LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JANUARY 29, 2023 Le Roy Youth Basketball by Ric Vangalio GLOW BASKETBALL LE ROY VS. ATTICA (01/07/23): The LeRoy 6th Grade Black team, which actually consists of a mixture of 5th and 4th Grade boys squared off against Attica to open up the 2023 GLOW Basketball season. The Knights knew they would be in for a battle against an older, more experienced and much bigger Attica team. The Knights came out like David against Goliath in the first period. Le Roy used an aggressive offense led by guards Ryker Vangalio and Dylan Loftus, along with added points from Carter McClurg to show Attica they were not to be taken lightly. Le Roy also used a stifling defense in the first period that shocked Attica, who didn’t know what hit them as the Knights jumped out to an early 13-2 lead. As the game went on, Attica’s size proved to be difficult as it gave them multiple opportunities on the offensive boards. Combine that with the Knights going cold in the 2nd and 3rd periods, a game that originally looked like a blowout, turned into a close contest. Late in the 4th, with a slim 2 point lead, Attica turned on the full court press. Taking the ball out under his own basket with less than a minute to play, Blake Biracree hit Dylan Loftus with a long pass which allowed Loftus to connect on a breakaway left handed layup and put the Knights back up by 4 for some much needed wiggle room. Harrison Porter and Kiptyn Cone provided the defense late in the game which allowed the Knights to come away with a 30-28 victory and start the season 1-0. The Knights were led in scoring by Ryker Vangalio who scored 15 points. Also contributing were Dylan Loftus (8 points), Carter McClurg (2 points), Blake Biracree (2 points), Cole Cray (2 points) and Thomas Englerth ( 1 point). The Knights welcome the Pavilion Gophers at home for their next game. GLOWBASKETBALL LE ROY VS. PAVILION (01/14/23): Coming off a win last week vs Attica the Le Roy Knights had another matchup vs a team that towered over them in size. The Knights knew they would be outmatched in the height department inmost games this year, as they play up a grade, but they hoped to make up for it with their speed, ball handling and athleticism. In the beginning the size of Pavilion looked like it was going to be a problem as the Knights struggled to stop the low post scoring of the Gophers. Le Roy countered with a well balanced offense with Dylan Loftus, Kiptyn Cone, Ryker Vangalio, Carter McClurg and Harrison Porter, who all added baskets to put Le Roy on top 15-6 at the end of the first period. Thomas Englerth had decided he had enough of Pavilion’s big men giving the Knights fits, as he used a physical style defense and completely shut down any more scoring coming from inside the lane for the rest of the 2nd period. Englerth also added 4 points in the quarter on offense. Combined with Blake Biracree and Cole Cray adding buckets in the second period, Le Roy already had every member of the team contribute on the offensive side. Le Roy extended their lead to 35-10 at the half. In the 2nd half, the Knight’s defense and speed proved to be too much for Pavilion, as they completely pulled away from the Gophers. Allowing only 4 second half points, and using the fast break to their advantage Le Roy finished off the game in an impressive fashion and came away with a 65-14 victory. The Knights had a complete team victory with everyone contributing on offense. Leading the way was Ryker Vangalio with 26 points. Also contributing were Dylan Loftus with 12 points, Carter McClurg with 8 points, Thomas Englerth with 6 points, Blake Biracree with 5 points, Kiptyn Cone with 4 points and Harrison Porter and Cole Cray with 2 points apiece. The Knights move to 2-0 on the season and face a tough Perry team next. 5TH GRADE GLOW BASKETBALL VS WARSAW (01/07/23): Le Roy’s 5th Grade GLOW team started off the 2023 season on the road vs Warsaw. Going in to this match-up, this was expected to be a close game and it definitely did not disappoint. Both offenses struggled to get going, and tough defense by both teams only made it more difficult to put points on the board. Le Roy’s Drew Spink provided some sparks on offense for the Knights, along with Wyatt Whipple and Quinton Ianni to give the 5th Grade Knights an 8-4 lead after the first half of play. Mason Biggins came up with some big time rebounds and Lucas Miller provided some great hustle and shut down defense in the first half as well. In the second half, Warsaw tried to get back into the ball game but the defense of Le Roy led by Eli Fortuna wasn’t about to let that happen. Andrew Sibley also scored in the 2nd half to help provide a 15-6 victory and start the season 1-0 for the Knights. Le Roy was led in scoring by Drew Spink (8 points). Also contributing on offense was Quinton Ianni (3 points), Wyatt Whipple (2 points) and Andrew Sibley (2 points). Le Roy faces off against Pavilion next week. BOYS 5TH GRADE GLOW BASKETBALL VS PAVILION (01/14/23): The Le Roy 5th Grade boys team started off a little slow in a victory last week, and was hoping to get a little quicker start this week against Pavilion. Both Drew Spink and Benton Biracree made sure that was going to happen as both guards combined for 8 points in the 1st period. Andrew Sibley and Mason Biggins added 2 points apiece as well, as the Knights took a 12-6 lead at the end of the first. Le Roy’s offense went a little cold in the 2nd period but great defensive efforts by Lucas Miller and Wyatt Whipple helped them hold on to a slim 16-11 lead at the end of the half. The 2nd half was a tight ball game the entire way through as the game went back and forth until the 4th period. In the 3rd it was Quinton Ianni and in the 4th it was Eli Fortuna who provided some huge shots for the 5th Grade Knights, which allowed them to hold on for a nail biting 24-22 victory and start the young season 2-0. Drew Spink and Ben Biracree led the Knights in scoring with 8 points a piece. Also contributing on offense was Andrew Sibley, Quinton Ianni, Eli Fortuna and Mason Biggins, all with 2 points of their own. Le Roy 5th Grade takes on Wheatland-Chili next week.
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