The last time Little NBA was played in the St. Paul’s gymnasium, the Tesla Cybertruck had not been heard of yet.
Little did we know when the season wrapped up in May of 2019, that we would not hear the bounce of another ball until February of 2023.
Little NBA is back again, and the first two weeks have been filled with some spectacular play and fantastic camaraderie.
In week one, many students were out enjoying and relearning the game of basketball or playing for the first time.
St. Paul student coaches were energetic and enthusiastic and were happy to be on the sidelines cheering and helping younger students learn the game.
The second week of games saw three of the four games decided by a point or less and two of the games were decided in the last minute of the game.
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The first game of the night saw the Pelicans and the 76ers of the grade 5/6 division go right down to the wire, but the Pelicans prevailed 18-16.
Points were hard to come by and no team led by more than four points the entire game.
The Pelicans were led by Noah Gilchrist with 12 points and Bradley Whitehouse was the hardest working player.
Quintynn Amodeo led the 76ers in scoring with 12 points and the hardest working player was Aiden Russell.
The Pelicans and 76ers both now have a 1-1 record.
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In game two of the grade 5/6 division the Celtics squeaked out a 35-34 victory over the Rockets.
The Celtics built an early lead in the first half, but their scoring dried up in the second half and the Rockets slowly chipped into the lead and even took the lead for a while in the second half, but the Celtics’ balanced scoring was too much for the Rockets to overcome.
Carson Schwager led the Celtics with six points while Andrew Koning, Georgia Baker, Brody Bucholtz, Ryker Donnelly, Maddox Donnelly, and Ella Starnes all had four points each. Ella Starnes was the hardest working player.
The Rockets were led by Lucas Robertson who had 34 points for the Rockets and the hardest working player was Abigael Roberts. The Celtics and Rockets are both now 1-1 on the season.
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In the first game of the grade 7/8 division the nearly full-capacity Falcons gymnasium was treated to a game that was decided in the final seconds.
The Clippers and Raptors battled back and forth all night and the Clippers had a chance to win the game with the final shot but could not sink the shot and as the Raptors players rebounded the ball the final buzzer sounded with the Raptors edging the Clippers 32-31.
Landin Ross led the way for the Raptors with 12 points and the hardest working player was Ashir Graham.
The Clippers were led by Michael Hazelwood with 16 points and the hardest working player was Ben Peterson. The Raptors are 1-1 while the Clippers are still searching for their first win of the season.
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In the second game of the grade 7/8 division the Bucks came out and scored early and often as the Laker defense had no answer for Colton Power who scored 22 for the Bucks. The hardest working player for the Bucks was Nicola Roberts.
The Lakers tried to match the Bucks offensive pace but in the end the shots were just not falling.
Kale Tawse led the Lakers with eight points in a 42–16 loss. The Lakers’ hardest working player was Finley Simpson.
The Bucks are now 2-0 while the Lakers are 1-1.