Each week GOOD Morning Wilton will run news of recent results and scores submitted by Wilton Youth sports teams. Please send all stories and updates, along with a photo to editor@goodmorningwilton.com by noon on Monday of each week. Stories received after the deadline may not be included. Results write-ups will be grouped by sport and published in the order they are received.
After Tough 18-38 Loss to Westport Loss, Wilton 5th/6th Grade Boys Fight Hard for Win Over Stamford 27-25
In the first game of 2020, Wilton’s 5th/6th Grade Boys Team (pictured above, in main image) faced a strong Westport Wolves team. Wilton came out looking a bit rusty after a long holiday break and trailed by 18 at the half.
In the third quarter Wilton stepped up the defense lead by Grant Stein (4 points, 11 rebounds) dominating the boards. Pressure defense by Boden Davi (2 points), Liam Joy, Jack McMenamey (2 points), Lazlo Miller and Blake Ongley (6 points) held the Wolves scoreless in the quarter.
Wilton tried to mount a comeback with assists from Greg Bocchino and Hans Greene along with interior defense by Matthew Fogarty. Nicholas Mercado (2 points) and Jack Mulfinger (2 points) contributed to the scoring while Casey Meyer (3 rebounds) was strong inside. In the end, the Wolves were too tough.
In the Warriors’ second game of the weekend Stamford started hot from the outside. Wilton had a lot of good passing and looks at the basket, but nothing seemed to bounce their way and they trailed by eight at the half.
Wilton stepped up the defense in the third quarter with a lot of pressure from Bocchino (1 assist), Davi (7 points, 4 steals), McMenamey (6 points) and Ongley (2 points). Solid defense from Fogarty, Mercado, Meyer, Mulfinger and Stein (2 points, 4 rebounds) helped Wilton take a lead. Late in the second half Greene (4 points) and Miller (6 points) made key shots to enable Wilton to hold on to a 2-point victory.
Wilton 8th Grade Boys Split Weekend Games 1-1
Wilton Hoops 8th grade boys started the weekend on a high note dominating the court over Weston Gold. Although the team missed Mike Meenan and Jack Minnich, every active player contributed at least five points each for a final score of 62-30. Several 3-point shots were sunk by Wyatt Jones, Brody Hess, and Kyle Roesser. Jones, Roesser, Anderson Campbell and Max Jarvie ended with double digit points. Todd Woodring, Ethan Gallo and Declan Brokaw all had strong offensive showings and helped with defensive rebounds.
On Sunday, the team started slow, facing a 17-point deficit by halftime. Despite this, they rallied back strong in the second half, but sadly it wasn’t enough to beat Fairfield Fierce. Hess continued his streak and hit another 3-point shot. Minnich and Meenan returned in good form to also land 3-pointers. Jones and Woodring were instrumental in running plays and Jarvie and Roesser led in scoring and rebounds. Campbell used his speed to steal the ball three times and dodge heavy traffic to make his layups. Gallo and Brokaw also scored and contributed multiple rebounds. The final score was 38-46.
7th Grade Boys Travel Basketball Turns the Tables After Loss to Westport, Taking Home 51-36 Win Over Darien
After coming out on the short end of a 37-53 drubbing against a skilled Westport team, the Wilton Boys 7th Grade Travel team came to play against Darien, cruising to a 51-36 victory. Wilton dominated Darien on the boards, with big men Cole Siegel (10 pts; 6 rebounds; 3 blocks) and Liam Murphy (8 pts; 3 rebounds) controlling the inside, and Ryan Luchetta (10 pts; 2 steals), Luke Perna (4 pts), Jack Schwartz (7 pts; 6 steals), Liam McKiernan (5 pts) and Grady Kaliski (7 pts) hitting outside shots from all angles. Luke Ginsburg and Stefano Cross each came up with multiple rebounds and steals, adding to impressive team totals of 16 steals and 20 rebounds, rounding out a nice team effort and a convincing, bounce-back win. Wilton looks to keep its momentum going next weekend against Monroe Travel and the Norwalk Game Changers.
Wilton’s 8th Grade Girls Bounce Back From First Loss to Win Second Game
The 8th grade girls split a pair of games this past weekend. On Saturday the Warriors lost to Bethel in a game of runs. Wilton was paced by Maddie Dineen (10 pts), Anisa Burrows, Lauren Moe, and Ella Mulfinger (4 pts apiece). The girls battled back from an early deficit within two points late in the third on the back of solid defense and rebounding from Cali Hage (10 rebounds), Molly Hancock (2 pts), Kaitlyn Sullivan (2 pts), Mary Kate Doyle (2 steals) and Emma Kelly (2 rebounds). Bethel’s offensive firepower proved to be too much with Wilton losing 26-41. Wilton bounced back on Sunday evening in a contest against New Canaan, winning 35-23. The Warriors played one of their most complete games, sharing the basketball and playing great team defense. The stout defense shut down the Ram attack and created numerous turnovers, including those from Mulfinger (4 steals, 2pts), Burrows (4 steals, 6 assists, 3 pts), Doyle (4 steals, 2 pts), Sullivan (2 pts), and Hancock (3 steals). Moe (1 pt) and Hage (1 pt) worked hard with multiple assists. Ashleigh Masterson dominated the boards and altered numerous shots (10 pts, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks). Dineen hit numerous outside jumpers to lead all scorers (14 pts, 6 rebounds).
Wilton Hoops Boys 5th Grade Continue Winning Streak, Defeating Ridgefield (50-43) and Greenwich (43-26)
The Wilton 5th Grade boys maintained their second place position in the division with two decisive wins this weekend. The Warriors proved themselves on Friday night against a Ridgefield team that had beaten them previously, and then defeated the 5th grade Greenwich Flame in a non-league game.
Wilton led by four points at the half on Friday with steals by Charlie Heffernan (1), Charlie Cretella (1), Gavin Toohill (1), Jeff Fox (3), and Will Viggiano (2). Mark Sylvester sunk a foul shot followed by a crowd-pleasing finish with a buzzer-beating, 3-point shot by Jack Cunningham at the half. Wilton came on strong in the second half with 9 rebounds and 14 points by Colton Smith, 6 rebounds and 4 points by Anthony Palumbo, 5 rebounds and 11 points by Jimmy Dineen, and 15 total points by Jack Cunningham for a game score of 50-43.
On Saturday, the Wilton boys snuffed out the Greenwich Flame after a close first half. Dineen led the Warriors with 12 total points followed by Smith and Toohill with 8 points each. In the second half, the Wilton boys gained momentum and their offense grew even stronger with Cretella scoring 6 points, Sylvester 4 points, Palumbo 3 points, and Viggiano 2 points. Defense remained strong with 3 steals and 3 rebounds by Fox, 3 steals by Cunningham, and 1 steal by Heffernan. The final score was 43-26.