The St. Joseph Celtics basketball teams faced some stiff competition back from the holiday break. Many of the games were close right to the end, with high scoring and tough defense on both sides. While some fans said that they would have loved to have seen more wins, they also said that the level of play was high and that the games provided an exciting show for the spectators.

Game Highlights
Coach David Ferruggiaro’s JV Boys team lost to St. James, 24-14. However, Justin Bramwell had a particularly impressive showing that day, leading the Celtics with 8 points; Roan Price, Spencer Melee, and Liam O'Neill also each added 2 points.

Coach Scott Harvey’s Varsity Boys seemed to have a tough time coming back from their two-week break, resulting in a 52-36 loss. Tajeer Robinson led the team with 17 points with Owen Durkin and Jonathan St Marie adding in 6 points apiece hitting jumps shots from everywhere on the court. The Celtics played hard by grabbing rebounds but their aggressive play put them in foul trouble very early in the game. Coach Harvey said that while the team may have been a bit rusty coming off the holiday break, the kids are gearing up for a strong finish to the season.

Coach Margaret Gray’s Pee Wee girls played St. Helen's of Westfield on Saturday. Despite a tough loss of 14-4 the girls played great defense with several steals made by Lila Price, Meghan Durkin, and Annabel Callahan. Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored with baskets from Erin Lackey and Molly Gray.

The Varsity 7th Grade boys played an exhibition game at half time of the St Peter’s Prep – Don Bosco game at Kean University. The game was one of nine high school games played last weekend that helped raise funds for the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children.

St. Joseph's CYO is a shared parish ministry for the parishioners of St. Joseph's in Maplewood and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange. For more information about the CYO program you can visit their web site at www.eteamz.com/stjosephcelticscyobasketball.