The sound of basketballs have filled the air in January at the Sciole School gym, as the Depew Recreation Department’s basketball program returned after a two-week break for the holidays. The junior and senior conferences continued their regular-season schedule, while the rookie and midget conferences began their regular-season games.

Junior Conference Action

Pacers 51, Knicks 48

In a battle of 1-0 teams, the Pacers (2-0) earned their second win of the season, 51-48, over the Knicks (1-1). Joey Mescall tallied 12 points in the first half, leading the Pacers to a 25-17 halftime advantage. Mescall finished with a game-high 16 points.

Tyler Sokolowski and Alex Konst scored eight points apiece in the second half to help thwart the Knicks second-half rally. Sokolowski finished with 14 points, while Konst netted 12 points. Rounding out the Pacers’ scoring were Joey Stoj with six points and Eric Geisel with three points.

The Knicks battled hard throughout the game but couldn’t get the defensive stop needed to overtake the Pacers. Paul Sobolewski led seven Knicks’ players in the scoring column with 10 points and also dished out numerous assists. Matt Devic played hard on both ends of the court and finished with nine points. Brett Kaska and Jordan Skieresz split 16 points, while Alex Kostek tallied six points. Dan Speyer with five points and Derek “Energy” Brandle had a basket for two points.

Warriors 64, Cavs 39

The Warriors (1-1) broke away from a two-point halftime lead, outscoring the Cavs (0-2), 38-15, in the second half of play while cruising to a 64-39 victory.

Tyler Lis of the Warriors dominated play on both ends of the court and led all scorers in the game with 34 points. Tyler Witt played a good game at point guard while scoring eight points. Kyle Belcher also scored eight points, while Pat Swiatek and Brian Jandzinski had six points each. Devin Suarez had a basket for two points.

After playing a good first half, the Cavs couldn’t match the intensity of the Warriors in the second half of play and fell to 0-2 on the young season. Andy Fellner and Jake Valley led the Cavs in scoring with 12 points apiece. Alex Damiani played tough under the boards and managed seven points. Carson Valley with six points and Noah Speyer with two points rounded out the scoring for the Cavs.

Warriors 59, Knicks 58

The Warriors (2-1) held off a second half rally by the Knicks (1-2) to escape with a 59-58 victory. Leading by 18 points at the half, the Warriors appeared to be in position to win this contest with ease. However, they needed Tyler Witt’s free throw with 30 seconds left to secure the victory. Paul Sobolewski of the Knicks hit a basket at the buzzer for the final points.

The Warriors were led in scoring by Devin Suarez and Tyler Witt with 14 and 13 points respectively. Pat Swiatek chimed in with six points.

Sobolewski, Jordan Skieresz and Alex Kostek each managed 12 points to lead the Knicks in the scoring column.

Cavs 53, Pacers 47

The Cavs (1-2) picked up their first win of the season while knocking the Pacers (2-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 53-47 triumph. The Cavs held a slim, one-point lead at halftime, 25-24, and this game remained tight throughout the second half of play.

Jake Valley led the Cavs on both ends of the floor. On offense, Valley scored 19 points while playing good team defense as he contributed nine blocked shots. Noah Speyer added 10 points to the attack, while Jake’s younger brother Carson scored four points.

Tyler Sokolowski had a strong second half for the Pacers with 15 points, to help keep them in the game. He led the Pacers with 21 points. Joey Stoj had 12 points, all in the first half, while Jaret Stankowski scored eight points, all when his team needed a scoring boost. Eric Geisel finished with four points.

Senior Conference Action

Bucks 81, Suns 53

Josh Pijacki scored 18 of his game-high 33 points in the first half of play to help the Bucks (1-1) build a 49-26 advantage and post an 81-53 triumph over the Suns (1-1). Tyler Lis chipped in with 23 points while Mac Garby hit for 18 markers. Andy Fellner scored six points, and Alex Creighton hit one of two free throws to finish the scoring for the Bucks.

The Suns fell into an early hole and could not recover as they dropped their first game of the season. Gary Kostek led all Suns’ players with 18 points. Alex Kerl and Ryan Becht also scored in double digits with 10 points apiece.

Kevin Carr had five points, all in the second half. Ryan Stekl and Kevin Geisel each scored four points, while Dmitry Plowy had a basket for two points.

Midget Conference Action

Hornets 54, Celtics 53

Justin Zolonowski of the Hornets (1-0) scored what proved to be the winning basket with 45 seconds remaining in the game to rally his team a 54-53 victory over the Celtics (0-1). On the previous trip down court, Aiden Zerkowski’s basket had pulled the Hornets to within one point.

The Celtics enjoyed a three-point halftime lead at 30-27 and led most of the second half until the Hornets caught fire at the end of the game.

Zolonowski led three Hornet players in double figures with 24 points. Zerkowski followed up with 12 points and Brendan Walsh tallied 10 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Hornets were Jake Nowicki and Joe Ellias with four points each.

Andrew Glenn, of the Celtics, lit it up as he scored a career-high 28 points. Nick Rembecki helped out with 11 points and Jacob Schmidt scored eight points. William Cartwright finished the scoring with six points.

Spurs 51, Lakers 48

Jake Evenhouse scored the go-ahead basket and Ben Damiani added an insurance basket as the Spurs (1-0) squeaked past the Lakers (0-1), 51-48.

The Spurs grabbed the early lead in this see-saw affair led by Ben Damiani’s 17 first-half points. The Lakers battled back to make it a three-point contest at the half on the strong play of Brandon Smith and Austin Walsh.

Damiani led all scorers in the game, ripping the nets for 33 points for the victorious Spurs. Ryan Scinta pitched in with eight points and Jake Evenhouse, four points. Mike Creighton, Henry Hansen and Jeff Banasik all scored a basket for two points.

The Lakers were led in the scoring column by Austin Walsh’s 16 points. Following close behind were Ryan Reddien and Brandon Smith with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jacob Curr and Corey Hoffines each scored four points. Devyn Szarpa had a field goal for two points.

Bulls 40, Pistons 33

The Bulls (1-0) raced out to an 18-11 halftime advantage and defeated the Pistons (0-1) by that same margin, 40-33. The duo of Brandon Kostek and Matt Garry were like John Stockton and Karl Malone wheeling and dealing down the court.

Garry led all scorers in the game with 16 points, including four of six from the charity stripe. Alec Blamowski supported Garry offensively by knocking down 10 points, while Kostek scored eight points and controlled the game from the point. Jack McGuane scored four points in his Depew Recreation Basketball debut, while Nick Dowling added two points.

John Speyer with 13 points and Augustine Arricale with 10 paced the Pistons offensively. Austin Luksch and Tyler Andrzejewski added four points apiece, and Ethan Craddock finished the scoring with two points. Despite not scoring a point in the game. Jacob Warden helped keep his team in the game with excellent defensive play.

Celtics 42, Pistons 40

Andrew Glenn scored 28 points to lead the Celtics (1-1) past the Pistons (0-2), 42-40.

The Celtics led this nip and tuck affair, 26-22, at the half and held off the Pistons attempts to take the lead throughout the second half to claim the win. Nick Rembecki and William Cartwright scored four points apiece. Jacob Schmidt added a basket for two points and Matt Nyguen played excellent defense to help the Celtics to the win.

Despite losing their second close game in as many weeks, the Pistons showed that they will be a force throughout the season. John Speyer led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points, while Jacob Warden and Austin Luksch each scored eight points. Augustine Arricale finished with six points. Tyler Andrzejewski and Ethan Craddock tallied two points apiece. Craddock also displayed great defense with many steals and hustle on both ends of the court.

Bulls 67, Lakers 32

The Bulls (2-0) scored early and often, racing out to a 35-14 halftime advantage while cruising to a 67-32 victory over the undermanned Lakers (0-2). Tyler Depczynski led four Bulls players in double figures with 23 points. Matt Garry helped out with 16 points, while Brandon Kostek and Alec Blamowski scored 12 and 10 points respectively. Jack McGuane rounded out the scoring with six points.

The Lakers were led in scoring by Ryan Reddian with 14 points and Austin Walsh with 12 points. Jacob Curr finished with six points.

Hornets 57, Spurs 23

The Hornets (2-0) broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Spurs (1-1), 32-15, as Justin Zolnowski scored 16 of his game high 24 in the second half of play to lead the way. Aiden Zerkowski chipped in with 11 points, while Brendan Walsh and Alex Depczynski scored 10 points apiece. Jake Nowicki finished with a basket for two points.

Ben Damiani led the Spurs in scoring with 15 points. Samantha Garry, Jeff Banasik, Ryan Scinta and Jake Evenhouse all had two points for the Spurs.

Rookie Conference

Nets 34, Braves 16

The Nets (1-0) grabbed a 16-6 halftime lead and never looked back in this game as they defeated the Braves, 34-16. Two baskets apiece in the first half by Joshua Jelonek, Anthony Manhard and Max Harrison helped to get the offense started. Matt Jandzinski took over in the second half, scoring 14 of his game-high 16 points to put the game away.

Brandon Schmitt, Daniel Christopher and Evan Schafer each scored a basket as all seven Nets’ players scored in this game.

Jacob Ellias led the Braves in scoring with 12 points. Bryan Schumann helped out with four points.

Suns 49, Bucks 37

Alex Kerl poured in 43 points to rally the Suns (2-1) past the Bucks (1-2) in the Senior Conference of the Depew Recreation Department Basketball Program.

The Bucks held a six-point advantage at 32-26 at the half thanks in part to AJ Luksch, who scored 18 points. The second half belonged to Kerl as he tallied 33 of his 43 points on a variety of shots as the Suns outscored the Bucks, 49-35, to win going away.

Dmitry Plowy supported Kerl’s effort with 16 points for the Suns. Kevin Carr scored 10 points and had a strong game on the boards. Kevin Geisel completed the Suns scoring with six points.

Luksch continued his offensive prowess for the Bucks in the second half, scoring another 18 points to finish with a team-high 36 points. Ricky Harcrow and Gray Warrington split 24 points, while Andy Speiss finished with five points.

Nets 36, Braves 24

The Nets (2-0) made it two straight wins over the Braves (0-2), 36-24, as Max Harrison scored a season-high 12 points to lead the way.

Clinging to a slim six-point halftime lead, 16-10, the Nets slowly pulled away in the second half of play. Matt Jandzinski continued to show good offensive moves as he reached double figures for the second straight game, scoring 10 points. Joshua Jelonek scored eight points and had numerous assists. Anthony Manhard scored four points, while Evan Schafer scored the first basket of his young career for two points.

The Braves fought hard until the bitter end and were lead in scoring by Bailey Moskal with nine points. Jacob Elias added six points while Bryan Schumann contributed four points. Bianca Smith with three points and Jacob Sacilowski with two points completed the scoring for the Braves. Although not able to break into the scoring column, Ryan Barry played good defense all afternoon and was a good team player.