought toughness on defense.   13-Under Lipow came away with 49-27 and 48-31 victories over CT Hawks and Ballin Bulldogs. Stephen Keating and Max Andrews dominated the boards. Griffin Harding and Charlie Began anchored the defense. Dillon Mannix, Luke Brodsky and JT Shapiro all contributed timely baskets and assists.

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Grand Open at the Grand Opening

Grand Open at the Grand Opening

13-Under Lipow tipped off the spring in style today with 2 gutsy wins.   In a 38-31 win over Tri-State Thunder, a pair of Jacks led the attack... as Jack Petrafesa carried much of the scoring load and Jack Knott anchored the defense with at least 7 blocked shots to go along with 10 rebounds. JT Shapiro and Thomas Schindler contributed with key baskets and hustle plays down the stretch.   Then in a 26-24 defensive masterpiece over CWB: Max Andrews dominated the boards, Sean Racette distributed some nifty passes, and Dillon Mannix found the bottom of the net on a clutch game changing 3-pointer from the corner.

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Fierce at the Roundball Classic

Fierce at the Roundball Classic

On Day 1 of the 2016 Fall Roundball Classic, the short-handed Fierce competed to the end against older, bigger kids in all 3 games.   In Game 1 Jack Petrafesa led the way with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Matthew Vivona chipped in with 8 points of his own. In Game 2 Max Andrews went off for 24 points and 7 rebounds. Beau Dehler contributed 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. In Game 3 Dillon Mannix took charge with 12 points and 4 rebounds, and Eamon Jones found his stroke for 9 points and 3 rebounds.   On Day 2 and led by Coach Judah Seawright, Fierce 13-U finished the Under Armour Fall Roundball Classic with two impressive victories.   In the morning game, Jack Petrafesa poured in 17 points and Eamon Jones tallied 9 of his own as the Fierce edged out CT Elite Basketball 35-32. In the afternoon game, a 55-26 win for the Fierce was led by a balanced scoring attack of 18 points from Max Andrews, 14 points from Jack Petrafesa and 11 points from Ethan Crawford.

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Fierce 13-U Rally Past CWB & CT PHD

Fierce 13-U Rally Past CWB & CT PHD

Today in the Battle at Brewster, the 13-U Fierce pulled off back-to-back nail-biting victories vs Chris Ward Basketball and CT PHD.   In the 9am game, the Fierce took everything CWB threw at us and found a way to pull it out 52-51. Ethan Crawford was draining 3's from all over the court. In the 10am game, the Fierce were running on fumes but still dug deep to outlast CT PHD in an offensive barn burner... 74-70. Jack Petrafesa led the way with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Dillon Mannix contributed 13 points including three clutch 3-pointers. Max Andrews came up with the game-winning steal and free throws, to go along with 15 points and 10 rebounds.   The Fierce finished the tournament as runner-up to the undefeated Wayne PAL (NJ).

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Fierce Defeat CT-PHD 57-48

Fierce Defeat CT-PHD 57-48

In Saturday's 57-48 win over CT-PHD, the Fierce used team ball movement and ferocious defense to overcome a 10 point first half-deficit. Griffin Harding came to play and finished with an estimated stat line of 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Craig Hyzy was marveling the crowd with his creative finishes at the basket. The Fierce played with purpose to take control of the game in the second half. Max Andrews & Charlie Began worked together to dominate the boards, and JT Shapiro went 4 for 4 from the FT Line in the final minutes to seal the game.   The Fierce finished the Zero Gravity CT Showdown with a 2-1 record. In a 62-31 win over Wins 4 Life, Charlie Began was unstoppable with 18 efficient points. Hiro Wyatt contributed 10 points and Harrison Keith & Max Andrews each added 8 points. A short-handed Fierce squad wrapped up the weekend with a loss against the tough and hot shooting CT Blaze. Max Andrews scored 10 points for the Fierce, and Craig Hyzy put in 8 points. But we had no answer for #1 on the Blaze who caught fire with six 3-pointers.

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Fierce 12-U Win the 2016 Jr. Tip Off!

Fierce 12-U Win the 2016 Jr. Tip Off!

Boys 12-U have won the first ever tournament for the Fierce!   On Day 1 of the Junior Tip-Off, the Fierce won both games. In a big win over the CT Breakers -- Hiro Wyatt scored 8 points, with Spencer Levine and Brian Fullenbaum both adding 7 points of their own. In the 7:40pm night cap, Kevin Hyzy led the way with 12 points. It was Harrison Keith's 10 points, including three big 3-pointers from the corner, that thwarted off a pesky CSA Velocity squad by a final score of 44-35.   On Day 2, the Fierce played our way into the Finals by holding CSA Velocity to 23 points. Benji Titlebaum set the tone from the start by going coast to coast for 4 quick points. Kevin Hyzy scored 9 points and Hiro Wyatt chipped in with 6 points and big rebounds.   In the Championship vs a rested, talented and bigger Magic Time team -- the Fierce played team basketball for all 28 minutes, and pulled out a thriller by a final score of 52-50. The Hyzy brothers (Kevin and Craig) combined for 29 points. Harrison Keith and JT Shapiro contributed 9 and 7 points, respectively.

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Fierce Place 2nd in Border Wars

Fierce Place 2nd in Border Wars

Our Boys-12U team placed 2nd in this weekend's Zero Gravity Border Wars. In Sunday's early game, the Fierce played their way into the Championship with a 50-46 win over the AFK Renegades. Craig Hyzy was in rhythm and dropped 25 points. Griffin Harding chipped in with 8 of his own.   In the Championship, the Fierce came up short against a tough CT Blaze squad. The Hyzy brothers (Craig and Kevin) combined for 21 points.

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