March 24, 2018
Lancaster Parks & Recreation

The Lancaster Recreation Department’s Youth Basketball Program wrapped up another year of action with championship games in both the Boys Midget and Junior Conferences. In the Midget Conference title game, the Celtics shook off a slow start and an 18-15 halftime deficit to take down the Grizzlies, 43-38. Liam Jennings and Ryan Zamer paced the Celtic offense, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jack Jennings added six more points while Lincoln Counihan netted five. Rounding out the scoring were Jason O’Neill and Jack Sander, who split eight points, and Gianni Pusateri, who added a big basket. Cameron Silvestri had a big game on the boards, while Ethan Guari and Cooper Hillman did a little bit of everything, with some deft passes on one end of the court and some stingy defense on the other. For his efforts, Liam Jennings was named the Playoff MVP.

The Grizzlies closed out their season on a losing note, but it was a successful season for them nonetheless. The championship game loss was just their third all year, after finishing the regular season schedule at 8-2. Matt Gattuso ended his year on a high note, knocking down 20 points to lead the Grizzlies’ attack. Peter Stefanov chipped in with six additional points, while the trio of Robbie Uhteg, Gavin Haen and Evan Vlahos each scored four in the losing effort.

In the Junior Conference, the Thunder got a basket with six seconds remaining in the game to complete their comeback from a double digit deficit and hand the Bucks a 79-78 defeat. Ryan Taylor and Adam Bagley piloted a strong Thunder offense, combining for 66 of the Thunders’ total, but important points were also provided by Troy Zamrok, who notched seven, Dean Wendel, who scored three and Carter Tadusz, who threw in a basket of his own. Connor McCusker and Adam Devic played strong games at both ends of the court to contribute to the win and to the playoff title.

The Bucks came up just short in their upset bid, with Ryan Corcoran’s 26 points and 22 more from Jeffrey Burgess topping their score sheet. Jack Martindale and Braden Callahan also hit for double figures, with 12 points apiece, while Peter Skulski and Owen Gasiecki each tossed in three.