Today at the Vertical Rise Above Challenge, almost every game came down to the wire. 13-Under Lipow started off the day with a dramatic overtime win over CBA 45 to 43. Jack Petrafesa dominated the game on both sides of the ball, with steals everywhere and a "quiet" 30 points. The score was tied and the Fierce held for the final shot, when Jack attacked the rim to get fouled with only 1.6 seconds remaining. He swished the front-end of the 1-and-1 and the second free throw. Rory Tarsy then intercepted CBA's inbounds pass to end the game. JT Shapiro drilled two huge 2nd half three-pointers and Eamon Jones had one clutch three of his own. TJ Martere and Aston Martin fought down low against larger opponents. 13-Under Bindner split a pair of competitive games and received notable contributions across the board. Jack Bloomingdale, Jack Iacono and Tobey Sappern were forces inside. Andre Mead and Zarius Eusebe were pushing the pace together from the guard positions. 12-Under Seawright hung tough on the day as well. Jordan Katz controlled the offense, with Ryan Mollica and Gavin McCarthy running the floor and carrying the scoring load. Theo Mante continued his strong play inside. Chris Gervasi and Jake Medor contributed great hustle and timely baskets. 11-Under Seawright were bit by the injury bug but never gave up. Liam Ryan continued his monster season of rebounds and inside scoring. Devin Agah was scooting around the floor for every loose ball, and Owen Jacobson was earning himself visits to the charity stripe because of his physical play. Last but not least 10-Under Bindner had two great games of their own. Devin Kass and Aleko Vergakis delivered the shot-making, Grady Kaliski and Will Jacobs were in the mix for every rebound, and Charlie Scott and Felix Crawford were everywhere defensively. But the day belonged to Danny Goldberger -- Danny scored 25 points in the second game on a variety of lay-ups, fast breaks and three-pointers. One more day of fall tournament action to go!

Despite playing older, bigger teams at almost every turn this weekend -- the Fierce kept fighting together -- and never turned on each other. In this sense, it might have been our proudest weekend of the fall.   13-Under Lipow hung with the New England Playaz in two games with standout performances from Max Andrews and Jack Petrafesa. They were the dominating players on a court filled with year-round, high-flying hoopers. JT Shapiro controlled the offense at point guard. Dillon Mannix stretched the floor with long-range shooting. Jack Knott and TJ Martere crashed the boards. However, the most memorable play of the weekend -- and maybe fall season -- belonged to Rory Tarsy. As the Playaz big man attacked the rim in transition, Rory (half his size) met him upon lift off with the "stuff heard round the world". In their 46-30 win over CT Elite, Eamon Jones delivered the offensive firepower with corner 3's and drives to the basket.   A great experience heading into our final fall tournament next weekend!

Today in Bristol, CT all 5 Fierce teams were in action.   13-Under Lipow got the day started right with a hard fought 42-34 win over Avon. Dillon Mannix and Liam Ryan caught fire from long-range. TJ Martere had approximately 10 rebounds and 5 rejections. Jack Petrafesa lit it up with 18 points in the 2nd half to close out the game. The squad kept it going vs West Hartford thanks to more hot shooting from Liam Ryan and inside work from TJ Martere. But it was Aston Martin who flaunted his mid-range game, aggressive to the hoop with nifty passing to the cutters through the lane.   13-Under Bindner then rallied to also defeat West Hartford 43-35. Andre Mead continued his torrid play on both sides of the ball. Andre was defending, shooting, hitting the open man on the break, and mixing in some jaw-dropping moves to the basket. Jack Bloomingdale was making his presence known in the paint area. Miles Bradley, Gerard Roarty and Samuel Frank were knocking down their shots. The boys fell short in their 2nd game to Norwalk but not without a fight. Jake Fitzpatrick delivered a very impressive performance scoring 8 points and grabbing at least 8 rebounds, all while taking on the task of guarding the opposing center that was twice his size.   12-Under Seawright had their best day of the fall season. In a 36-29 victory over Norwalk, Kyle DeFonce was everywhere on the floor and playing with great assertiveness. Theodore Mante was a beast down low for the Fierce, finishing every possession strong to the rim. The team carried the momentum into the second game and were clicking on all cylinders. Jack Balsano was flying around the passing lanes and for the offensive rebounds. Jordan Katz and Ryan Mollica were a dynamic guard duo, working together all game with swarming defense and pace-pushing transition offense. Ryan scored an estimated 16 points and Jordan got his own while setting up teammates all day long. Jake and Jamar Medor was hustling everywhere and knocking down shots, and on one fast break Jake hit older brother Jamar right in stride for the score.   11-Under Seawright kept fighting in their 2 games with Finbar Malloy having himself a nice scoring day. Nate Moore and Michael Bernier were all over the glass as usual, and Ryan Moore was running through defenses as usual. Will Kane contributed some outside shooting.   10-Under Bindner also had a resilient day with good shooting from Matt Garcia, Danny Goldberger and Devin Kass, and defensive energy from Charlie Scott. Grady Kaliski had the highlight play with a fast break And-1 in the second game.   Great day for the Fierce boys!

Fierce 13-Under Lipow came alive in the 2nd half of Monday's DeSantis Fall League opener to defeat PHD Basketball by a final score of 32 to 24.   The half-time score was only 14 to 8, but the Fierce opened up the second session on a 14-0 run with a new pep in their step. They used swarming defensive pressure to breathe life into a slow offensive start. Jack Petrafesa led the charge, literally, crashing into scorers' tables and worrying the crowd. Jack caught fire in the 2nd half with his basket attacks and long range shooting. TJ Martere was a force on the glass and also contributed some intimidating rejections. Rory "the X factor" Tarsy came up huge in the clutch with a rainbow three-point swish from the wing, and a free throw in the 1-and-1 bonus situation.