NCBA Hoops Roundup

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New Canaan 5th Grade Red – 25, Darien White 19

On Friday night the Red 5’s beat Darien 25-19, led by Matt Salmini’s 11-point performance. New Canaan took an early 6-4 lead in the first quarter behind baskets from Salmini, Bear Morris and Connor O’Donnell, and went into the half up 8-4 as both teams played stellar defense in the second quarter. New Canaan opened things up in the third, outscoring Darien 9-6 to take a 15-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Salmini again led the way with 5 points in the third, getting help from a Ryan Tonghini jumper and a layup from O’Donnell. New Canaan staved off a Darien rally in the fourth as Chris McLallen scored 4 points and Ryan Connelly and Salmini each added 2 to help New Canaan to its first win of the season.

New Canaan Youth Basketball Roundup

New Canaan 23, Brookfield 13

The New Canaan 7th grade girls’ team played another strong game on Sunday at Saxe, beating Brookfield by a score of 23-13. New Canaan started the game with an 8-0 run, with Elizabeth St. George scoring the first 6 points of the game, followed by a fastbreak by Cameron Murphy that brought the score to 8. Brookfield got on the board with their first basket but Marlee Smith went coast to coast after her defensive rebound, bringing the lead back to 8. Strong ball control by Chloe Reidy and Sophia Karimnejad helped the girls maintain possession for most of the second quarter, and thanks to strong foul shooting by St. George and Julia Bazata, the team went into the half with a 14-4 lead.

NCBA Travel Basketball Roundup

TMT Norwalk 29, NC 5th Grade Boys Red 27

Trailing TMT Norwalk 29-21 with less than three minutes to play, things looked bleak for the New Canaan Fifth Grade Boys Red team. TMT seemed content and able to play keep-away for the balance of the game, one that saw a third quarter three-point New Canaan lead evaporate. New Canaan had other ideas, as two baskets by Chris McLallen and one by Ryan Connelly pulled New Canaan to within 29-27 with 5.3 seconds left in the game. After a New Canaan timeout, Norwalk was charged with a five-second violation, giving New Canaan head coach Felix Belgrove and the Red 5’s one chance to tie or win the game. After calling his last timeout, Belgrove drew up the play and New Canaan executed it to perfection, as McLallen—who scored a team-high 10 points in the game—was left open in the corner for a potential game-winning three-pointer, one that seemed to be destined to send New Canaan to its first win of the season from the moment it left McLallen’s fingertips.

New Canaan 7th Grade Girls Basketball Advance in Playoffs

The New Canaan 7th Grade Girls team won its opening round playoff game on Saturday 33-17 against St. Mary’s of Ridgefield. The girls got off to a quick start at a packed Chelsea Piers in Stamford, with center Elizabeth DeMarino showing impressive footwork on a beautiful turnaround jumper for the first points of the game. The New Canaan girls then put on a defensive clinic, contesting every St. Mary’s pass leading to easy steals and quick buckets by Jane Charlton.

New Canaan 6th Grade Girls Advance to Finals of FCBL Playoffs

New Canaan notched two dramatic wins and will play for their second consecutive FCBL championship on Sunday afternoon at Danbury High School. New Canaan 27, Norwalk 26

The New Canaan 6th Grade Girls basketball team won its first two FCBL playoff games this weekend. In game one, played Saturday at Chelsea Piers, they held on to beat Norwalk 27-26. Leading the scoring was Quinn McKiernan with 8 points and Marlee Smith with 7. Norwalk came out with a three-pointer, but strong defense by Tyler Towers and Brynne Harris helped New Canaan stay close.