By: Derek Cordon – Contract Renewal Specialist at Recaps
With the regular season almost complete, it is time to recognize and thank two more incredibly important people – Tom and Andrea McHugh. Without these 2 people we would not even have a season to talk about. Andrea is in charge of the online store and uniforms. That means 17 teams worth of players and parents count on Andrea and she doesn’t rest until everyone is taken care of. Not to mention all she does to support Tom in his role as the President of Holliston Youth Basketball. Thank you for everything, Andrea. If you are involved with youth basketball in any way, then you have probably interacted with Tom. You may think that you know how much he does for the basketball program, well I will tell you to multiply what you think times at least 10. Scheduling and running tryouts, putting together teams, renting gyms, game and practice scheduling, not to mention coaching the 8th grade boys’ team and so much more. Tom’s commitment to the program and all the players involved is undeniable. This will be Tom’s last season coaching and as the President and there are not enough words to show him how appreciative we all are for everything he has done for HYBA over the years. Tom & Andrea – Cheers to you both. Thank you. You will be greatly missed.
How did the games go last weekend? Only one way to find out…
Boys’ 4th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 4th grade boys (Red) team lost a tough game against Medway 32-24 on Sunday afternoon. Holliston got off to a good start and traded baskets with Medway through the first 3 quarters. Ultimately Medway went on a run in the 4th quarter to seal the win. Cole Dennison had a big game inside for Holliston, leading the team in rebounding and scoring 2 baskets. Logan McDonough led the team in scoring with 10 points. Holliston closes out the regular season on Sunday morning in an exciting match up against the Holliston White team.
Boys’ 4th Grade (White)
On Sunday afternoon the Holliston 4th grade boys (White) team travelled to Milford and picked up a big win on the road 28-20. Declan Aldredge led the scoring effort for the Panthers with 16 points while Owen Jacquet hit for 11 points. David Blackerby made his presence in the paint felt with rebounding and blocked shot efforts. Jacob Snow and Bauer Black each made scoring difficult for Milford with great defense while Tommy Ogoreuc and Aryan Simhadri showed great hustle on both sides of the ball. The boys will face off against the other Holliston 4th grade boys (Red) team Sunday morning for the last game of the regular season.
Boys’ 5th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 5th grade boys (Red) team had a busy weekend, playing three games and going 2-1. Holliston started off by beating Westwood 18-9, with Gavin Bausch scoring 10 of the team’s points. Holliston was once again amazing on defense generating more than 25 steals in the win, with Leo Wagner grabbing 8 rebounds. Holliston then beat Ashland by a score of 26-15. Nathan Eppinger led the scoring with 13 points, with Jackson Gannaway contributing 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 points. In the third game of the weekend, an extremely shorthanded Holliston team fell to one of the best teams in the league by a score of 33-25. Nick Gorham and Dylan Dimmick scored 12 points and 8 points, respectively. Ryan Magoon and Nathan Eppinger applied suffocating defense throughout the game, generating 6 steals and 2 blocks between them. Simon Collins, Micah Baltisoto and Lincoln Daniels all played their best game of the season, bringing tough defense and high energy for the entire game. Overall, it was a very good weekend for the team as they head into their last game of the season next weekend against Milford.
Boys’ 5th Grade (White)
The Holliston 5th grade boys (White) travel team defeated North Quincy by a score of 39-35. The team extended their winning streak to 3 games and improved their record to 8-6 on the season. Leading the team in rebounding was Brody Stanley with 11, followed by Jakai Antoine (6), Joseph Lawendi (5), Devon Doray (2), Logan Kanavich (2), Noah Keller (1), and Nolan Burke (1). Devon Doray led the team in points scoring 17, along with Joseph Lawendi (13), Brody Stanley (6), and Jakai Antoine (3). The team’s Silver Swoosh awarded was given to Noah Keller for his hustle and in-game shooting and defense adjustments. The team prepares to play its final game of the season next Sunday where they face Medway at Medway High School at 12:40 pm.
Boys’ 6th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 6th grade boys (Red) team had a double header this weekend. On Saturday, the team had an early clash in Arlington and took home a 64-38 victory. Holliston was light on bodies with vacations, illness and injuries sidelining a number of the boys, but the 6 present really took advantage of their expanded playing time. William Hayes opened up the first quarter in ‘beast mode’ where he scored 13 points to get the team off to a hot start. By the end of the game, he nearly had a double-double tallying 24 points and 8 steals. Quinn McErlean was also very strong offensively adding 18 points of his own. Marcus Burian had his strongest game of the year chipping in 8 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a few assists. Ben Furey (10) and Charlie Bowser (4) rounded out the offensive attack. Colton McGrath was a pest to Arlington on defense all game. He pulled in 4 steals and 3 rebounds, but really kept them on their toes the entire contest.
On Sunday, Holliston traveled to Wellesley. A couple sharpshooters for Wellesley were having a day and made an astounding six 3 pointers. That was the difference in the game as Holliston fell 51-44. The boys should be proud of how they played, however. The team was once again shorthanded, and the boys once again took advantage of the playing time. Ben Furey and Quinn McErlean led the team offensively with 10 points each. Marcus Burian had another very strong game chipping in with 8. Will Hayes (9), Charlie Bower (5) and Andrew Ferguson (2) rounded out the scoring. Andrew was ferocious on the boards taking down an astounding 17 rebounds. Charlie Boswer had 8 of his own and everyone else chipped in to pull down 50 as a team. It was a great effort all around. Next week Holliston will be taking part in a tournament at Mass Premier in Foxboro, before hosting Newton to finish off the regular season.
Boys’ 6th Grade (White)
In an exciting game at Northboro, the Holliston 6th grade boys (White) team lost 26-18 in a really close contest against one of the better teams in the division. Employing a full court press the entire game, the Panthers had one of their best games of the season, in a game that came down to the wire. Tristan Snyder hit his first 3-pointer of his career, contributing to the well-balanced scoring across the team, with great shooting from Achyut Pingali and Cameron Baker. A great defensive effort was had by Liam Forbes, James Negri, Zach Ennis, and Charlie Peterson; with 5 rebounds from Nick Dipippo. The Panthers look to bounce back in their next game against Dover-Sherborn.
Boys’ 7th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 7th grade boys (Red) team lost a one point heartbreaker on Sunday afternoon at the Watertown Middle School 45-44. The loss came despite an intense effort by the boys, including a couple of shot attempts in the last 7 seconds that just rolled out. The Holliston team played a mix of defenses throughout the game, and on the offensive end they demonstrated patience and fantastic ball movement. Sean Sullivan dropped 16 points on 8 for 10 shooting as well as grabbing 8 boards. Connor McDonough added 4 assists and a three pointer, while Jack Whitten shot a perfect 2 for 2 from behind the arc and led the defense with 4 steals. Max Coletti also chipped in with 4 boards and a three pointer. The Holliston boys look to close out the regular season at the Adams Middle School this coming Sunday afternoon at 3:20pm against Bedford, one of the top D3 teams this year.
Boys’ 7th Grade (White)
The Holliston 7th grade boys (White) team lost another heartbreaker in double overtime 57-54 (their second double OT game of the season!). They were down 2 players but fought to the end. Nathan Varghese went out of his mind and scored a season high 32 points to almost will Holliston to victory. Brady Hastings played his best game of the season and chipped in 6 points, including 2 clutch free throws while playing almost the entire game at point guard. Will Dietrich dropped in 12 points, with Josh Zhang and Aden Khoury adding 2 points apiece. Aden scored his first points of the season in a perfectly executed bank shot. The team will look to round out the season with a good showing on the road against Concord-Carlisle.
Boys’ 8th Grade
The Holliston 8th grade boys team finished the regular season with a game against Framingham. Framingham won a close, defensive battle 35-29. Jake Brodsky set the tone early with a steal that led to a fast break for Holliston. Jake Brodsky, Jonathan Casey, and Henry Hayes controlled the boards for Holliston limiting Framingham to their lowest offensive output of the season. Both teams struggled in the first half offensively. Framingham edged out to a slim 14-10 lead at half. The teams traded baskets throughout the 3rd period, but Framingham then hit a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter to extend their lead to 10 points, 25-15. Holliston implemented a press defense in the 4th quarter cutting the lead to 5 points with under a minute to go and the ball. However, Framingham hung on for a 35-29 win. Ethan Suhajda led the Panthers with 9 points, Luke McHugh added 7, and Cal Leverone scored 6 points for Holliston. Next up for the team is a playoff game.
Girls’ 4th Grade
The Holliston 4th grade girls team took a 34-7 loss on the road against Lexington. The Panthers were short-handed, but that did not stop Emma Sochanek from picking up the slack. Sochanek finished the day with 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Molly Starr had the play of the game with a fade away jumper in the 4th quarter which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Lexi Chek added 3 rebounds and Bridget McAuley chipped in with 2 steals each providing durable minutes. The 4th grade girls close out the regular season at home this weekend against Medfield at the Adams Middle School.
Girls’ 5th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 5th grade girls (Red) team entered their 15th game of the season feeling confident as they matched up against Medway, a team they defeated earlier in the season. The confidence dwindled quickly as Medway came out hot with a 20-6 1st quarter run. Holliston was able to regroup and played stellar defense, shutting down Medway’s offense in the 2nd quarter keeping them to 20 points heading into the second half. Holliston was supported by a strong defensive presence with Audrey Mancuso taking down 5 rebounds and adding 3 steals. Holliston came out charged in the 3rd adding 6 points from buckets from Addy McAdams, Sophya Teixeira, and Avery Palma with support from Mia Malvey with 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Unfortunately, Medway put the game out of reach, adding another 17 points in the 2nd half. Despite the lead, Holliston pressured Medway, causing a few extra turnovers in the last minutes of the game, playing until that final whistle. Holliston enters the final week of regular season play with back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday against Mansfield and Blackstone-Millville.
Girls’ 5th Grade (White)
The Holliston 5th grade girls (White) team once again faced a challenging opponent. Arlington came out strong in the first half out scoring Holliston by 9 points. Aahana Kulkarni played a stellar game scoring 5 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. She was assisted by her teammate, Stella Alexis, who scored 2 points and gave the game her all with five rebounds and four steals. Danika DoRosario hit her first and the team’s first three pointer to start the second half. Unfortunately, the Holliston team was held to 7 points in the second half; Despite the Holliston team having their best passing game all season, they were simply outscored by Arlington leading to a 34-18 loss. Holliston plays their final regular season game on Sunday on the road against Hopkinton.
Girls’ 6th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 6th grade girls (Red) team enjoyed a well-deserved bye week during the holiday weekend. Next week they travel to Concord-Carlisle for a highly anticipated final regular season matchup.
Girls’ 6th Grade (White)
The Holliston 6th grade girls (White) team put up a valiant defensive effort yet again but just couldn’t get the offense going to keep up with a strong Westwood team and lost the contest 21-5. Ashten Arsenault led the offensive effort while playing strong defense and contributing several key steals to create opportunities on the offensive end. Shamili Potturi was constantly pushing the pace at point guard and creating opportunities, particularly as the girls made a push in the second half. Riley Whitehead was the defensive star of the game as a stalwart on the left side of the Hoops 2-3 zone. Next game for Holliston is on 2/26 @ 3:30PM against Milford at the Woodland Elementary School.
Girls’ 7th Grade
The Class of 2028 Holliston girls had a tough draw with an 8:15 Sunday morning game at Dighton-Rehoboth. The girls dropped this one 52-20. Despite some missing players and some stomach aches, the girls persevered. Corinne Bailey grabbed a team high 10 rebounds. Drew Andreola had 4 points to go along with her 4 rebounds. Lily Ingoldsby did not have big numbers on the stat sheet, but she never gave up hustling at both ends of the floor. The girls are gearing up for a highly successful Bellingham team with a Sunday afternoon game at the Adams Middle School to wrap up the regular season.
Girls’ 8th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 8th grade girls (Red) team was on a bye this weekend. They will have a doubleheader next week against Arlington and Watertown.
Girls’ 8th Grade (White)
The Holliston 8th grade girls (White) team faced off against Needham at the Adams Middle School. The Holliston players gave it a great effort but came up short on the scoreboard 26-21. Ella Coughlin hit 2 shots from the field and went a perfect 2 for 2 from the free throw line for 6 points. Kaitlyn Cordon buried a jumper from a couple of steps inside the three-point line for her 2 points. The team would like to thank Callie Dietz (9 points) and Hadley McAdams (4 points) for filling in for the shorthanded squad. Next up is a trip to Dover Sherborn to close out the regular season.