staples basketball

Staples JV Basketball Falls to Fairfield Fierce

Fairfield Fierce 10th grade came to play in a showdown with the Staples High School Junior Varsity team. After falling behind 7 - 2, the Fierce defense worked cohesively as a unit to shut down all easy paths to the basket. It was a stifling defensive performance for the Fierce on their way to victory by a final score of 35 - 27.   Ty Levine was a "general" on the floor and controlled the pace of the game. In the second half Ty led an exciting run in which the Fierce pulled away for good. He was making three pointers and difficult transition lay ups in traffic. Colin Reilly was aggressive from the start and attacked the basket for crafty, timely scores. Jack Plesser used his length and skill to manufacture an assortment of scoring opportunities of his own. Luka Ljuboja, in his final weekend of play before moving back to Texas, dominated the paint with tough rebounding and defense.   Down the stretch, the Fierce were making all of the hustle plays and winning every loose ball.

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8th Grade Sweeps 4 Games

8th grade sweeps all 4 games this weekend to win their tourney in Trumbull.   On Sunday, they beat a very tough Cap City squad with a game winner from Ryan Moore.   Then, they shut down Westport PAL Basketball.   Will Kane and Danny Goldberger delivered the ball control and outside shooting all weekend. Charlie Jones was a force defensively. Jack Cramer was drop stepping for layups all over the paint area. Justin Toothaker drilled clutch, timely three pointers. Matt Goos ripped in tough rebounds and Nick Brodsky was a shot blocking machine.   Congrats boys!  

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8th and 10th Grades Win Summer Tournaments

The Fierce program is proud to bring home two tournament championships today.   10th grade defeated CT Knights who had beaten them convincingly just one day earlier. The Knights led by at least 6 points throughout the game, however down the stretch the Fierce put together an exciting comeback to take a small lead that they would ultimately hold.   8th grade was clicking on all cylinders with fun to watch passing and furious defense in a big title game win over Team Overtime. They were lighting it up from outside and also dominating the inside paint.   Great job boys!

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5th and 7th Grade Teams Win Championships

5th and 7th Grade Teams Win Championships

Congratulations to 5th grade and 7th grade this weekend for winning their tournaments in Woodbridge, CT!   Benjamin Brown, Matty Raffaeli, Jayden Wang and Eliah Pierre-Louis all starred for 5th grade. Ben Brown was all over the court forcing turnovers, grabbing rebounds and making good passes to teammates. They defeated Amity Heat 34-26, and CT Wildcats 38-22 and then 27-12 on their path to the championship.   7th grade had to beat a pesky CBA team twice in two days to take home the title. Ryan Moore was sensational in the Championship when he scored a career-high 38 points -- everything he put up was going in.

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8th Grade Wins 2nd Consecutive Tournament Crown

8th Grade Wins 2nd Consecutive Tournament Crown

This weekend Fierce had 6 teams in action at the Zero Gravity Fall Opener.   8th grade took home their second consecutive tournament crown and have not lost this season! They defeated DTX Basketball 54-49 in overtime to win it all.   5th grade once again reached their championship game with a 40-33 win over CT PHD. They could not get past a tough Queens Defenders squad.   7th grade Lipow went 2-1 on the weekend but the road ended against High Rise Elite.   7th grade Dinihanian pulled out a hard-earned 38-31 win over CT PHD in their Sunday morning game.   Another great weekend by the Fairfield Fierce.

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8th Grade Defeats CT Dream for the Championship

8th Grade Defeats CT Dream for the Championship

Fierce had 5 teams in action this weekend in New Haven.   8th grade came home with the championship with wins over Game Changers, 3D Hoops and CT Dream. Alex Llach was on fire all weekend from outside, but also delivered high level defense. Speaking of defense, Dameer Phifer was locking down at key moments, while also controlling the ball within the offense. Josh Daniels and Liam Yin brought a huge impact to the game on both sides of the floor. Tate Mahoney was up to his usual tricks with clutch 3 pointers from way downtown, and Luca Fusco helped with ball control and timely buckets. Nicolas Alvarez came up big in the title game with rebounds and mid-range jumpers, while Chris Bellantoni, Jaxon Ganchou and Ben Feinstein made the most of their opportunities off the bench.   5th grade almost went all the way in their tournament as well. After two huge wins on Saturday, they met a tough Amity Heat squad in the championship game. Down 12 points with 5 minutes remaining, the Fierce stormed back behind the clutch play of Jayden Wang, Matty Raffaeli and Eliah Pierre-Louis. In the end, they came up just short by a final score of 38-37. Throughout the weekend, Jack Pizzano was spraying in buckets from all over the court, with the rest of the gang hustling everywhere to bring great defense and energy.   9th grade won 2 out of 3 including back-to-back exciting games over CBA. Ty Levine scored 39 points on the weekend and distributed to teammates as well. Julian Marottolo used his speed to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Jack Plesser showed off his improved outside shooting along with some impressive floaters through the lane. Anthony Gambuzza also impressed with nifty scoring moves, and locked in defensively. Luka Ljuboja was a rebounding machine.   In three close games, 6th grade was powered by the scoring of Krish Dodani and Gavin Mertz. Cole Krollman was aggressive on both sides of the ball. Matty Corrigan was attacking the basket in the Sunday game, while Caden Quigley and Mitch DeBernardo put in some 3 pointers to keep the game close. Carson Dodder played tough inside.   7th grade Dinihanian put things together for a win against Game Changers. Justin Toothaker, Luke Stasko, Timmy Kelleher, Jack McClane and Kyle Dulak were all sinking 3 pointers throughout the weekend. Oliver Ljuboja was a force inside defensively, and Charlie McLean was gobbling up the rebounds.   Great job Fierce!

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6th Grade Finishes 2nd Place in Boston Nationals!

6th Grade Finishes 2nd Place in Boston Nationals!

We are extremely proud of our 6th grade team that competed in Boston Nationals this weekend -- finishing in 2nd place out of a huge field of 36 total teams.   We won 6 straight games to make it all the way to the National Championship Game, where we fell just short 58-56.   However we walked away champions because of the life-long bonds and memories formed.   Congratulations boys.     Below is the tournament summary by game:   Fairfield Fierce - 48, Ballin' Bulldogs - 41 (player of game: Justin Wang) Fairfield Fierce - 56, Westchester Athletics - 50 (player of game: Matt Goos) Fairfield Fierce - 42, Worcester Sting - 37 (player of game: Charlie Jones) Fairfield Fierce - 42, Metro West Swarm - 29 (player of game: Matty Kleinman)   QUARTERFINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 46, Rochester Bobcats - 43 (player of game: Ryan Moore)   SEMI-FINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 40, Greenwich Stars - 36 (player of game: Nick Brodsky)   FINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 56, Avon Aviators - 58 (player of game: Beck Simunovic)

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Freshmen Win 2 of 3 in the Summer Slam

Freshmen Win 2 of 3 in the Summer Slam

This weekend in the Vertical Hoops Summer Slam, the Fierce Freshmen Team played three close games -- and pulled out two of them.   In the opener against the CT Stallions, they trailed by 12 points at half time -- received a pep talk from Coach Judah -- and came back to win by 3 points over the CT Stallions. Timmy Bristol was pouring in points in all game long, and it was Caiden Clayton who made the go ahead bucket with under 30 seconds remaining.   On Sunday, it was the opposite story against the CT Comets, as the Fierce found themselves up by 12 points only to relinquish the lead and trail by 4 points with one minute remaining. However they refused to allow the game to get away from them, as Matt Vivona sunk a huge three-pointer from NBA range to jump back ahead 52-51. Then Ryan Noble delivered the defensive play of the game with a steal that he took the length of the floor for a foul and visit to the free throw line. The CT Comets had one final chance with 8 seconds remaining but missed a three pointer to recapture the lead. Ny Wade secured the defensive rebound for the win.

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Success_at_the_CT_SuperCup

Success at the CT SuperCup

In this weekend's CT SuperCup, the Fierce 4th, 6th and 9th grade teams all advanced to their Championship Games!   It was a drama filled tournament.   4th grade won both of their Saturday games due to their high pressure full court defense that has been there for them all season.   6th grade played elite level competition all weekend and won 4 out of the 5 games. On Saturday, they won their two games by a combined 3 points, which included Nick Brodsky's buzzer beater vs the Avon Aviators. On Sunday, they overwhelmed Mig's Team and New England Rivals with fun to watch team ball movement and defensive energy. Charlie Jones was wowing the crowd with his fast break moves to the basket. Matt Goos was a monster with at least 10 rebounds every game. Justin Wang, Matty Kleinman and Danny Goldberger flew around the court turning steals into instant offense. Finbar Malloy was distributing assists, rebounding and blocking shots. Kyle Dulak was draining open 3's and Josh Stewart-Jones contributed tough defense and rebounding.   9th grade overcame their size disadvantage to play all the way to the final seconds of the Championship. JT Shapiro controlled the ball as point guard, Timmy Bristol was doing a lot of everything (including scoring), Ryan Noble and Dillon Mannix lit it up with their outside shooting, Andre Mead won every loose ball, and Caiden Clayton made big plays on both ends of the floor.

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6th-grade-wins-back-to-back-tournaments

6th Grade Wins Back to Back Tournaments

This weekend the 6th grade Fierce squad captured their second consecutive tournament title by winning the Connecticut Classic!   On Saturday, they defeated CT PHD by a final score of 44-27. Alex Kingan was bruising down low for offensive rebound put backs, while Josh Stewart-Jones was getting his signature floater from the wing to go all game. They then pulled out a 41-39 win over Hamden Regional in a game which saw a wacky wild finish. Down 39-38 with 17 seconds remaining, the Fierce called a timeout to set up a baseline inbounds play. However upon returning to the court, the official controversially called '5 seconds' on the inbounder. The Fierce kept their cool and stole the ball back, and were then fouled in a bonus situation, which sent Matty Kleinman to the free throw line for a "1 and 1". Matty came up clutch by sinking the first free throw to tie the game. He missed the second but got his own rebound and passed the ball out to Justin Wang who drove to the hoop and was fouled on the shot attempt. Justin did not feel the pressure of the moment either, as he drained both free throws to help the Fierce win the game.   On Sunday, the boys played beautiful team basketball on their way to a 30 point blowout over ACC Basketball. Ryan Grooms and Callum McLean were knocking down outside shots, and Mark Kingan was bodying up down low. The win set up an anticipated re-match with Hamden Regional in the championship game, but the Fierce were ready and set the tone with an early 19-0 lead. Justin Wang and Matty Kleinman forced turnover after turnover, and Charlie Jones was finishing his attacks to the rim. Nick Brodsky continued his stellar play from both the inside and outside -- filling up the stat sheet with points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Nick is averaging close to a triple double on the season! Matt Goos has been leading the team in rebounds and this weekend was no different, averaging 15 boards per game. However Matt has also been contributing more offensively, averaging nearly 10 points per game and even knocking down some mid-range jump shots.   Congratulations again to 6th grade!

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