Mountain View Christian Academy: St. John's the Baptist Catholic Church (VB)

The varsity guys headed back bright and early Saturday morning to Mountain View Christian Academy to start the tournament games off at 9am. This time, though, they were taking on St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.The boys came ready to play, and once again presented a back and forth match of baskets between the teams. St. John's took the lead but never by much, keeping it an intense game the whole way through. Unfortunately the Warriors fell short by 8 in the end, leaving the final score 56-48.

Daniel Passarelli was the high scorer of the morning with 13 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist. Toby McGrath was right behind him scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Joel Kehr contributed 9 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. Jonathan Pefley had 6 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and an assist and block. Josiah Catstens also scored 6 points, along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.

It was a long week of games but the boys always played their hardest and showed Godly character on the court. They now had one day of rest to prepare for their first regular season game on Monday.

Mountain View Christian Academy Tournament: Mountain View Christian Academy (VB)

The varsity guys headed to Mountain View Christian Academy for their second tourament of the week. After a delayed start due to bad traffic, the game quickly started. The opponent of the night was the hosting team, the Mountain View Christian Academy Conquerors. From the very start the game was intense, with basket-to-basket scoring matches and very enthusiastic fans cheering the Conquerors on. But our boys pressed through the noise and kept with the Conquerors, only being down a few points at halftime.

The second half started just as fast paced and energetic, but as time went on the Conquerors took advantage of the Warriors small mistakes and took the lead, leaving the final score 62-49. It was a hard fought game, but the boys showed Godly character through the entire thing.

Toby McGrath led the team with a double-double of 15 points, 14 rebounds, and a block. Following him was Josiah Carstens with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal. Right behind him was Joel Kehr scoring 10 points. Jason Kehr had 4 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Jonathan Pefley contributed 3 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist. Daniel Passarelli had a basket, 4 assists, and 2 boards. Michael chipped in 4 rebounds and a block.

Grace Academy Tournament: Fulton County Christian School (VB)

After a tough game the night before, the varsity boys were more than ready to take on the Fulton County to claim 3rd place in the tournament. But unlike the night before, the boys came out better prepared and very ready to meet the opposing team. The game was clearly under the Warriors control within the first few minutes of the game. From there it was a clear road to victory, with all the players already getting playing time by halftime.

Starting out the second half, the Warriors showed much skill by getting many fast-break layups and great assists leading to wide open shots. The Warriors proudly took home the victory ending the game with the score 60-42.

Each player contributed to the score, leading them all was Toby McGrath with a double-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists. Joel Kehr also led the team in scoring having 15 points along with 4 steals, 3 assists, and a block. Michael Pefley followed him with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal. Daniel Passarelli had 5 points, 2 rebuonds, and an assist. Zach Nelson scored his first baskets having 4 points and 5 boards while Michael Owens also had 4 points with an assist and a steal. Jonathan Pefley contributed a basket and 9 boards. Jason Kehr had 5 assists with Josiah Carstens right behind him dishing out 4. Josiah Freese also had an exciting first varsity basket while Andrew Leaman sunk a 3-pointer!

It was a great game, each player showed great teamwork resulting in a big win. Awesome job guys!

Grace Academy Tournament: Mountain View Christian Academy (VB)

The varsity boys kicked off the first game of the season by participating in the Grace Academy Tournament. The opposing team was the Mountain View Christian Academy Conquerors. From the very start of the game, it was a back and forth scoring match between the two teams. First game jitters were evident, but the guys pressed through and kept the score close.

The intensity didn't change as the 2nd half began, each team getting turnovers resulting in easy layups. But as time went on the Conquerors pulled out the win in the last few minutes, leaving the final score 64-59. The guys played well for their first game, and even though it wasn't a win they looked forward to the consolation game for 3rd place the next day.

Daniel Passarelli led the team with 22 points. Following him was Josiah Carstens with 18 points, Joel Kehr with 11 points, and Toby McGrath and Jonathan Pefley with 3 points each.

NCSAA Tournament: Day 3

Saturday morning the boys had an early game time, having a tip-off at 9am. This game was for 3rd place in division 4D. It was early, but the boys played like they had been awake for a while getting ready for this game. The game was close from the opening buzzer to the final buzzer; and physical too, with the referees letting the boys play. At the end of the first quarter the Warriors were up 17-12. The second quarter still had the crowd on the edge of their seat with the Warriors leading 29-20 at half.

In the second half the boys did not disappoint. But the third quarter the game was in reach for either team and it was not clear who would win. The Warrior boys however wanted the game more. In the fourth quarter Daniel Passarelli made a game changing three-pointer, after sitting out the end of the 3rd quarter as a result of having taken a very hard charge agaisnt Community Prep's star player (#12) giving him his fourth foul. Daniel then stole the ball from #12 with the score of 49-48 and the clock reading 1.8 seconds, securing the win and causing the crowd to leave the seats!

Daniel Passarelli led the team with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Chris Leao was right behind him with a double-double of 12 points, 16 rebounds, and an assist. John Koffman was next with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Josiah Carstens had 9 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a board. Toby McGrath chipped in a bucket and 11 rebounds. It was a great game held by all the boys; they played as a team with not one boy playing selfish ball, and they were all excited to come in 3rd place in their division. Way to make us proud guys!

After the game everyone headed back to dorms to shower and eat lunch. As the food wasn't provided by the tournament anymore, everyone ordered out. The guys got Chipolte and the girls Chick-Fil-A. Everyone knew this would be their last meal at the tournament, as snow was expected Saturday night so everyone was headed home after the girls' game at 3pm.

The girls played their last game of the tournament Saturday afternoon at 3pm. Before the game four of the Warrior ladies were sent to the trainer at the tournament to get their injuries from previous games taken care of. The ladies from the start of the game were looking good, taking the lead and running a strong press defense. In the second quarter though the Warriors lost the lead, the score being 16-12 at the end of the half. The girls were clearly tired and, instead of practicing during halftime, many of them rested on the bench. The ladies came out in the second half playing tired and weak basketball. Ashley Kelly took a hard fall to her elbow which left her sitting the rest of the game and Emily Passarelli didn't feel well. The ladies struggled through the entire second half and lost 46-24.

Abby Messinger led the team with 8 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal. Amanda Stewart also had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Emily Passarelli was next with 3 points, 12 rebounds, and a block. Gabrielle Freese had 2 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal. Ashley Kelly contributed a basket, 2 boards, 3 steals, and an assist. Emma Matthews chipped in 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The girls along with Coach O. were very disappointed, and there were many tears at this was the game the girls had a good chance at winning. Our girls lost gracefully though, congratulating the other team and praying over the other team's seniors at the closing ceremony. Although exhausted and sad, one man's dream came true Saturday afternoon, that man being Coach O. During the third quarter Emma's hair tie broke and she played "floppy" for a good couple minutes. :)

After the game the girls showered and headed downstairs to meet the guys team to get ready to pack the vans and head home. It was a great Tournament, even if there were losses. Everyone couldn't be prouder of the guys and girls teams. Great job Warriors!