OLG 43, HOLY SPIRIT 36

What should have been an easy tune-up in the final game of the regular season turned into a barnburner that saw the 4A OLG Saints hang on for a 43-36 win over the 0-10 squad from Holy Spirit. While the offense was firing on all cylinders, the defense clearly struggled to contain an overmatched opponent. Tyler L. led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points, while Wayne R. added 9 and Hekili J. and Nick B. each chipped in 8. With the victory, OLG finishes the regular season 7-3 and tied for 2nd place with St. Joe's of Fremont. For the season, OLG has a record of 10-5. The next stop is the playoffs in what has been a very successful opening season for the Saints' squad.

SCORING TOTALS

Tyler L. - 10
Wayne R. - 9
Nick B. - 8
Hekili J. - 8
Conner G. - 4
Brandon J. - 2
Azaria A. - 2

OLG 30, CORPUS CHRISTI 12

With a playoff berth secured, OLG was finally able to play a relaxed game in a new setting of Alvarado Middle School against the Corpus Christi Cougars. After a shakeup, of the starting lineup, the Saints opened the game strong with a 10-0 first quarter, and an 18-3 halftime lead. A slow thirs quarter allowed the Couagars to claw back to a 20-12 deficit, but a late Saint surge of 10 points over the last three minutes ended the game for a 30-12 final. Overall, this was a great team effort that saw 8 different Saints score buckets, led by Hekili J. with 8, while Tyler L. and Nick B. each chipped in 6. With the victory, OLG moves to 6-3 in league play and 9-5 overall. Only one more regular season game against Holy Spirit, before the Saints open the playoffs. For complete standings and league info, please visit http://mvalbbcyo.leaguecentral.info/Team/6477.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekil J. - 8
Nick B. - 6
Tyler L. - 6
Azaria A. - 2
Conner G. - 2
Brandon J. - 2
Chris P. - 2
Wayne R. - 2

OLG 33, OLR 30

This was a big game for the Saints as a playoff spot hung in the balance. With a win, the Saints would advance to the Mission Valley playoffs, while a OLR win would keep them mathmatically alive for a playoff berth. As expected, this was a hard fought game on both ends, but OLG survived a late OLR rally and hung on in Overtime for a dramatic 33-30 win. Hekili J. proved the difference as he led all scorers with 14 points, and scored the two key buckets in OT to ensure the victory. Wayne R. was also strong with a season-best 9 points, while Tyler L. scored 6 despite fouling out in the 4th quarter. After a back and forth first half that saw the Saints build a 12-8 lead, the team surged out in the 3rd quarter to an 18-8 advantage. OLR would not go down without a fight though and came roaring back in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 28-28 with Tyler out and Hekili on the bench with four fouls. In OT, OLR took their first lead at 30-28 with one minute remaining, but a Chris P. free throw cut in to 30-29. With approximately 35 seconds remaining, Jacob B grabbed a huge rebound and connected with Hekili J for the go-ahead bucket. OLG survived four straight missed free throws by OLR and then got some insurance points when Chris P. found Hekili in transition for a 33-30 lead. With the win, OLG moved to 5-3 in league play and 8-5 overall.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili J. - 14
Wayne R. - 9
Tyler L. - 6
Azaria A. - 3
Chris P. - 1

ST. EDWARDS 35, OLG 19

Playing the undefeated, first-place St. Edwards squad is daunting in itself, but playing without a key player in Hekili made it even tougher. Still, the Saints came to play this time out. After falling behind 18-1, the Saints methodically began to chip away at the deficit behind the spectacular outside shooting of Tyler L. who nailed four baskets from behind the three-point line. He finished the day with 11 points to lead all Saint players. OLG rallied back to within 21-15, but ran out of gas down the stretch before they could score an improbable upset. Jacob B proved to be a force on the boards and Wayne R. added 6 points and a number of key steals. Overall, it was a gritty team effort from the Saints who fall to 4-3 and head into a key weekend that will see them play two important games as they battle for a position in the playoffs. It will be fun!

SCORING TOTALS

Tyler L. - 11
Wayne R. - 6
Chris P. - 2

OLG 23, CORPUS CHRISTI 8

After a two week break, OLG returned to action with a matchup against Corpus Christi of Fremont. Given the layoff, it was no surpise that the game started slow and after three minutes, the game was knotted at 2-2. After a bucket by Hekili J. and two free throws from Azaria A., the Saints finished the opening quarter with a 6-2 lead. The team really made a surger in the opening minutes of the second half, where they outscored their opponents 7-0, led by Tyler L's five points. The team finished the half with a 15-4 advantage. In the second half, the team continued to use the fast break to get easy looks as Wayne R. had a couple of buckets and assists. Jacob B. also had a strong game with numerous rebounds. The final score was 23-8 and lifted the Saints to a 4-2 league record and a 7-4 overall mark. The win sets up a rematch with the undefeated St. Edwards of Newark in one week.

SCORING TOTALS:

Tyler L. - 9
Azaria A. - 4
Chris P. - 4
Wayne R. - 4
Hekili J. - 2

OLG 32, OLR 26

Coming off a disheartening loss to St. Josephs, the 4A OLG Saints rebounded with a tremendous win over OLR by a score of 32-26. The Saints were led by a sensational all-around effort from Hekili J. who scored 16 points and was a force on both ends of the court. He also received some help from Tyler L, Conner G, and Azaria A who each scored 4 points each. Overall it was a terrific team effort in a physical game that saw the team move to 3-2 in league play and 6-4 overall, while OLR dropped to 2-3.

Have a great Christmas and New Year's!

SCORING TOTALS:

Hekili J - 16
Azaria A - 4
Conner G - 4
Tyler L - 4
Brandon J - 2
Wayne R - 2

ST. JOSEPH'S 30, OLG 28

In what may prove to be a costly loss down the stretch, OLG fell in OT to St. Joseph's 30-28. The loss was agonizing for the fact that OLG led 22-15 through three quarters and seemed to be in total command. However, some critical turnovers, poor shot selection and important missed calls by both refs paved the way for the improbable collapse. No matter, the Saints playing short-handed fought hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer and will certainly rebound from this defeat. Hekili J. led all scorers with 7 points, while Chris P. added 6. With the loss, OLG falls to 2-2 in league play and 5-4 overall, while St. Joseph's moves to 3-0.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili J - 8
Chris P - 6
Tyler L - 4
Wayne R - 4
Azaria A - 2
Conner G - 2
Brandon J - 2

ST. EDWARDS 31, OLG 13

After a 2-0 start to the season, OLG faced off against the new league power, St. Edwards and learned they still have a long way to go before reaching the top of the MVAL after being overwhelmed 31-13. Facing a big, athletic team, OLG packed in the zone and forced St. Edwards to shoot from ling range in the half court, which effectively neutralized some of their advantages, however the problems came in turnovers that the Spartans used to get numerous fast breaks for easy baskets. It was a good learning experience for the team though and it will only serve to make them work on their current weaknesses. Hekili led all OLG scorers with 6 points, whil Chris added 4. Next up is a battle with St. Joseph's for possession of 2nd place on December 5th! Have a great Thanksgiving OLG families!

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili J - 6
Chris P - 4
Wayne R - 2
Jacob B - 1

OLG SAINTS 24, HOLY SPIRIT 15

The 4A OLG Saints continued their nice start to the 2009-2010 season with a 24-15 victory over Holy Spirit. While Holy Spirit is a traditional league power, the team is suffering a down year, but they still showed plenty of effort and fight. Hekili J. led the Saints' attack as he scored 8 points, while Azaria A. had a season-high 5 and wayne R. aded 4 points. The team started quickly by opening a 9-2 lead in the first period, and continued to race to a 16-6 halftime advantage. In the 2nd half, Holy Spirit rallied to close the gap to 18-11, but back to back buckets by Tyler and Hekili to start the 4th quarter, opeded the lead back up to a comfortable 22-11 advantage. With the win, OLG moves to 2-0 in league play and 5-2 overall, and moves towards a tough game against the league powerhouse, St. Edwards of Newark.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili - 8
Azaria - 5
Wayne - 4
Tyler - 3
Jacob - 2
Nick - 2

OLG 22, ST. ANNE'S 17

MVL League play opened for the OLG Saints with a most challenging assignment, as they faced a rematch with the powerful team from St. Anne's of Union City. When the teams met in the Consolation finals of the St. Bede's pre-season tournament, St. Anne's overwhelmed the Saints in a 43-20 blowout that found OLG unable to cope with their opponent's speed and press. However, if there's one thing I know about our team, we never stop fighting, and I was eager to see how well would could play them in a rematch.

While the challenge would be daunting, the game itself went according to script. After focusing our practice efforts on handling their press, the team was much more succcesful this time in breaking it which led to plenty of good looks on offense. Even more important was the team playing excellent defense and rebounding well to limit St. Anne's offensive opportunities. By controlling the boards, we were able to deny them the ability to set up their press as much as they would have liked. Overall, it was a sensational effort from the players. Tyler L led all scorers with 9points, while Hekili J added 7 and proved to be the game's leading rebounder. Chris P scored 4 points, including the game winner, while Conner G added a bucket. With the 22-17 win, OLG moves to 1-0 in league play and 4-2 overall for the season.














SCORING TOTALS

Tyler L - 9
Hekili J - 7
Chris P - 4
Conner G - 2

OLG 28, ST. BONAVENTURE 26

Who says lightning can't strike twice? For the second straight game, the 4A OLG Saints played in a thriller that went down to the wire and came out on top with a hard fought 28-26 OT win over St. Bonaventure of Clayton. This time, Chris P. stepped into the hero's role as he he calmly sank a 20 footer from the baseline as time expired in OT to lift the Saints to another dramatic tournament victory. However, he wasn't the only hero as everyone stepped up and played a tough game. Early on, OLG started quickly and were able to carry a 16-13 lead into halftime. However after a slow third quarter, the team trailed 20-18 heading into the final period. The team played strong though and rallied down the stretch to tie it up and sent the game into OT. After falling behind by 1 late in the period, Tyler L converted a free throw to tie it up, then the team forced a turnover with three seconds which opened the door for a win. Inbounding from the baseline, Hekili J hit Chris P in the corner and he lofted the shot which resulted in his only bucket, yet the hugest of the game. With the great effort, OLG moves to 3-1 and advances to the Consolation Bracket finals on Sunday.

SCORING TOTALS:

Hekili J. - 7
Brandon J - 6
Tyler L - 4
Wayne R - 4
Chris P - 2
Nick B - 2
Azaria A - 2
Conner G. - 1

OLG 21, ST. LAWRENCE 20

On Thursday night, with the team trailing by 3 points and 20 seconds left in the game, things didn't look bright for OLG's continued tournament existence. However, digging deep down, the team pulled off a near-miraculous rally, as Hekili J. scored a layup with 11 seconds, then forced a turnover. As the ball rolled to the corner, Brandon J astutely gave chase and collected it with 4 seconds left. Without any sense of panic, he cooly drove the baseline and converted the layup to give OLG a 21-20 win as time expired. It was a great team effort that saw the Saints refuse to quit, and with the win the team advanced to 2-1 and moved into the Consolation Bracket semi-finals for a match-up with St. Bonaventure of Clayton.

SCORING TOTALS
Hekili J - 9
Brandon J - 4
Nick B - 4
Azaria A - 2
Tyler L - 2

ST. RAYMOND'S 30, OLG 9

After an exciting start to the St. Bede's 4A Tournament for the OLG Saints, the team came crashing back to reality with a 30-9 wake-up call from St. Raymond's of Dublin. From the opening tip, St. Raymond's was able to move the ball effectively for easy shots, and clamped down on OLG with a smothering man-to-man defense. If this game proved anything, it was that OLG still has a long way to go before league play opens in November. Nick B led all Saint scorers with 4 points, while Wayne R. and Jacob B. each had 2 points. Tyler L rounded out the scoring with 1 point from the free throw line. With the loss, OLG falls to 1-1 and moves into the consolation bracket of the tournament.

SCORING TOTALS

Nick B. - 4
Jacob B. - 2
Wayne R. - 2
Tyler L. - 1

OLG SAINTS 34, ST. BEDE'S HORNETS 4

The 4A Saints opened their 2009-2010 campaign in impressive fashion today, with a 34-4 thrashing of the St. Bede's Hornets to tip off the annual St. Bede's 4th Grade Tournament. After a slow start, the team picked up steam midway through the 1st Period with an effective press and began to force numerous turnovers. From there the team settled into a nice rhythym of stealing the ball and getting out on the fast break. Hekili led all scorers with 10 points, while Wayne and Chris each added 6. Tyler and Azaris chipped in 4 each. Overall it was a good start to the season, and moves the team to the Elite 8 round of the tournament, where they will match up with last year's tournament champions, St. Raymond's.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili J - 10
Chris P - 6
Wayne R - 6
Tyler L - 4
Azaria A - 4
Brandon J - 2
Conner G - 2

Welcome!

Welcome to the home page for the 2009-10 OLG Saints' 4A Boys basketball team. In the coming weeks, this site will provide team news, game recaps, stats, pictures, videos, and more! Check back often for updates, and feel free to contribute to the site!