Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a safe, relaxing holiday break.

During the next week to week-and-a-half, Binghamton Travel Basketball will mostly be idle.

For the 4/5 team, Coach Doherty said he may hold some small-group "fundamentals" practice sessions at the YMCA. He'll handle the scheduling and phone-calling for those.

For the 5/6 Blue squad, there is currently nothing scheduled during the school winter break. That said, we have one makeup game to play, at some point, with Endicott-6, and SV-6 may be interested in a scrimmage during the break. If anything becomes scheduled, I'll be sure to call all team members.

Merry Christmas!
-SJ

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Sunday scrimmage

Binghamton 5/6 Blue scrimmaged with Binghamton Boys & Girls Club Sunday afternoon at the downtown B&G Club gym. The "Blue Runners," as they're called, have players ranging from 5th grade up to the 8th grade. It appears that the majority of their players are in either 7th or 8th grade.

Our 5/6 travel team lost, 77-65, but I'm very proud of the energy with which our team finished the game against mostly 6th and 7th graders, outscoring the Blue Runners 38-8 from mid-third quarter to the finish.

We started well, with Andre Hawkins pushing the ball inside well. Sarbast Doski had 10 of his team-high 24 points in the first quarter. At one point, we led 12-3, and again at 14-7. At that stage, the Boys & Girls Club brought in older, much larger players and they were able to go on a 17-2 run.

In the second quarter, Hawkins converted on two nice drives and was fouled on each, but was not able to convert the traditional 3-point plays. In the third quarter, the B&G Club started with mostly 7th- and 8th-graders and built a 65-29 lead, in part by hitting on four straight 3-pointers. Part of the way through the third quarter and into the fourth, however, when the B&G Club inserted players mostly in 6th and 7th grades (with one 5th-grader), Binghamton 5/6 Blue finished the contest on a 38-8, including the entire fourth quarter, in which Blue outscored the B&G Club squad, 28-4.

Statistics:
* Sarbast Doski: 24 points, 8 rebounds (6-for-7 on free throws)
* Nicky Snyder: 14 points, 12 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 13 points, 8 rebounds (1-for-4 on free throws)
* Alex Vega: 8 points, 4 rebounds (5-for-10 on free throws)
* Isiah Turner: 4 points, 3 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 2 points, 1 rebound (0-for-2 on free throws)
* Nathan Oliva: 4 rebounds, 1 block

Doubleheader at Oneonta

On Saturday (December 20), the Binghamton 5/6 Blue squad traveled to Oneonta for two games - against Oneonta Boys & Girls Club, and against Norwich. Blue played both teams close through three quarters, but as Blue used a steady 12-player rotation throughout the day, Oneonta and Norwich were able to pull away in the fourth quarters of each of these games.

Binghamton 5/6 Blue's overall record (including scrimmages, tournaments and league games) is 12-7.

Oneonta 58, Binghamton 50
Binghamton.....11 - 14 - 19 - 6 -- 50
Oneonta...........17 - 12 - 14 - 15 -- 58

Andre Hawkins had a strong game against Oneonta, scoring 12 of his team-high 21 points in the first half. Blue led 11-8 in the first quarter, but allowed a 9-0 Oneonta run to end the quarter, most of those points coming on fast breaks. Blue outscored Oneonta in the second, 14-12, and trailed by 5 at the half, then held a 44-43 lead after three before Oneonta put together a 15-6 fourth quarter surge to pull away.

Binghamton went to the foul line 31 times against Oneonta, converting just 12 of those free throws.

Statistics:
* Andre Hawkins: 21 points, 9 rebounds (9-for-20 on free throws)
* Alex Vega: 13 points, 10 rebounds (1-for-3 on free throws)
* Sarbast Doski: 11 points, 10 rebounds (1-for-4 on free throws)
* Nicky Snyder: 4 points, 7 rebounds (0-for-2 on free throws)
* Anar Doski: 1 point, 5 rebounds (1-for-2 on free throws)
* Nathan Oliva: 2 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 1 rebound
* Roberto Jensen: 1 rebound
* Zion Burwell: 1 rebound
* Daenon Davy: 1 rebound

Norwich 69, Binghamton 42
Binghamton........12 - 10 - 14 - 8 -- 42
Norwich..............17 - 12 - 15 - 25 -- 69

Sarbast Doski scored 6 of his 8 points in the first quarter, playing well running the point, but the first quarter of this game was eerily similar to that of the Oneonta contest. Binghamton held an 8-5 lead when Norwich went on an 8-0 run to build a 13-8 advantage.

A nice inside feed from Andre Hawkins to Nick Snyder got Blue to within 13-10, then Hawkins hit Alex Vega on the run with another excellent pass to get Blue to within 13-12. At the end of the first and into the second quarter, Norwich surged to leads of 21-14, 25-17 and led at halftime, 29-22.

In the third quarter, Norwich extended its edge to 33-22 before three straight Vega field goals got Binghamton to within 33-28. That was the closest Blue would get the remainder of the game. Norwich scored the final 19 points of the contest to run away.

Vega led Binghamton with 18 points. Binghamton went 6-for-24 from the free throw line in this game.

Statistics:
* Alex Vega: 18 points, 6 rebounds (4-for-6 on free throws)
* Sarbast Doski: 8 points, 10 rebounds (0-for-9 on free throws)
* Andre Hawkins: 7 points, 1 rebound (1-for-4 on free throws)
* Nicky Snyder: 6 points, 13 rebounds (0-for-2 on free throws)
* Anar Doski: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 1 point (1-for-2 on free throws)
* Jahira Ramos: 2 rebounds (0-for-1 on free throws)
* Isiah Turner: 2 rebounds
* Daenon Davy: 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 1 rebound
* Nathan Oliva: 1 rebound

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Upcoming schedules (updated Friday 12/19)

For Binghamton 5/6 Blue
* (TIME CHANGE) Doubleheader Saturday (December 20) at Oneonta High School (12:30 p.m. vs. Oneonta; 2 p.m. vs. Norwich).
* 2 p.m. Sunday (December 21), scrimmage at Binghamton Boys & Girls Club.

For Binghamton 4/5
* (POSTPONED) 6 p.m. Friday (December 19) vs. Chenango Forks 4/5 at Roosevelt Elementary.
* 3 p.m. Saturday (December 20) at Chenango Forks 5/6 (at CF Middle School)
* 6 p.m. Monday (December 22) vs. SV-5 at Roosevelt Elementary (this is the re-scheduled game that was snowed out December 11).

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Binghamton 5/6 finishes 2nd in JC tourney

Binghamton 5/6 Blue faced Whitney Point Tuesday evening in the bracket championship of the Johnson City Holiday Tournament, with similar results from the teams' Saturday afternoon game. In that game, Binghamton suffered its only loss of the day, 52-46. On Tuesday evening, Whitney Point won, 54-49.

In the post-game trophy ceremony, Andre Hawkins and Alex Vega were named to the All-Tournament Team, while each of Binghamton's players received runner-up trophies.

While Point broke out to an early lead Saturday, it was Binghamton leading much of the first half Tuesday night. Blue's strategy, from the start, was to try to blanket WP's leading scorer (and tournament MVP) Zach Marsh (61 points in the two games against Binghamton) with Vega. After Marsh scored 35 points in Saturday's game, he was held to 10 points in the first half Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hawkins scored Binghamton's first three field goals, followed by inside baskets from Nate Gaster and Sarbast Doski, giving Blue a 12-8 lead midway through the first half. Hawkins and Vega field goals gave Binghamton a 17-14 lead, before Point went on an 8-0 run to grab a 22-17 edge.

"In situations like that, our trouble isn't about talent. It's about attitude," said head coach Stephen Jensen. "As long as we're leading a game, all is well. But put us a couple points down, even in the first quarter? Our players tend to hang their heads, rather than rise to the challenge. Being behind 5 points, there are times when you'd think the game was over.

"The coaches and I are still waiting for our players to start fighting through those stretches."

Binghamton battled after halftime, hovering 4 to 6 points behind Whitney Point. But as was the case on Saturday, when Blue surged, Marsh had an answer, eventually wearing down Binghamton's inside game, scoring 16 of his game-high 26 after the break.

When Isiah Turner scored with about 4 minutes to play, Binghamton trailed 50-39. Two Sarbast Doski baskets got Binghamton to within 52-43 at the 3-minute mark.

With 2:28 remaining, Zion Burwell, Roberto Jensen, Nathan Oliva, Jahira Ramos and Nate Gaster entered the game and moved the ball around the perimeter against the much larger Point squad. The excellent ball movement eventually found Gaster inside, and Blue trailed 52-45. After another Marsh basket, Point coach Scott Harrington removed his starters, while Blue's returned.

A Binghamton full-court press yielded two straight Whitney Point turnovers and baskets by Vega and Hawkins, getting Blue to within 54-49 with 36.9 seconds to go, prompting Harrington to re-insert Marsh. A Vega 3-pointer missed as time expired.

"That 8-0 run in the first half hurt us," Jensen said. "You could say that was the difference, but we also went 1-for-11 from the foul line, while Point hit their free throws (6-for-8). There's your 5-point deficit. We have to be able to convert at the foul line against a team like that."

Whitney Point 54, Binghamton 49
Binghamton.........21 - 28 -- 49
Whitney Point.....26 - 28 -- 54

Statistics:
* Andre Hawkins: 14 points, 6 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski: 12 points, 5 rebounds
* Alex Vega: 9 points, 4 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 8 points, 4 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 2 points, 3 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 2 points, 1 rebound
* Anar Doski: 2 points

Next: 5:15 (until 6:30 p.m.) Thursday, scrimmage against SCC-6 at St. James (Main Street, Johnson City); doubleheader Saturday at Oneonta High School (2 p.m. vs. Norwich, and 3:30 p.m. vs. Oneonta).

Binghamton 4/5 plays up

On Monday, December 15, Binghamton 4/5 played up to take on a much larger Chenango Valley team of 5th- and 6th-graders. Binghamton hung around for a while in the first half, trailing just 12-8 at one point, but experience and size was too much in the end, as CV won this one 47-21.

"I was disappointed with the team effort and lack of competitiveness," said head coach Tim Doherty, "but we'll work on that."

CV 47, Binghamton 21
Statistics:
* Milton Jimenez: 11 points, 7 rebounds
* Jonah Chambers: 5 points, 3 rebounds
* Patrick Goodman: 2 points, 4 rebounds
* Kyeem Holmes: 2 points, 1 rebound
* Garrett Alapeck: 1 point, 2 rebounds
* Suehaidee Masso: 7 rebounds
* Casey Walsh: 4 rebounds
* Jordan Haven: 2 rebounds

Next: Binghamton 4/5 plays at Roosevelt Elementary at 6 p.m. Friday against a 4/5 team from Chenango Forks. At 3 p.m. Satuday, Binghamton 4/5 plays against Chenango Forks' 5/6 team at CF Middle School.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Saturday (Dec. 13) games

On Saturday, December 13, the Binghamton 4-5 team went up to Whitney Point and got a win, 36-12. Binghamton led 28-6 at the half. Head coach Tim Doherty said he was able to get all 12 of his players present for this game some significant minutes.

Binghamton 36, Whitney Point 12
Binghamton.......28 - 8 -- 36
Whitney Point.....6 - 6 -- 12

Statistics:
* Kyeem Holmes: 8 points, 2 assists
* Garrett Alapeck: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
* Casey Walsh: 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
* Jonah Chambers: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
* Suehaidee Masso: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
* Milton Jimenez: 2 points, 4 rebounds
* Patrick Goodman: 2 points, 4 rebounds
* Austin Becker-Harris: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
* Alex Surowka: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Jordan Haven: 4 rebounds
* Ben Irwin: 2 rebounds
* Lorenzo Kennedy: 2 rebounds



---------------

Also on Saturday, the Binghamton 5-6 Blue team played in the 6th annual Johnson City Holiday Tournament. Binghamton went 2-1, which was good enough to advance to Tuesday night's (6:15 p.m. Dec. 16) tournament championship game in their bracket. Binghamton will play Whitney Point-6, which gave Blue its only loss in the tourney, 52-46.

Binghamton started the day with a 34-30 win over Vestal. Binghamton led 12-7 in the first half, but Vestal went on a 12-2 run before an Andre Hawkins free throw got Binghamton to within 19-15 at halftime.

Binghamton trailed 23-17, but a basket apiece from Nate Gaster and Alex Vega, and two Hawkins free throws pulled Binghamton even at 23-23. Vestal led again 25-23 before Vega tied it, then put Binghamton ahead 26-25, hitting the second of two foul shots. Two Vestal free throws gave them the lead again (27-26) until Roberto Jensen hit an 8-foot bank-shot from the left side with 5:49 left to play to give Binghamton the lead for good.

Nick Snyder scored on a fast break at the 4:36 mark, giving Blue a 30-27 edge, and with 1:22 remaining, facing a Vestal full-court press, Hawkins found Vega in the backcourt, who then hit Snyder out in front for an 8-foot jump shot and a 32-28 lead.

Binghamton 34, Vestal 30
Binghamton.....15 - 19 -- 34
Vestal...............19 - 11 -- 30

Statistics:
* Alex Vega: 9 points, 16 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 9 points, 2 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 8 points, 17 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 6 points, 1 rebound
* Roberto Jensen: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 2 rebounds
* Daenon Davy: 1 rebound
* Anar Doski: 1 rebound

In Binghamton's second game, Whitney Point had one of its inside players score 35 points en route to defeating Blue, 52-46. An Andre Hawkins field goal tied the game at 17, but Point seemed to have an answer each time Binghamton surged, as Point led 22-19 at the half.

Blue got to within 22-21 on two Alex Vega free throws early in the second half, and a Hawkins FG gave Binghamton a 23-22 lead. Nathan Oliva scored on a 12 footer from the right baseline to put Blue's lead at 25-23, but Whitney Point then went on a 7-2 run to lead 30-27. Nate Gaster got Binghamton within 30-29, but Point held leads of 3 points or better the rest of the way.

Whitney Point 52, Binghamton 46
Whitney Point.......22 - 30 -- 52
Binghamton...........19 - 27 -- 46

Statistics:
* Alex Vega: 14 points, 9 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 12 points, 8 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 12 points, 5 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 6 points, 6 rebounds
* Nathan Oliva: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 3 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 2 rebounds

In its third game of the afternoon, Binghamton shook off a sluggist start to lead 16-12 at halftime, then scored 29 points after intermission to beat Johnson City Maroon, 45-37.

Andre Hawkins scored Blue's first 5 points, as Binghamton led 5-4, before Isiah Turner, Alex Vega, Anar Doski and Roberto Jensen each contributed field goals before halftime. After intermission, Hawkins led the way with 9 of his game-high 15 points, while Nicky Snyder dominated the boards with 18 rebounds. A Daenon Davy rebound/put-back with about 3 minutes to play extended Binghamton's lead to 41-30.

Binghamton 45, Johnson City 37
Binghamton......16 - 29 -- 45
Johnson City....12 - 25 -- 37

Statistics:
* Andre Hawkins: 15 points, 2 rebounds
* Alex Vega: 11 points, 8 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 5 points, 18 rebounds
* Anar Doski: 4 points, 3 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 4 points, 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 4 points
* Daenon Davy: 2 points
* Nathan Oliva: 4 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 2 rebounds

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Schedule: December 15 through 20

Monday, December 15
*** Cookie dough pick-up from 4 to 5:15 p.m. ***
Come to the back entrance of Horace Mann (the door off the parking lot, leading to the school kitchen.

Monday, December 15
Chenango Valley 5/6 at Binghamton 4/5
6 p.m. at Roosevelt Elementary

Tuesday, December 16
Binghamton 5/6 Blue at championship/consolation round, JC Holiday Tourney
Time TBD

Tuesday, December 16
(tentatively scheduled - awaiting confirmation)
Seton Catholic 4 and Seton Catholic 5 at Binghamton 4/5 for three-way scrimmage
6 to 7:30 p.m. at Roosevelt Elementary
(If no scrimmage, 4/5 will hold a practice during this time.)

Thursday, December 18
(tentatively scheduled - awaiting confirmation)
Seton Catholic 6 at Binghamton 5/6 Blue, scrimmage
6 to 7:30 p.m. at Roosevelt Elementary
(If no scrimmage, 5/6 will hold a practice during this time.)

Friday, December 19
Chenango Forks 4/5 at Binghamton 4/5
6 p.m. at Roosevelt Elementary

Saturday, December 20
Binghamton 4/5 at Chenango Forks 5/6
3 p.m. at Chenango Forks Middle School

Saturday, December 20
Binghamton 5/6 at doubleheader, Oneonta High School
* 2 p.m. vs. Norwich 5/6
* 3:30 p.m. vs. Oneonta 6

Friday night at Roosevelt

Binghamton 5-6 Blue played Maine-Endwell 5-6 Gold at Roosevelt Elementary on Friday night (December 12) and came away with a 50-26 win. All of Binghamton's players saw significant playing time.

Binghamton 50, M-E Gold 26
Maine-Endwell.......4-12-4-6 -- 26
Binghamton........18-12-14-6 -- 50

Statistics:
* Nate Gaster: 14 points, 6 rebounds
* Anar Doski: 8 points, 2 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 6 points, 7 rebounds
* Alex Vega: 6 points, 7 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 6 points
* Nicky Snyder: 4 points, 10 rebounds
* Jahira Ramos: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 2 points, 1 rebound
* Nathan Oliva: 5 rebounds
* Daenon Davy: 4 rebounds
* Zion Burwell: 2 rebounds

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Notes

Cookie dough fund-raiser
I'm told that the cookie dough will arrive at Horace Mann Elementary on Thursday (December 11). Peter Stewart, principal at HM, has generously allowed for the cookies to be placed in his school's freezer until we can retrieve them. The 4-5 team has a game Thursday (which I'll be officiating), the 5-6 team has a game Friday and both teams are active Saturday (4-5 at Whitney Point, 5-6 at the JC Holiday Tournament). Somewhere in this maze, we'll work out a schedule to get the cookies into everyone's hands for delivery.

Re-organization
By now everyone is aware of our need to re-organize from three teams to two. Due to a lack of players, 5-6 Red was disbanded. Five players were invited to play for the two remaining teams. Invited to play for the 4-5 team were fifth-graders Milton Jimenez, Jonah Chambers and Lorenzo Kennedy. Invited to play for the 5-6 team were Nathan Oliva (6) and Zion Burwell (5).

What's next?
* Thursday (December 11) the 4-5 team hosts SV-5 in a 6 p.m. game at Roosevelt Elementary.
* Friday (December 12) the 5-6 team hosts M-E 5/6 Gold in a 6 p.m. game at Roosevelt Elementary.
* Saturday (December 13) the 4-5 team plays at Whitney Point-4 in a 2:30 p.m. game at Adams Elementary School (which is located just up the hill, past the WP High School). If you need directions, please give me a call at 743-0582.
* Saturday (December 13) the 5-6 team will play three games in the Johnson City Holiday Tournament at the JC K-8 site. The first game is at 12:15 p.m. against Vestal 5-6, followed by a 2:45 p.m. game against Whitney Point-6. Our third game will be against Johnson City Maroon (5-6). Tournament fee is $175 and we're asking each player to contribute $14, if possible. Each player will receive a tournament t-shirt, and tourney winners will receive trophies.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Hosting Johnson City-6 (Monday, Dec. 8)

After being significantly out-rebounded by JC-6 on Friday night, Binghamton 5-6 Blue came back strong Monday night and won a tight ballgame, 46-43.

Blue 46, Johnson City 43
In a game that saw five lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, Blue got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Alex Vega (18 in the first half) to get the victory. Andre Hawkins played smothering defense with several steals, and on the inside, Sarbast Doski and Nicky Snyder had strong, improved games against JC's two big men.

With about 4 minutes left to play, Isiah Turner scored on a nifty Hawkins inbounds pass, underneath the basketball, to give Binghamton a 39-37 lead. JC tied the game at 39 apiece, then connected on 1-for-2 from then foul line to take a 40-39 lead.

Soon after, Hawkins drove to the basket and got his shot to bounce in to recapture the lead at 41-40, but JC had an answer, taking the lead back (42-41).

Turner wasn't finished, though, as his 8-footer swished to give Binghamton the 43-42 edge with 2-minutes-plus remaining. JC tied the game at 43-all on 1-for-2 from the line, but a Vega drive on the right side went in and he was fouled. His free throw missed, but Blue held a 45-43 lead at the 1:43 mark.

JC had a chance to knot the score within the final minute, but both free throws missed, and Hawkins was fouled with 21 seconds remaining, making 1-of-2 from the line to seal the 3-point victory.

Johnson City-6.....12-7-17-7 -- 43
Binghamton..........6-17-14-9 -- 46

Statistics:
Alex Vega - 25 points, 10 rebounds
Isiah Turner - 7 points, 6 rebounds
Nicky Snyder - 6 points, 7 rebounds
Andre Hawkins - 5 points, 3 rebounds
Sarbast Doski - 1 point, 6 rebounds
Nate Gaster - 2 points

Monday, December 8, 2008

Update from the weekend

On Friday evening (December 5), Binghamton 5-6 Blue went up to Johnson City to play their 6 team. The story of the night was pretty simple: 46-24. That was the rebounding advantage for JC. We were unable to keep JC's two tallest players off the boards, and as a result, suffered a 45-35 defeat.

Johnson City 45, Blue 35
Binghamton......6-11-8-10 -- 35
Johnson City...11-8-16-10 -- 45

Statistics:
Alex Vega - 14 points, 4 rebounds
Andre Hawkins - 8 points, 3 rebounds
Sarbast Doski - 4 points, 4 rebounds
Nicky Snyder - 3 points, 4 rebounds
Isiah Turner - 2 points, 6 rebounds
Anar Doski - 2 points, 3 rebounds
Nate Gaster - 2 points

M-E 73, Blue 66
Binghamton..........20-19-12-15 -- 66
Maine-Endwell.....16-16-31-10 -- 73

The following morning, Blue played at Maine-Endwell-6 (out at Maine Memorial Elementary). While Blue outscored M-E in three of the four quarters and led 39-32 at the half, the third quarter was Blue's downfall, as M-E went on an impressive 22-2 run and outscored Binghamton 31-12 in that quarter, alone.

Alex Vega had a game-high 23 points, as Andre Hawkins scored 15. On the boards, Sarbast Doski collected an amazing 26 rebounds, with Nicky Snyder's 18 rebounds were nearly as impressive.

Statistics:
Alex Vega - 23 points, 7 rebounds
Andre Hawkins - 15 points, 5 rebounds
Sarbast Doski - 9 points, 26 rebounds
Nicky Snyder - 7 points, 18 rebounds
Isiah Turner - 8 points, 2 rebounds
Nate Gaster - 4 points, 3 rebounds
Roberto Jensen - 1 rebound

Binghamton (4-5) 42, Norwich 11
Binghamton.....12-10-8-12 -- 42
Norwich.................6-2-0-3 -- 11

Later on Saturday, Binghamton 4-5 traveled to Norwich to play at the YMCA there, and in the 4th- and 5th-graders' first regular-season game, they put on an impressive display, building a 22-8 halftime lead, then cruising to a 42-11 win.

Kyeem Holmes and Casey Walsh led all scorers with 12 points apiece, and while Walsh had several steals in the open court, he frequently found Holmes in the open for fast-break points. Holmes (18) and Suehaidee Masso (12) combined for 30 rebounds, while Walsh and Garrett Apalack grabbed 9 boards apiece. Patrick Goodman scored 8 points and added an impressive 13 rebounds.

Statistics:
Kyeem Holmes - 12 points, 18 rebounds
Casey Walsh - 12 points, 9 rebounds
Patrick Goodman - 8 points, 13 rebounds
Suehaidee Masso - 12 rebounds
Garrett Alapeck - 6 points, 9 rebounds
Jordan Haven - 2 points, 7 rebounds
Austin Becker-Harris - 2 points, 1 rebound

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Next

On the schedule:
* 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, November 29, at the downtown YMCA - Three-way scrimmage, including Binghamton Blue, Binghamton Red and Chenango Valley 5-6
* 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, December 1, at Roosevelt Elementary - Practice for Binghamton Red and Binghamton 4-5

Looking ahead:
* We hope to have a schedule of games from the league (for December) as early as this weekend. After that, I'll put together a more concrete practice schedule for the month, as well.

Fund-raiser update:
* I handed in our cookie orders on Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving). We were delayed due to some money needing to be collected. We did pretty well, but only about a third of our players took part. Because of that, when we order our team sweatshirts, those who did not participate in the fund-raiser will be asked to contribute to the purchase of their shirt. The contribution will likely be approximately 50% to 75% of the shirt's cost, and our fund-raising dollars will pick up the rest of the cost for those players. Anyone who participated in the sale will receive their sweatshirt free of charge.
* I've been told that the cookie dough will arrive at Horace Mann school on December 11. We'll be placing the cookie dough in the school's refrigerator (thanks to Mr. Stewart, our principal there). We'll work out details for pickup soon.
* Austin Becker-Harris, who plays for Binghamton 4-5, led our fund-raising efforts with $402 (nearly one quarter of our total sales). Congratulations and thank you, Austin and family!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Binghamton Blue: 2 weekend scrimmages

The Binghamton 5-6 Blue squad played two scrimmages this weekend, traveling to Owego Friday night, then turning around for an early-Saturday morning run with Chenango Valley.

Friday night against Owego Apalachin 5th/6th graders, Blue won 69-43 in a game of four 10-minute quarters. On Saturday morning, Blue topped 5th/6th graders from CV, 64-30, in a game of three 15-minute periods.

Binghamton Blue 69, Owego Apalachin 43
Blue built an early 10-2 lead on Nick Snyder's strong inside play, combined with Andre Hawkins' pin-point looks inside to Snyder, Isiah Turner and Sarbast Doski. OA came back to within 12-10 at the end of the first, but Blue went on a 17-0 run in the second quarter, and led at halftime, 29-21.

Hawkins continued to run a solid point in the second half, finding Doski inside and hitting Alex Vega on fast breaks, as Blue built a 51-32 lead after the third.

Binghamton Blue 12-17-22-18--69
Owego Apalachin 10-11-11-11--43

Stats:
* Alex Vega: 18 points, 7 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 14 points, 11 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski: 13 points, 10 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 10 points, 8 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 8 points, 5 rebounds
* Nate Gaster: 2 points, 7 rebounds
* Anar Doski: 2 points, 5 rebounds
* Daenon Davy: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Jahira Ramos: 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 2 rebounds

Binghamton Blue 64, Chenango Valley 30
Isiah Turner got Blue off to a hot start, hitting all three of his field goals early, and on consecutive trips down the floor, helping Binghamton build a 14-0 first-period lead. Blue led 24-12 heading into the second period, when the defense stepped up to outscore CV 15-3.

Cousins Anar Doski and Sarbast Doski each converted on field goal/free throw 3-point plays in this contest.

Chenango Valley 12-3-15--30
Binghamton Blue 24-15-25--64

Stats:
* Alex Vega: 17 points, 8 rebounds
* Anar Doski: 14 points, 5 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski: 7 points, 11 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 6 points, 4 rebounds
* Isiah Turner: 6 points, 1 rebound
* Nate Gaster: 4 points, 11 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder: 4 points, 8 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen: 4 points, 1 rebound
* Daenon Davy: 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Jahira Ramos: 1 rebound

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

More notes from the league tourney

At the league tournament Saturday (November 15), our Binghamton 4-5 and Binghamton 5-6 Red squads showed improvement in several areas. While Red's results weren't what they'd hoped for, the competition they faced was extremely tough (Norwich 5-6, SV 6 and Athens 6).

The upside about the tournament is that it's used as a gauge for teams' regular season schedules, and Red will likely be matched up against other squads more at their experience level in the coming weeks/months.

I was able to watch just one of Red's games - their third of a long day at the JC K-8 facility - and there were glimmers of solid play. Red lost one of its bigger inside players early (Tawqeer Aziz) with a twisted ankle, but continued to drive to the basket against a fundamentally sound Athens team.

Here are a few stats for the Red squad in their third game Saturday:
* Yokobo Francis 6 points, 3 rebounds
* Milton Jimenez 4 points, 1 rebound
* Nathan Oliva 2 points, 1 rebound
* Jonah Chambers 4 rebounds
* Julien Munoz 4 rebounds
* Tawqueer Aziz 2 rebounds

The Binghamton 4-5 squad was placed in a very tough bracket for the tournament, first playing against a team of 5th- and 6th-graders from Chenango Forks. Binghamton came up just short in that game, losing 17-16.

In its second game, Binghamton beat a Whitney Point team of 5th-graders in a defensive battle, 8-7. And finishing off the day, Binghamton 4-5 topped a pesky Johnson City 4-5 squad, 23-17.

I asked Tim Doherty, coach for Binghamton 4-5, what he thought the key to the team's successful day was. "They're learning and playing better, no other way to say it," Coach Doherty said.

"Casey Walsh (4) handled the ball for us most of the time, and against Forks, we faced some pretty big kids," Doherty said. "Garret Alapeck (5) was in there against kids 6 inches taller than him and he was getting good position and grabbing rebounds, and Ben (Irwin, 5) and Patrick (Goodman, 5) were in there battling for rebounds, too.

"The kids are really learning to play together," Doherty said.

Monday, November 17, 2008

5-6 Blue (League Tourney Notes)

Binghamton 5-6 Blue played three games in the November 15 league tournament and went 2-1. The following are brief reports from each of the games

Whitney Point 41, Binghamton Blue 36
This WP team is as good as they get, with two towers inside (hard to believe their two post players are actually sixth-graders – skyscrapers) and solid guard play all around. Still, we played with them for 27 of the 30 minutes Saturday.

At about the halfway point, we led 22-16, despite Whitney Point going up and over our interior players for third-, fourth- and fifth-chance baskets. It was frustrating for our low-post guys, but we’re hoping they learned a lesson about the need to box out taller opponents.

The game continued to be close, as we trailed 35-34 with 3:10 remaining. Whitney Point then put it away with a 6-0 mini-run.

I’d estimate that we missed 5 or 6 chip-shot inside chances in this contest … shots that were either “easy” layups, or put-back tries that simply didn’t fall.

Stats from the game:
* Andre Hawkins 6 points, 4 rebounds
* Alex Vega 6 points, 4 rebounds
* Anar Doski 6 points, 3 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski 6 points, 2 rebounds
* Isiah Turner 4 points, 2 rebounds
* Nate Gaster 4 points, 1 rebound
* Nicky Snyder 2 points, 5 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen 2 points, 1 rebound

Binghamton Blue 55, M-E Gold 16
We bounced back with a win over Maine-Endwell Gold, building a lead of 29-6 at about the halfway point. Nine of our 10 players scored in this contest, and everyone contributed, logging significant minutes.

Stats from the game:
* Alex Vega 10 points, 7 rebounds
* Nicky Snyder 10 points, 7 rebounds
* Isiah Turner 8 points, 6 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski 6 points, 4 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins 6 points 2 rebounds
* Anar Doski 6 points 1 rebound
* Nate Gaster 5 points 4 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Daenon Davy 2 points, 2 rebounds
* Jahira Ramos 2 rebounds

Binghamton Blue 28, Oneonta B & G Club 27
Oneonta had tied Whitney Point (29-29) earlier in the day, so we knew this was a solid team. We talked a lot about boxing out and helping out on Oneonta’s more elaborate screening and motion offense.

We led the entire game, getting out to a quick 8-0 lead, but Oneonta stormed back to cut the deficit to 8-7. We put the lead back to 18-7, though. With just a few minutes remaining, we led 28-18 before Oneonta made a nice run at us with a few steals, scoring the final 9 points of the contest.

Stats from the game:
* Alex Vega 10 points, 5 rebounds
* Sarbast Doski 6 points, 6 rebounds
* Isiah Turner 5 points 1 rebound
* Nicky Snyder 4 points, 10 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins 3 points, 2 rebounds
* Nate Gaster 2 rebounds
* Daenon Davy 2 rebounds
* Roberto Jensen 1 rebound

Monday, November 10, 2008

Notes: From Sunday's Tune-Up Tourney

On Sunday (November 8), Binghamton Travel Basketball teams hosted the Tune-up Tournament for the Slim Sylvester Travel League. All three of our teams played games at the downtown YMCA, and all three of our teams learned quite a bit, heading into this Saturday’s league tournament at Johnson City’s K-8 facility.

I watched the Binghamton 4-5 game, as well as one of the Binghamton 5-6 Red team’s two games, so I have observations about those. Of course, I coached the Binghamton 5-6 Blue team, so I have notes from those games, too.

In the future, if Tim Doherty (Binghamton 4-5) and Nick Legos (5-6 Red) would like me to add notes to our site from their games, I’d be happy to.

Starting with the one game played by Binghamton 4-5: The boys lost 12-1 to Susquehanna Valley’s 5th-graders. Of course, many of these scores this weekend are less important than the experience for our players. But looking at the statistics for this game, Kyeem Holmes scored the point, going 1-for-2 from the foul line. Kyeem also collected 3 rebounds.

Other stats:
* Garret Alapeck: 5 rebounds

* Ben Irwin: 3 rebounds
* Casey Walsh: 2 rebounds
* Jordan Haven: 2 rebounds
* Patrick Goodman: 2 rebounds
* Roberto Diaz: 1 rebound
* Team: 1-for-4 from the foul line

The Binghamton 5-6 Red squad played two games Sunday. In the first game, they lost to Maine-Endwell 5th-graders 32-20.

The stats from that game:
* Yokobo Francis: 6 points, 3 rebounds
* Milton Jimenez: 6 points, 2 rebounds
* Tawqeer Aziz: 4 points, 1 rebound
* Jonah Chambers: 2 points, 6 rebounds
* Julien Munoz: 2 points, 4 rebounds
* Nathan Oliva: 2 rebounds
* James Cardwell: 1 rebound
* Team: 0-for-8 from the foul line

In the 5-6 Red team’s second game, they played Athens-5 and lost a close one, 16-13. While I don’t have stats for that game (5-6 Blue played at the same time), assistant coach Dane Burwell said the Red team vastly improved from the first to the second game, in a number of areas.

The Binghamton 5-6 Blue team won all three of its games, beating a sharp-shooting Athens-6 squad 45-27 to a start, following it with a 35-18 win over Johnson City-5, and then a physical 26-24 win over Johnson City-6.

Stats for the 45-27 win over Athens-6:
* Alex Vega: 17 points
* Nick Snyder: 14 points
* Nate Gaster: 6 points
* Andre Hawkins: 4 points
* Isiah Turner: 2 points
* Anar Doski: 2 points
* Team: 3-for-4 from the foul line
* More: While we didn’t keep rebounding stats for this game, Nick Snyder completely dominated underneath. I’d estimate he pulled down 12-15 rebounds, many on the offensive glass; Athens had no answer for Alex Vega, as he slashed his way to the basket several times for lay-ins; Andre Hawkins may have had as many as 10 assists (although we didn’t keep that stat either).

Stats for the 35-18 win over Johnson City-5:
* Alex Vega: 12 points
* Nate Gaster: 6 points, 3 rebounds
* Nick Snyder: 5 points, 5 rebounds
* Andre Hawkins: 4 points
* Isiah Turner: 4 points, 2 rebounds
* Anar Doski: 4 points
* Team: 7-for-14 from the foul line
* More: Daenon Davy, Roberto Jensen and Jahira Ramos played a significant amount of this game, each supplying excellent defense.

Stats for the 26-24 win over Johnson City-6:
* Andre Hawkins: 10 points
* Alex Vega: 10 points
* Isiah Turner: 6 points
* Team: 2-for-6 from the foul line
* More: This was an intense contest, in which JC had two front-line players taller than our tallest. Nick Snyder, while he didn’t score, kept busy by successfully boxing out JC’s biggest player (and best scoring threat) throughout, using his great strength and positioning to his advantage. Andre Hawkins began driving to the basket more in this game, connecting several times, and dishing a handful of fantastic inside assists to Isiah Turner, who was constantly around the basketball in this contest.
* Also: Daenon Davy’s hustling, intense defensive effort found him on the floor perhaps more than he was on his feet, as he was diving after loose basketballs, alongside Roberto Jensen, who made one excellent save as he threw his body out of bounds.

League Tourney Schedule

Here's a link to the schedule for Saturday's League Tournament at the Johnson City K-8 complex (November 15): http://www.tier.net/strage/TIPOFF08.xls

Also, here are the schedules for all three of our teams:

BINGHAMTON 4-5
3 p.m. on Court 3 vs. Chenango Forks 5/6
4:20 p.m. on Court 4 vs. Whitney Point 5
6:20 p.m. on Court 4 vs. Johnson City 4/5

BINGHAMTON 5-6 RED
3:40 p.m. on Court 3 vs. Norwich 5/6
5 p.m. on Court 4 vs. Susquehanna Valley 6
7:40 p.m. on Court 4 vs. Athens 6

BINGHAMTON 5-6 BLUE
3 p.m. on Court 1 vs. Whitney Point 6
4:20 p.m. on Court 1 vs. Maine-Endwell 5/6
6:20 p.m. on Court 1 vs. Oneonta Boys & Girls Club 6

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Cookie dough fund-raiser

All three Binghamton Travel Basketball teams will participate in a "cookie dough" fund-raiser, beginning today (Thursday, October 30). The fund-raiser will conclude on Sunday, November 9 (the same day as our tune-up tournament at the downtown YMCA).

Players should hand in their order forms to me that day.

I will be handing out the packets to the Red 5-6 and the Blue 5-6 team members today (at the 6 o'clock practices) and I will get packets to Coach Doherty so he can hand them out to the players on the Binghamton 4-5 squad, as well.

If you have any questions about the sale, please give me a call at 743-0582.
-SJ

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Practice schedules (through Thanksgiving)

These practice schedules are, of course, subject to change, but here's what we have, through the week of Thanksgiving.

Binghamton 5-6 Blue
* October 23 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 2)
* October 30 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 2)
* November 1 (Sat., 8:30 to 10 a.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1 only)
* November 6 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
* November 8 (Sat., 8:30 to 10 a.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1 only)
***NOV. 9 (SUNDAY) YMCA Tune-Up Tournament***
* November 13 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 2)
***NOV. 15 (SATURDAY) League Tournament at JC***
* November 20 (Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
* November 22 (Sat., 8:30 to 10 a.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1 only)

Binghamton 5-6 Red
* October 23 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1)
* October 25 (Saturday, 8:30 to 10 a.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1 only)
* October 30 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1)
* November 3 (Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
* November 6 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 2)
***NOV. 9 (SUNDAY) YMCA Tune-Up Tournament***
* November 13 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1)
***NOV. 15 (SATURDAY) League Tournament at JC***
* November 20 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 2)

Binghamton 4-5
October 23 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
October 27 (Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
October 30 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
November 6 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1)
November 7 (Friday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
***NOV. 9 (SUNDAY) YMCA Tune-Up Tournament***
November 13 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
***NOV. 15 (SATURDAY) League Tournament at JC***
November 17 (Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at Horace Mann
November 20 (Thursday, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at B-YMCA (Side 1)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Rosters for 2008-09

Binghamton 5-6 Blue
Daenon Davy
Anar Doski
Sarbast Doski
Nate Gaster
Andre Hawkins
Roberto Jensen
Jahira Ramos
Nicky Snyder
Isiah Turner
Alex Vega
*Will Gladney
Head coach: Stephen Jensen (phone 743-0582)

Binghamton 5-6 Red
Tawqeer Aziz
Zion Burwell
James Cardwell
Jonah Chambers
Skyler Fish
Yokobo Francis
Nathan Hagerman
Milton Jimenez
Lorenzo Kennedy
Julien Munoz
Nathan Oliva
Head coach: Nicholas Legos (phone 222-9850)

Binghamton 4-5
Garret Alapeck
Austin Becker-Harris
Roberto Diaz
Patrick Goodman
Jordan Haven
Kyeem Holmes
Benjamin Irwin
Alex Surowka
Casey Walsh
Head coach: Tim Doherty (phone 760-2874)







Introduction to the 2008-09 season

Greetings, all.

I created this blog site as a way to post and share information about our youth basketball program. This season, we will have three teams competing in the Slim Sylvester Travel League (we had just one team participate last season). We wanted to grow the program a bit, since last year we only had 12 student/athletes participating on the one roster. This season, at first glance, we have 33 student/athletes on our rosters.

We held our tryout on Saturday, October 18, at the downtown YMCA, with a very solid turnout. The two-hour tryout session helped evaluate players' talents and to best place them on a team to compete in the league for the 2008-09 season.

Be aware that this is a publically accessible internet destination, so be aware of where you distribute or post the Web address, as I will be posting team rosters and, throughout the season, writing reports about each of our teams.

As we head into our first practice sessions on Thursday, October 23, we have the following teams: Binghamton 5-6 Blue; Binghamton 5-6 Red; and, Binghamton 4-5.

I can be reached most easily by e-mail at: jensens@oacsd.org

Also, while I will try to keep this blog spot updated, you may also want to save the Web site for the league, as it will eventually contain the divisions and schedules for the season (as well as background information about the league): http://tier.net/strage/