CONTEST

Elks Hoop Shoot

6 Nashua champs vie for state title Feb. 5

Three Nashua Elks 2012 Southwest District Hoop Shoot Champions, two Nashua boys, 9-year Toby Therrien and 11-year Old Tilak Patel and one Hollis Girl, 12-year old Molly Dee, will travel to Portsmouth on Feb. 4 and 5 to compete against the Southeast, Northeast and Northwest District Champions for the 2012 State Elks State “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw Championship.

This will be the third level of competition since the Elks “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw contests began last December.

All contestants and their parents will be the guests of the New Hampshire State Elks Association on Saturday when registration and drawing of shooting positions will take place. A pizza party and a pool party will be held Saturday night followed by a “Breakfast of Champions” Sunday morning. All the competitors will then be bussed to the Connie Bean Community Center in Portsmouth for the State Elks Championship Hoop Shoot Free Throw contest, which will get underway at 9:30 a.m. An awards dinner will be held at the Portsmouth Lodge of Elks home following the competition.

As in all levels of competition, each boy and girl in their respective age division, (six), will shoot 25 free throws for score, with five extra tie-breakers as needed. The six New Hampshire State “Hoop Shoot” Champions will then go on to the New England Regional, which will be held in Portland, Maine on March 24.

Regional winners (there are twelve Regional contests in the country), will then converge on the Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center for the Elks National “Hoop Shoot” Finals in April. National winners will have their names inscribed in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Over three million boys and girls have competed in this year’s Elks “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw Program, in this, the 40th year of Elks Hoop Shoot since inception. Nashua has sent ten Regional champions to the Nationals in the past 39 years, including Steve Piwowarski, Melissa “Missy” Ayotte, Debra Killmon, Ellen

Tipping, Ryan Robinson, Ryan Sullivan, Michael Panagoulias, Caleb Donnelly, Max Coleman and Tom O’Hearn. Caleb Donnelly of Hudson won the Elks National Hoop Shoot Free Throw Championship in 2006 and has his name inscribed in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

WRESTLING

BGCGN strong at Red Devil Rumble

Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua wrestled at the Burlington Red Devil Rumble in Burlington, Mass., this past weekend. Placing first for their respective weight classes were first-grader Ian Deluca at 51 pounds, second-grader Juan Torres (42) and fourth-grader Nathan Zalzal (110).

In second place were second-grader Liam Finn (60) and fourth-grader Owen Duda (88). Many others: including first-grader Antonio Martinez; second-graders Aurora Holland and Troy Moscatelli; third-graders Mickey Matheson and Teddy Moscatelli; fourth-graders Colin Dexter, Owen Finn, Destiny Torres and Victor Ceballos; and fifth-graders Isaiah Johnson, Evan Soucy and Tyler St. Pierre wrestled that day and continue to sharpen their skills.

BASKETBALL

Nashua Park & Rec

Girls Jr. Biddy

Panthers 16, Lakers 8

The Panthers defeated the Lakers 16-8 in girls’ junior biddy basketball.

Both teams played great defensively reflected by the 0-0 score at the end of the first quarter. Leading the Panthers in scoring were Chloe Goforth, Emily Blondin and Emma Charron with 4 points each.

Astros 13, Lakers 8

Kirsten McIntyre and Katie Loranger led the scoring as the Astros prevailed in a defensive battle against a tough Lakers team

Panthers 19, Celtics 10

The Panthers defeated the Celtics 19-10 in girls junior biddy basketball. Lead scorers for the Panthers were Caroline Dobbens, Bella Primeau and Erin Bourgeois with 4 points each, while Taylor Anger scored four points for the Celtics. Both teams played great defensively.

Girls Biddy

Knights 36 Tigers 21

Grace Tomasetti, Fiona Curran, Emma Williamson and Madeleine Paul played great defense

against a strong Tigers team. Molly Dee led all scorers with 12 points, followed closely by 8 from

Megan Morelli and Abbie King. Other scorers for the Knights were Erica Dahl, Neysa Ouellette

and Hailey Sullivan.

The Tigers were led by K Hefforen (9) and Marissa Guadette (6), along with scores from S Luce

and E Foulter

Knights 44 Bulls 19

The Knights came out red hot with Neysa Ouellette, Alycia Panas and Lindsey Murch forcing multiple turnovers which led directly to points by Molly Dee (10), Abbie King (6), Danielle Upton (6), Erica Dahl (4), Megan Morelli (4), Fiona Curran (6), Grace Tomasetti (4), Emma Williamson (2) and Brenna Herbert (2). The Bulls were sparked by Daria Putsch (3), Srilekha Vramak (2), Lauren Robinson (2) and Lynsey Daley (2).

Knights 41 Panthers 14

Stingy defense by the Knights held the high powered Panthers offense in check. Steals from Fiona Curran and Hailey Sullivan along with highlight reel assists from Danielle Upton turned into Knights points from Neysa Ouellette (8), Emma Williamson (2), Grace Tomasetti (1), Molly Dee (10), Erika Dahl (6), Meagan Morelli (4), Allycia Panos (2) and Abbie King (8).

The Panthers were led in scoring by Rylee (2), Lyndsey (5), Sydney (5) and Rita Dow (2).

Knights 28 Spurs 11

The Knights had a balanced attack and scoring from multiple sources including; Emma Williamson (2), Allycia Panos (4), Grace Tomasetti (2), Molly Dee (8), Erika Dahl (4), Meagan Morelli (4) and Neysa Ouellette (4).

Fiona Curran, Madeleine Paul and Hailey Sullivan played hard and were a constant source of grief to the other team by causing one turnover after another.

Tigers 38, Lakers 13,

The Tigers had a balanced scoring attack led by Marisa Gaudette’s game-high 10 points. Lexi Correa and Stephanie Luce had 8 each. Kaylynn Heffernan had a stong defensive game and added 6. The Lakers were without thier best player, Christina Rodriguez. Gagnon was the top Lakers contributor with 8.

Tigers 33, Panthers 25,

The Panthers’ Haleigh Theirin led all scorers with 14 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort. It was a close game until the fourth quarter when the Tigers went on a 10-4 run. The Tigers were lead by Marisa Gaudette with 10 points, Kaylynn Heffernan with 7 and Stephanie Luce with 6. Lexi Correa, Emily Foltan and Amber Dube played strong on defense.

Knights 42, Hawks 29

The Knights offense was led by Molly Dee (14), Neysa Ouellette (8) and Abbie King (8), who gave thanks to the passing and playmaking of Danielle Upton, Erica Dahl, Meagan Morelli, Fiona Curran, Emma Williamson, Grace Tomasetti, Lindsey Murch and Brenna Herbert.

Other scoring contributors were Danielle Upton (2), Erica Dahl (2), Meagan Morelli (2), Fiona Curran (2), Madeleine Paul (2) and Allycia Panos (2). The Hawks were led by the unstoppable Erin McInerney, who posted 14 points.

Knights 35, Suns 8

The Knights got off to a fast 20-2 first quarter then held on with stingy defense led by Madeleine Paul, Lindsey Murch, Grace Tomasetti, Emma Williamson and Allycia Panos. The Knights got points from Abbie King (4), Erica Dahl (6), Molly Dee (16), Neysa Ouellette (7) and Fiona Curran (2).

Boys Jr. Biddy

Cougars 20 Sharks 17

Dev Parekh sunk a crucial basket in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars a three-point cushion. Kyle Salemi hustled for every loose ball and chipped in with three points of his own.

Joey Morse had another solid game with 6 points and some great passing. For the Sharks, Neil Kachappilly led all scorers with 8 and Quinton Bolton played tough defense keeping the game close all night.

Cougars 27, Spurs 10

The Cougars played one of their strongest games of the year. Josh Kinghorn led all scorers with 8. Eric Jamieson had a solid night with 6 points. Issac Smith played terrific defense. Ryan Salemi fought for several rebounds and chipped in with a bucket. Javon Smith played tough in the paint and scored his first basket of the year.

Nuggets 17, Falcons 9

Very defensive game and great team play by both the Nuggets and Falcons. Falcons were up early, but Nuggets came back with key baskets from Aiden Sullivan and Ethan Leary. Nuggets were lead by Rhett Medling (6) and Bryan Boyle (4).

Bulldogs 29, Celtics 8

Lee Hill was an animal on defense fighting hard for rebounds, defending passes, and all-around great hustle to earn player of the game. All first string starters scored in this one with Jaden Murphy, Isaac Colon, and Andre Ducharme leading the charge while Caleb Plourde and Peyton Adams chipped in as well. Alex Meesig, Roy Hill and Nitish Bodicharla led second string in scoring while Kobey Marshall scored his first basket of the season.

Dean Adams just missed his first bucket of the season as he rattled one around the rim and Sahil Mahendraker had a few good looks as well.

Nuggets 22, Cougars 20

A close game that went into overtime with a shot by Cougars Joey Morse at the end of regulation to tie the game at 20, with time running out.

Cougars were led by Matt Rittenberg with great hustle after loose balls and Josh Kinghorn with many offensive rebounds.

The Nuggets were led by Miles Rios with a season-high 10 points, including the game-winning bucket. Keval Botadra had six points and Ryan Vogel had several steals which lead to the Nuggets win.

Falcons 20, Bulldogs 18

Christian Belonga and Donovan Labatte led the way with six points each followed by Luis Maldonaldo with four and Tyler Julien and David Mullaney each with two.