DENVILLE - Nothing like waiting until the last possible minute ... or, in the case of the St. Mary's JV boys CYO basketball team - the last possible seconds.
Michael Chapman's steal and layup with six seconds left to play in the second overtime gave St. Mary's a 56-54 victory over Our Lady of Mercy/Notre Dame of Cedar Knolls in the championship game of the Upper Morris County CYO JV Basketball League at Mount Olive Middle School on Sunday, Feb. 28.
And it was Marc Andrian's putback of an offensive rebound with one second left in regulation that tied the score at 48 and sent the game into overtime.
St. Mary's (12-2) which won the Big 10 Division last weekend, and Our Lady of Mercy, the Big East Division champions, played it close throughout the game with neither team ever having more than a two-point lead at the end of any quarter.
Our Lady led by two at the end of one period, a lead they maintained at the halftime break. St. Mary's led by one after three periods of play before Our Lady outscored St. Marys 13-12 to tie the score once again.
Each team scored a field goal in the first overtime session as Chapman gave St. Mary's a 50-48 lead before Our Lady scored to tie the game at 50 and force the second OT period.
Our Lady opened the second extra session with a 3-point field goal and Jake Voelkner scored on a put-back to pull St. Mary's back to with a point at 53-52. Our Lady opened a two-point lead by sinking one of two free throws, but it was Voelkner again - this time on a 10-foot jumper - to tie the game at 54.
Chapman came up with his steal and subsequent layup with six seconds left on the clock and Our Lady was unable to get off a final desperation shot before the final buzzer sounded, making St. Mary's the 56-54 winner.
Andrian led all scorers with 24 points and Voelkner added 10 points - four in the second overtime - to lead the way for St. Mary's.
Chapman finished with six points; Brian Chegwidden had five points; Ryan Chegwidden and NIck Mills each finished with four points; Dillon Sinegra had two points; and Joe LaRiccia completed the St. Mary's scoring with a free throw.
"Our defense really stepped up to force some key turnovers near the end of the game," said head coach Mark Chegwidden after the game. "The players have learned to embrace the "team defense" concept and it has made the difference as we finished our season by winning our last three post-season games.
"The team improved as the season progressed and each player contributed his own special talents to the overall success of the team.
"The players also developed a "Never Say Die" attitude, an attitude that helped them win the division title and then the overall league championship."
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Wins Division Title
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's JV traveling CYO boys basketball team captured the Big 10 Division championship of the Upper Morris County JV Basketball League by defeating St. Elizabeth of Mount Olive and St. Luke�s of Long Valley in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 20-21.
St. Mary�s (12-2) beat St. Elizabeth's, 52-39, in the championship game played at Mount Olive Middle School on Sunday, Feb. 21, the day after Denville stopped St. Luke�s, 45-23, in a semifinal game played at St. Therese Catholic School in Long Valley.
In the title game, St. Mary�s led by three after one period of play; St. Elizabeth closed the gap to one at 21-20 at the half; and St. Mary�s outscored St. Elizabeth, 10-9, to take a two-point lead at 31-29 into the final quarter.
St. Mary's switched from a man-to-man to a pressing zone defense in the final period of play and finished the game on a 21-10 run to seal the victory and the division title.
Marc Andrian scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the final period as his play in the low post and his rebounding were also keys to St. Mary's victory.
Michael Chapman finished with 10 points, including five points in St. Mary's big fourth period. Brian Chegwidden and Luidgi Faubert each scored six points; Jake Voelkner and Joe LaRiccia each finished with four points; and Ryan Chegwidden scored two points to round out the scoring for Denville.
Brian Chegwidden led he team in assists with four.
In the division semifinal, St. Mary�s man-to-man defense shut out St. Luke's for the first period as Denville took a 14-0 lead and never looked back. Denville handed St. Luke�s (11-1) its first loss of the season and gained a measure of revenge for a loss St. Mary�s suffered to St. Luke�s earlier in the regular season.
St. Mary's led 18-5 at the half and then put the game out of reach in the second half by outscoring St. Luke's 11-7 in the third period and 16-8 in the final period.
Andrian led the way for St. Mary's with 16 points; Ryan Chegwidden scored six points; Brian Cheg-widden, Dillon Sinegra and Chapman each added four points; Joe LaRiccia had three points; and Nick Mills, Matt Muoio, Jake Voelkner and Faubert each finished with two points as every member of the team scored at least two points.
St. Mary�s will now play Our Lady of Mercy, the champion of the Big East Division, for the overall league title in the JV division.
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St. Mary's stuns St. E's
DENVILLE - The St. Mary�s junior varsity travel basketball team completed its regular-season schedule with a bang on Sunday, Feb. 7, as it defeated previously unbeaten St. Elizabeth of Mount Olive, 54-35, in an Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League game played at the Mount Olive Middle School.
The teams had met a week ago, with St. Elizabeth winning, 53-48.
St. Mary�s (9-2) exploded to a 20-1 first-quarter lead and maintained that advantage the rest of the way to hand St. Elizabeth (10-1) its first loss of the season.
Jake Voelkner, who finished with a team-high 14 points, scored 10 of his points in the first period to pace St. Mary's outburst. The two teams played the next three quarters to a 34-34 standoff to seal St. Mary�s 19-point victory.
Michael Chapman finished with nine points; Marc Andrian had eight; Luidgi Faubert had seven points; Ryan Chegwidden scored six points; Nick Mills and Joe LaRiccia each had four points; and Brian Chegwidden had two points to round out the scoring for St. Mary's.
Faubert, Ryan Cheg-widden and LaRiccia sparked a first-quarter pressure defense that caused numerous St. Elizabeth turnovers that led to fast-break baskets for St. Mary's. Matthew Muolo and Mills
Andrian also had a solid all-round game as his shot blocking and rebounding complemented his offense. Brian Chegwidden had a team-high six asissts and Matthew Muoio and Mills also contributed to the St. Mary's defense.
St. Mary's is now idle until the league�s post-season playoff begin on Sunday, Feb. 28. The playoff schedule has yet to be determined.
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St. Mary's Splits
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's junior varsity sixth-grade boys basketball team players got a look at the best of the league on Saturday, Jan. 30, when they squared off against unbeaten division-leader St. Elizabeth and lost a 53-48 decision in an Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League game at the Mount Olive Middle School in Mount Olive.
St. Elizabeth is 10-0 and in first place in the sixth-grade division; St. Mary's is 8-2 as of games played through Sunday, Jan. 31, and is in third place, a game behind St. Luke's (9-1), as the league heads into the last week of the regular season.
St. Mary's faces St. Elizabeth again this Sunday (Feb. 6) in a 2:30 p.m. game at the Mount Olive Middle School.
In Saturday�s game, St. Mary's took a 41-39 lead into the final quarter when St. Elizabeth starting pounding the ball inside and outscored St. Mary�s 14-7 in the final period to win the game.
"We built our lead on good defense and fast-break points," said St. Mary�s coach Mark Chegwidden after the game. "Their two big guns scored 10 of their last 14 points ... we couldn�t stop them inside.
"�It was a tough loss, but I would rather be in a game like this that will teach our kids something rather than be in a blowout game where we win and the boys don�t learn a thing.
"We play St. Elizabeth again for our final regular-season game and I�m hoping that two games against this good a team will help us get sharper for the playoffs. We figure to be the No. 3 seed with St. Elizabeth No.1 and St. Luke's No. 2.�
Michael Chapman led a St. Mary's balanced attack with 11 points. Jake Voelkner added nine points; Brian Chegwidden scored eight; Marc Andrian finished with seven points; Nick Mills has six; Joe LaRiccia scored five points; and Luidgi Faubert had two points to round out the scoring for St. Mary�s.
St. Mary's bounced back the next day (Sunday, Jan. 31) with a 47-16 victory over Our Lady of Sparta in a game played at St. Mary�s School here as nine different players scored at least two points.
St. Mary's took advantage of several Our Lady turnovers to build at 15-1 lead after one quarter and then expanded the advantage to 29-11 at the half.
St. Mary's stopped running in the second half, but the defense still held Our Lady to two points in the third period and three in the fourth period.
Chapman and Andrian each had eight points to lead St. Mary's; Faubert and Mills each had six; Ryan Chegwidden, LaRiccia and Voelkner each finished with five points; and Matt Muoio and Dillon Singegra each had two points.
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St. Mary's wins again
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's JV boys basketball team beat St. Catherine's of Mountain Lakes, 25-12, in an Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League defensive battle played at Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes on Sunday, Jan. 24.
The victory was the seventh in eight games for St. Mary's.
St. Mary's took a 7-6 lead after one quarter of play and then the St. Mary's defense held St. Catherine's to six points the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Michael Chapman led all scorers with nine points in the low-scoring game. Joe LaRiccia added six points and Jake Voelkner, Nick Mills, Matt Muoio, Brian Chegwidden and Dillon Sinegra each scored two points to complete the scoring for the winners.
St. Mary's has two games scheduled for the coming weekend. On Saturday, Jan. 30, St. Mary's faces St. Elizabeth (Mount Olive) at Mount Olive Middle School at 6:45 p.m. and then the team comes right back the next day (Sunday, Jan. 31) against Our Lady of the Lake (Sparta) at St. Mary's School here in a 3 p.m. game.
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Denfense wins it
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's of Denville junior varsity boys basketball team used a comination of a stingy defense and balanced scoring attack to defeat St. Clement of Rockaway Township, 47-12, in an Upper Morris County CYO game played at St. Mary's Catholic School here on Sunday, Jan. 17.
St. Mary's held a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and then exploded for 21 second-quarter points to take a 36-8 lead at the half on the way to its sixth victory in seven tries.
Marc Andrian scored 10 points to lead a St. Mary's attack that saw all 10 players score at least two points
Jake Voelkner and Nick Mills each finished with eight points; Joe LaRiccia had five and Ryan Chegwidden and Matt Muoio each had four. Brian Chegwidden, Michael Chapman, Dillon Sinegra and Luidgi Faubert each finished with two points to complete the scoring for St. Mary's.
St. Mary's next game is against St. Catherine's of Mountain Lakes on Sunday, Jan. 24, at Mountain Lakes High School at 2:30 p.m.
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St. Mary's now 5-1
DENVILLE - Nine different plays scored points as the St. Mary's of Denville junior varsity boys team defeated St. Peter's of Parsippany, 45-13, in an Upper Morris County CYO League basketball game played at St. Peter's Catholic School in Parsippany on Sunday, Jan. 10.
St. Mary's bolted out to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first period and held a 25-5 lead at the half on the way to its fifth win win six CYO league games this season.
Marc Andrian led St. Mary's in scoring with 10 points while Brian Chegwidden added eight points; Ryan Chegwidden finished with six; Matt Muoio added five points; Jake Voelkner, Michael Chapman each scored four points; and Dillon Sinegra and Nick Mills rounded out the scoring for St. Mary's as each scored two points.
St. Mary's next game is a home game against St. Clement of Rockaway Township on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 1:30 p.m.
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St. Mary's Tirumphs
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's of Denville boys junior varsity travel basketball team returned to action in the Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League on Sunday, Jan. 3, with a 53-21 victory over Our Lady of the Magnificent (Kinnelon) in a game played at St. Mary's School.
The victory gave St. Mary's a 4-1 league record and put the team at 5-2 overall.
Leading by 10 points going into the final period, St. Mary's went to a half-court pressure defense that resulted in Our Lady turnovers that led to numerous fast-break points for St. Mary's in a 21-point quarter that sealed the victory.
Michael Chapman got nine of his 17 game-high points and Jack Voelkner scored eight of his 10 points for Denville in the final period.
Marc Andrian finished with 16 points; Matt Muoio had four points; and Ryan Chegwidden, Nick Mills and Brian Chegwidden each finished with two points to complete the St. Mary's scoring for the game.
St. Mary's next game is a league game against St. Peter's at St. Peter's School in Parsippany on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010, at 1:15 p.m.
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Tournament Split
DENVILLE - Michael Chapman's 10 points led a balanced St. Mary's attack as the Denville boys junior varsity travel basketball team defeated St. Mark (Long Valley), 40-22, in the consolation game of the St. Therese CYO Christmas Tournament in a game played at St. Therese Catholic School in Succasunna on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010.
St. Mary's was forced into the consolation game when it lost to the host St. Therese team, 46-35, in a first-round game played on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009.
St. Mary's led St. Mark, 7-4, after the first period before Chapman scored six points in a 16-6 second-period run that gave Denville a 23-10 lead at the half, a lead that was never threatened.
Ryan Chegwidden added seven points for St. Mary's; Marc Andrian and Nick Mills each finished with six; Jake Voelkner had five points; Matt Muoio scored four; and Brian Chegwidden added two points to complete the team's scoring.
In the tourney opener against St. Therese, St. Mary's held a 25-23 lead at the half before the game turned and the Denville team scored only three points in the third period and entered the fourth period trailing, 35-28.
St. Therese then went on an 11-7 fourth-period run to seal the victory.
Andrian led St. Mary�s with 14 points; Voelkner added six points; Joe LaRiccia, Muoio and Chapman each had four points; Brian Chegwidden added two points; and Ryan Chegwidden rounded out the St. Mary's scoring with a free throw.
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St. Mary's Falls
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's sixth-grade CYO basketball team had its opening-season three-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 40-30 loss to St. Luke's in an Upper Morris CYO Junior Varsity Basketball League game at the Tinc Road Middle School in Long Valley on Sunday, Dec. 13.
St. Mary's held a 14-12 lead at the half, but St. Luke's outscored St. Mary's 13-8 in the third period to take a 25-22 lead into the fourth period. St. Luke's hit seven of nine free throws in the final period and outscored St. Mary's 15-8 to seal the victory.
Joe LaRiccia led St. Mary's with seven points while Marc Andrian added five and Jake Voelkner, Brian Chegwidden and Matt Muoio each scored four points.
Nick Mills, Dillon Sinegra and Luidgi Faubert each finished with two points to round out the scoring for St. Mary's.
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Streak hits three
DENVILLE - Michael Chapman scored a team-high 10 points and the St. Mary's of Denville 6th-grade junior varsity basketball team went on a 14-1 first-quarter run to defeat St. Catherine's (Mountain Lakes), 35-20, in a Morris County CYO Basketball League game played at St. Catherine's on Sunday, Dec. 6.
The win was the third in as many games for St. Mary's.
St. Catherine's cut into the St. Mary's lead with an 8-5 second-quarter run to make it a 19-9 game at the half, but St. Mary's came back to outscore the home team 16-11 in the second half to secure the victory.
Marc Andrian and Nick Mills each had six points for St. Mary's; Joe LaRiccia had five points; Jake Voelkner finished with four points; and Brian Chegwidden and Ryan Chegwidden each had two points to round out the scoring for the winners.
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St. Mary's now 2-0
DENVILLE - Nine players made their way into the scorebook as the St. Mary's of Denville junior varsity boys travel team defeated St. Lawrence of Chester, 50-19, in an Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League game played at St. Mary's on Sunday, Nov. 29.
The win was St. Mary's second of the season in a as many games.
Marc Andrian led the balanced attack with 10 points while Michael Chapman added eight and Joe LaRiccia, Brian Chegwidden and Matt Muoio each added six points. Jake Voelkner, Ryan Chegwidden and Dillon Sinegra each added four points and Nick Mills scored two points to round out St. Mary's scoring.
St. Mary's fast-breaking offense and pressure defense put the game out of reach after the first half as the Denville team head leads of 18-5 at the end of the first quarter and 32-7 at the break.
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St. Mary's triumphs
DENVILLE - The St. Mary's of Denville junior varsity boys travel basketball team opened its season on a winning note with a 52-34 victory over St. Mark's of Long Valley in an Upper Morris County CYO Basketball League game played at the Sandshore Middle School in Mount Olive.
Marc Andrian scored seven of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter as St. Mary's took a 10-8 lead but it was a 17-3 run in the second quarter that enabled St. Mary's to take a 27-11 lead into the second half of play.
St. Mark's cut the lead to 11 points at the end of three quarters but Andrian scored six points when St. Mary's outscored St. Mark's 16-9 in the final quarter to seal the victory.
Jake Voelkner also had a solid offensive game with 11 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 showing from the free throw line.
Ryan Chegwidden finished with eight points; Matt Muoio added seven; Brian Chegwidden scored five points; and Luidgi Faubert and Nick Mills each scored two points to round out the scoring for St. Mary's.
