Congratulations to our Freshman team for winning the Vertical Hoops Fall Tip-Off Tournament this weekend!   Coach Judah and Coach Cleveland led them to 4 straight defensive masterpieces. We are proud to have grown up with this group and welcomed some new faces into the mix.   7th grade took their Championship Game into overtime against a team that had defeated them by 11 points the day before.   5th, 6th and 8th grades all competed hard. A great weekend by all Fierce teams!

What a finish to the spring season for our Fairfield Fierce.   11u Redding won their THIRD consecutive tournament with contributions from everyone. Their help man to man defense was on point. That's a 12 game winning streak to close the season!   12u Radding snuck out a thrilling final game to their spring by a score of 44 - 41. They were moving the ball quickly, which made for open shots that they were sinking through the nets.   13u Lipow advanced to their Championship by overcoming a 6 point halftime deficit against the CT All Stars. They pulled it out with great energy, team chemistry and clutch shot making.   14u Seawright won both of their Saturday games because of tenacious defense and toughness. They were a hard-nosed gritty team all spring led by Coach Judah.   Thank you to all Fierce families for making this spring our biggest, baddest season yet. Summer skills clinics and other programming already underway!

Another memorable Fierce weekend!   11u Redding steamrolled through their bracket to capture a second consecutive tournament championship. They've won 8 straight games in this impressive run. It's been a complete team effort by the boys on both sides of the ball, and steered by the great leadership of Coach John Redding. While up at their games in Harwinton, the squad met and took photos with UCONN legend Rebecca Lobo!   14u Seawright and 13u Lipow each one 2 of 3 games with contributions from across their entire rosters.   10u Bindner wrapped up their spring season with another victory over High Rise Elite.

This weekend at the CT SuperCup, 11u Redding won 4 straight games to take home the trophy! In the championship -- Ezra Fearon, Devin Julious and Bobby Welch led the Fierce to a 61 - 58 victory over CSA Velocity.   10u Bindner also had a great weekend. The boys built on a great day of Saturday hoops to pull out the "Miracle in Newtown".... topping High Rise Elite 33 - 13 with only 5 players. At one point in the game, the Fierce only had 4 players on the floor -- but they helped each other on defense and spaced the floor for clean open shots.   Congratulations to both!

Two Fierce squads were in action this weekend: 11u Redding and 13u Lipow. And both teams advanced all the way to their Championship Games.   11u Redding rolled past High Rise Elite by 20 points and then CT PHD by 15 points to qualify for the championship. Their stifling defense held both Fairfield County challengers to only 23 points of offense. They eventually lost to the Marksmen. The passing and teamwork was excellent all-around. Devin Julious was carrying the scoring load.   13u Lipow ran off 4 straight wins before coming up 1 point short of the tournament crown, losing 48-47 in over-time. On their way, they defeated the Westchester Lightning, High Rise Elite, Open Court Wildcats and East Side Escalades. Jordan Katz and Julian Marottolo led the scoring charge. Luca Fusco played lock down defense vs the Open Court Wildcats -- earning him Player of the Game honors. Kyle DeFonce had a break-out performance vs High Rise Elite. Jack Michalowski and Caidon Clayton embraced the challenge of shutting down the go-to-scorer for the East Side Escalades. Jack Iacono crashed the boards and Harrison Pratt put in timely baskets. Nolan Hansen operated efficiently inside the paint area.

For the second consecutive weekend, two Fierce teams advanced to their Championship Games. 12u Radding did it again, and this time was joined by 14u Seawright.   12u Radding was spearheaded by the hot outside shooting of Brendan Devine, dominant inside play of Liam Yin and ferocious defense of Roan Smith. Alex Fieweger was beating the defense off the dribble -- as were Devin Kass, Devin Agah and Tyler Fleming. Nicolas Alvarez and Rami Hennawi were doing work in the paint area.   14u Seawright used a 2 point victory over High Rise Elite to advance. Ryan Goldberger was in all of the right spots. Andrew Soltis was tough down low as the lone big man. Dillon Mannix, Andre Mead and Chase Meyer all contributed strong perimeter play.   Then in a remarkable turn of events, a completely out-sized 14u Seawright team showed the heart of a champion to bounce back from a 57-27 loss to CSA Velocity on Saturday... and defeat them just one day later 60-51 with all of the same players. The stakes were high -- it was for the tournament championship.   JT Shapiro went ballistic with 16 points including two crucial And-1's. Ryan Goldber scored 13 points and played stifling defense. Dillon Mannix was raining three-pointers. Andrew Soltis fought through illness A LA the Michael Jordan flu game.   We are so proud of these boys' resilience.

This weekend, the most ever Fierce teams (6) kicked off their spring AAU seasons at the Tri-State Grand Opener. The UNSUNG HERO performances were:   Dillon Mannix and Ryan Goldberger of 14u Seawright showed that being undersized isn't necessarily a bad thing. They were quicker to the loose balls, faster down the court and money from 3 point land.   Tyler Moody of 14u Moore used his athleticism to make an impact. Connor Gitman executed the game plan successfully.   Julian Marottolo of 13u Lipow backed down from noone, making it clear that he was playing to compete every second regardless of opponent.   Chris Gervasi of 12u Radding controlled the game tempo to keep the group in sync. Liam Yin and Nicolas Alvarez, the "twin towers", dominated the rebounds and defended the paint together all weekend long.   Ezra Fearon of 11u Redding used his length and speed to make play after play. Ryan Moore was getting out on the break for easy buckets. Devin Julious was marveling the crowd with a variety of crafty moves. Finbar Malloy was crashing the boards, Will Kane draining shots from outside and Hayden Banner setting up offensive sets in the half court.   Kyle Dulak of 10u Bindner broke the defensive pressure and distributed to teammates. Caden Quigley was impressive underneath the basket. Colin Ryan used his strength and speed to impact the game defensively. Krish Dodani, Aleko Vergakis and Dylan McCarthy all contributed scoring.

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!