The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department’s basketball playoffs for fifth- and sixth-grade teams wrapped up last week, with the Pacers capturing the girls’ championship and the Celtics earning the boys’ title.
Summaries of the final games, plus the early-round playoff contests, are as follows:
Pacers 25, Grizzlies 19 — The semifinal girls’ matchup featured the third-place Pacers, coached by Megan Seward, against the formidable No. 2 Grizzlies, coached by Ashlee Peters.
The Pacers lost several games by only a small margin during the regular season and their record was not a just representation of their overall talent. Still, the yellow and blue entered the game as underdogs. The Grizzlies had worked well as a team throughout the season and knew that it would take that same team effort to come out on top.
A pre-game pep talk directed the Pacers to put the season behind them and focus on the task at hand. None of the previous games mattered. This was the one, and they believed it.
The Pacers jumped to an early eight-point lead and never looked back. They played with the confidence of a championship team and were led by an impressive 12-point scoring effort by sixth-grader Isabel Berry, including a clutch layup with seconds to go in the game. Sydney Lavigne added eight points and Reece McPherson five more for the winners. The defensive effort included key steals and rebounds from Olivia Locke, Abigale Bugbee and Nyah Langley.
The Grizzlies’ Karlyn Gilmour (seven points) and Reagen Deschene (eight points) generated late-game buckets in an effort to stymie the Pacers advance, but when the buzzer sounded, it was the Pacers who pulled off the upset. Other offensive additions for the Grizzlies included three points by Addison Clairmont and a point stemming from a foul shot by Samantha Edgecomb.
Sixers 38, Thunder 27 — The first boys’ semifinal pitted Coach Andrew Perry’s No. 3 Sixers against the second-seeded Thunder, under Coach Emma Kinney.
The regular season saw these two teams pitted against each other in several heated exhibitions, with the Thunder managing to come away victorious in each one leading up to the postseason.
The Sixers showed a new-found confidence by way of a late-season addition of big man Jack Buck (six points), who had recently come off the injured list after recovering from a broken collar bone. This added security under the hoop gave the boys in red the green light to fire away in hopes that Buck would scoop up the strays.
No one felt more confident behind the arc than Sixer Kamron Tardif, who connected for a five 3-pointers and scored 20 points. Not to be intimidated by the size of the Sixers’ Buck, Thunder power forward Maddox Michaud was able to come away with numerous rebounds in an impressive effort under the hoop.
The third quarter loss of Brent Greenlaw (11 points), just one of the Thunder’s many offensive weapons, was felt hard by the team and allowed the Sixers to cruise ahead and maintain the lead up until the buzzer. Team leader Wyatt Young powered through to the basket several times to put up five points for Sixers. Finn Thibault (three points) showed composure and added a free throw late in the game.
Thunder center Jasiah Wilson put in many solid minutes for his team, connecting on three buckets for six points. Sixer shooting guard Braden Doughty (2 points) nearly pulled off a “behind the head” basket while feeling heavy pressure from Thunder defenders under the hoop.
Other offensive producers for the Thunder included Jensen Sargent’s six points, Mason Oakes’ two and Michaud’s one. For the Sixers, Ayden Sturtevant chipped in with two. Honorable mention goes out to Thunder players Victor Ballerstein, Carter Daggett and Dylan Wilcox and Sixer Christopher “Can I Stay In” Sczuroski for outstanding effort and support.
Celtics 32, Spurs 22 — The second boys’ playoff matchup was between the first-place Celtics, under the direction of Michael Boone, against the No. 4 Spurs, coached by Carly Bell.
From early on in the game, it was evident that both teams wanted the opportunity to move on to the finals. The Spurs’ Alex Duprey, Evan Chapman, Ben Willey, Connor Bell, Daniel White, Dyllan Maple, Jakob Hafford, Max Graves and Stephen Summerson fought hard for every opportunity to keep the game close whether it was vying for offensive boards or on hustle plays to stop the fast break advances of the Celtics.
The boys in black had a challenge in the way of containing Celtic offensive juggernaut Ricardo Jackson, who finished with 24 points. The Spurs were able to create space for their own offensive weapon, Evan Chapman (who tallied 20 points), through well planned out and well executed screens. Maple had the Spurs’ other two points.
The first nine Spurs points came by way of three 3-pointers from Chapman. Celtics Jack Boone (four points), speedster Hunter Reed (four points), Grant Stubbs, Shawn Hebert, Shane Brewer and Jacob “Buckets” Signorelli all played a role in trying to suppress the Spurs’ efforts for victory.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, when the Celtics began to pour on the pressure in the form of a full-court press, that the Spurs hopes of a trip to the finals waned. In the end, it was that late game pressure that secured the victory for the Celtics by way of a 32-22 win.
In a pre-game huddle, Celtic Shawn Hebert uttered the words, ”Let’s win this for Stephen Hawking.” The world renowned theoretical physicist had passed away on March 14, only one day prior to the post season match-up. I’m sure Mr. Hawking would have been proud to have played an inspirational role in the win.
Pacers 24, Timberwolves 18 — The anticipation for this matchup was palpable as the Pacers went head to head against the ever dominant Timberwolves, coached by Carly Bell.
Coming off the upset victory in the semis, Coach Seward’s girls were riding a new found wave of confidence and were hungry for another victory. Standing between them and the right to declare themselves “champs” were the Timberwolves, who boasted an impressive regular season record of 7-1 (the only blemish coming at the hands of the Pacers).
The tipoff saw the Timberwolves coming out to do what they do best, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead. The first-quarter offensive effort was all about the Timberwolves’ Grace O’Connell racking up all eight of those points single handedly. The second quarter saw the Pacers turn the tables, outscoring the T-Wolves 7-2 on the backs of the Pacers’ Isabel Berry, Sydney Lavigne and Olivia Locke.
It was a one-point game at the midway point in favor of the Timberwolves and the lead was facilitated by a team effort which included Brooklyn McIntyre, Diane Botting, Ella Hall Michaud, Jorja Maynard and Kacie Marston.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth of points between both teams. Lexi Hundley Mondello (two points) got into the mix while O’Connell and Lavigne continued to trade blows. As though it were scripted, the teams were tied at 16 with one quarter left to play.
In a very aggressive move by Coach Seward, the Pacers applied pressure with a full court press despite not having any subs. They had already pushed through three grueling quarters without reprieve and were now executing a physically demanding full court press. The left to right action was more akin to the pace of a tennis match, with both teams pushing for the precious points needed to become victorious.
Members of the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department boys’ grades 5-6 champions, the Celtics, are, in front from left, Ricardo Jackson, Hunter Reed, Shawn Hebert and Jacob Signorelli. Back row, Coach Michael Boone, Jack Boone, Shane Brewer and Grant Stubbs. (Courtesy of Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department)
It was tears and cheers at the sounding of the final buzzer. The Pacer girls had pulled off what earlier in the season would have seemed like an impossibility. Lavigne scored 10 points, Berry eight and Olivia Locke six for the winners, while O’Connell’s 14 led the Timberwolves.
Celtics 41, Sixers 38 — The Celtics had shown their dominance throughout the regular season under the direction of Coach Boone, but the championship night saw them without Boone and several of their role players. Even so, the Sixers, with Coach Perry at the helm, were not taking them for granted and this would absolutely be a grind to the end.
Right from the opening tip, the Sixers made it clear that they were ready to unseat the No. 1 squad. Kamron Tardif exploded in the first quarter with 10 of his eventual 19 points. These initial 10 included two very deep 3’s for which Tardif had become known during the season.
Jack Buck (six points) and Ayden Sturtevant (eight points) both tacked on deuces for the Sixers. While on the flip side, Ricardo Jackson struggled to keep the Celtics hopes alive by answering with five points of his own.
Wyatt Young (3 points), who had proven himself as a team leader, worked hard to keep the offense in motion and the defense on their toes in the second period. This quarter was a much more even heat, with the Celtics scoring 11 to the Sixers’ 10 points. Even so, the momentum was definitely in the Sixers’ favor.
The third quarter saw the Sixers’ Braden Doughty, who played all season with the heart of a lion, break into the scoring column with two points, and Celtic speed machine Hunter Reed drop in two of his eventual five points.
The Sixers entered the fourth quarter with a 33-24 lead. Without relief by way of zero available subs on the bench, the Celtics should have been fatigued and yet they were able to come out and hammer the Sixers with full court pressure. Jackson took control of the game with a stunning defensive and offensive effort to the tune of multiple forced turnovers and 12 points. He finished the game with a season-high 33 points.
The Sixers struggled for answers, but pressed on. At one point Coach Perry’s attempts to signal for a time-out were drowned out by the din of the crowd.
With a mere three seconds to go on the clock and the game tied at 38, Jackson drove the lane and dished the ball into the waiting hands of Jacob Signorelli, who found himself several feet behind the 3-point line. Instinctively, Jacob went into his shooting motion and sent up a prayer and the ball descended as if in slow motion as it made its way to the iron and eventually found the bottom of the net. The buzzer sounded, the gym erupted and an unlikely hero emerged.
Honorable mention goes out to Celtics’ Shawn Hebert and Grant Stubbs for their contributions as well as Sixers’ Finn Thibault and Christopher Sczuroski for playing hard day in and day out.
