Honesdale Biddy Basketball Association tips-off 57th season with exciting action
HONESDALE — Hundreds of enthusiastic local fans packed the stands at Lakeside Elementary to witness the opening of the 2023-24 Honesdale Biddy Basketball Association season.
Weather put a damper on Week 1 action, but league officials are confident that with a bit of juggling the regular season timeline will quickly be back on track.
According to league spokesman AG Howell, nearly 270 local boys and girls are taking part as either players or cheerleaders.
“We have a fantastic turnout of young boys and girls,” said Howell. “The kids are playing hard, being competitive and most importantly having fun.
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“The gym was packed both days and smiles all around. We’re very excited to see the kids grow in athletics and sportsmanship over the next two months.”
This marks the 57th year for the venerable youth hoops circuit, which features a total of 16 teams in the Junior and Senior Divisions. That’s up from 14 a year ago.
If Old Man Winter cooperates, the regular season will run through February 24-25. Championship Weekend will take place seven days later, Saturday and Sunday March 2-3.
Practices and games are held at the Lakeside Elementary School gymnasium. Junior Division contests begin at 4 p.m. on Saturdays, while Senior Division battles commence at 1 p.m. on Sundays.
Junior Division
This past Saturday featured a full slate of Junior Division action at Lakeside.
The opening contest saw the Sixers cruise to a convincing 25-3 win over the Pelicans.
Levi Lester led his team to victory with a game-high 10 points. He was aided and abetted by teammates Andrew Jos (six pts), Bodhi Wolfenberg (three) and Greydan Kimble (two).
Cooper Sullivan and Mason Bruno-Prell combined to account for the Pelicans’ scoring.
Saturday’s second game went right down to the wire before the Bullets eked out a 12-10 decision over the Rockets.
Chase Chakiris led the winners with six points. Brody Acker scored a team-best eight for the Rockets.
Game 3 featured the Hornets powering their way to a 22-15 win over the Falcons.
Cagney Hamill paced the Hornets, rattling the rims for a game-high 12 points. Sawyer Buselli tallied six while Levi Buselli chipped in with two
Ryan Curtis led a balanced Falcons attack with five points. Liam Curtis and Drew Tasked added four apiece.
Saturday’s penultimate contest saw the Cavaliers deal the Knicks a 25-17 loss.
Weston Gillow was top gun with 12 points. Alexander Ferraro netted four, while Logan Davis, Ryan Haines, Blake Johnson, and Benjamin Spencer added a bucket each.
Joseph LaTournas led the Knicks with six. Jackson LaTourette contributed four to the cause as did Jack McAllister.
The grand finale was a crowd-pleaser that ended with the Lakers posting an electrifying 14-12 victory over the Spurs.
The Lakers were paced by Elliot Randolph with six points. Ronald Weinberger scored four, while Jacoby Vaughan and Ethan Gries tallied a basket each.
Garner Schweighofer led the Spurs’ offensive assault with eight points. Daniel Diehl and Caiden Diaz added two apiece.
Senior Division
After losing Week 1 to inclement weather, Senior Division action got back on track Sunday with three games.
The Frogs tipped things off with a dominant 28-10 win over the Bulls.
Under the direction of coaches Bob McHugh and CJ Irwin, the Frogs put together a total team effort. Colton Ross, Canyon Ruff and Jack D’Albora each tallied six points.
Calvin Krupa led the Bulls with six, while Kevin McElroy and Alexander Mills netted two apiece.
Sunday’s second game was a high-scoring affair that ended with the Hawks outscoring the Cardinals 35-26.
Cameron Stinavage was a one-man wrecking crew for the Cards, tickling the twine for 18. Jimmy Sellars scored five and Parker Shariatmadari.
Kooper Cook paced the Hawks’ attack with 10 points. Gabe Samson chipped in with seven, while Ruhlin Sullivan and Johnny Rickard each added four.
The weekend’s final contest ended with the Blazers posting a razor-thin 20-18 win over the Mavericks.
Kash Kromko led the winners with six points. Isaiah Vargas, Jacob Stiles and Nathan Cornwall each tallied four.
Levi Murray poured in 10 in a losing effort for the Mavs. Owen Gries added four while Brayden Murray and Shiv Patel scored two apiece.
In the beginning
The Honesdale Biddy Basketball Association came into existence during the winter of 1965-66.
In the beginning, the fledgling youth hoops organization was called the Ho-Ca-Hi (short for Honesdale Catholic High) Midget Basketball Association. Father Linus Fricker presided over the first few meetings and green-lighted the use of the school's gymnasium.
Local youth sports legend Freddie Reisch served as the league's first president and remained in that position for three decades. The original roster of volunteer coaches included Don McCann, Russ Miller, Joe Millon, Bob Hessling, Reggie Dean and Jack Rickert.
The league expanded consistently all through the early years, going from six teams and about 65 players to the current incarnation which features 16 teams and more than 160 kids.
The Honesdale Biddy Basketball Association eventually outgrew the old Catholic School gym and moved up to the Armory. From there it migrated to Lakeside Elementary where it remains to this day.
“We are blessed with a devoted, committed, enthusiastic group of volunteers that is the heart of our little rec league being a big success,” Howell said. “We continue to be 100 percent volunteer-based and we’re grateful to the school district for allowing us to use their facilities.”
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale Biddy Basketball Association opens up 2023-24 season
