Kelley Collins Nets 1,000 Career Point

Senior point guard Kelley Collins notched the 1,000th point of her career point this week finishing with 27 points as the Groveton High School girls' basketball team downed Woodsville 57-28 to start the season 4-0 in New Hampshire's Division IV.

Collins, a four-year varsity starter, entered the game needing 16 points to hit the milestone, which she reached on her final shot of the first half, sinking a turnaround jumper.

Mussachia Overcomes Diabetes, Heads to Amherst

Joe Mussachia On His Way to Amherst

This Article appeared in the Boston Herald on Thursday, December 23 and was written by Dan Ventura.

Hot Shots: Joe Mussachia learns to cope with diabetes
By Dan Ventura / Hot Shots
Thursday, December 23, 2010

MANCHESTER — Joe Mussachia knew something was seriously wrong with his body.

Having played basketball all his life without issues, the Manchester Essex star suddenly began experiencing increasing bouts of fatigue two summers ago. After returning home from a vacation in California, Mussachia decided to see his doctor.

The diagnosis was something he never expected: diabetes.

“I just wasn’t feeling well at all, went to the doctor and they diagnosed me right away,” Mussachia said. “I couldn’t believe it, I was young and healthy. But I learned right away it’s something that you can manage if you take care of yourself.”

Mussachia wears an OmniPod, an insulin pump, on his left arm at all times covered by a protective bandage. The device allows Mussachia to monitor things without an endless supply of needles.

Coach Duane Sigsbury said the basketball staff takes special precautions to ensure that Mussachia isn’t pushing the envelope in practice or during the game.

“We really haven’t had to do as much because Joe has learned to cope with it. He knows what he can or can’t do,” Sigsbury said. “We do ask him all the time, we make sure he is checking the blood sugar levels. He knows he can leave practice at any time if he needs to take some sugar tablets or a drink.”

The disease hasn’t affected the 6-foot-5 swingman on the court. A Boston Herald All-Scholastic last season, Mussachia averaged more than 22 points a game in leading the Hornets to a 16-6 season and a berth in the Division 4 North semifinals.

He eschewed college scholarship offers from Northeast-10 schools in Division 2, opting instead to attend Div. 3 Amherst.

“At first, I wanted to play as high as I could and I had some offers,” Mussachia, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark last season, said.

“But I listened to my dad, coach Sigsbury and my AAU coach (Vin Pastore), who told me education was the most important thing. I just couldn’t let an opportunity like Amherst pass by.”

Sigsbury isn’t surprised that Mussachia put the books ahead of the ball. He also feels deep in his heart that his star could have played at a much higher level.

“He’s competed against the best guys during the AAU season and his team (Mass. Rivals) went something like 13-1,” Sigsbury said. “He went toe-to-toe with a lot of those kids and did very well for himself. He’s a 6-5 slasher, he plays both ends of the floor and plays above the rim.

He just does it all.”

Reading Takes Double Header Against Burlington

Olivia Healy does it all for Reading

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report visited Reading High School to see a girls/boys double header. In the first game, the Reading girls dominated Burlington in a 60-21 blowout win. Senior wing and Bentley bound Carlene Kluge (our #16 ranked senior) outscored the entire Burlington team 25-21 to lead the Rockets. The Rockets have two super sophomores guards in 5'9" Morgan Obrien and 5'10" Olivia Healy. Both talents chipped in with 10 points each.

Morgan Obrien was impressive as she is an exceptional shooting guard who has great rotation on the basketball. Her handle has improved since the last time we saw her. Although the point is not her natural position, she is benefiting from playing that position for her high school team. Olivia Healy was also impressive and we love the way she competes. She is a talented guard that can do it all. She can shoot it, put it to the floor, and she is physical and aggressive around the basket.

In the second game, the Reading boys defeated Burlington in a 75-71 in a competitive basketball game that came down to the last minute. Reading's senior point guard Trey Jones was the catalyst for Reading as he played as well as we have ever seen him. He was sensational last night as he made big shot after big shot and made great pass after great pass. Jones has surely matured as a point guard as he stayed under control all evening and made the right basketball play each and every time down the floor. His second half performance sealed the victory for the Rockets and included two sensational passes, two sweet pull-ups, an NBA range three, and a hard take to the basket. Junior Kenny Reed did not have his best outing and netted 8 points for the Rockets. Burlington's senior point guard Zach Hurynowicz was his usual self as he played hard, came up with lose ball, and finished on offense in a multitude of ways netting 22 points on the evening.

Andover Girls Win Round 1 Against Central

Natalie Gomez-Martinez/Andover Too Much For Central

The Andover High (#1 ranked team) and Central Catholic (#2 ranked team) girls met last evening for the first time this season in the Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament at Methuen High School. The number 1 and number 2 ranked team in Massachusetts met in what will likely be the North Sectional division 1 final come tourney time. In this one, Andover prevailed 53-43 behind 15 points from our #1 junior Nicole Boudreau and 12 points from Marist University bound Natalie Gomez-Matinez (our # 2 senior). It is well known that Gomez-Matiniez and Boudreau are the best high school guard tandem in Mass. They are both electrifying players and a whole lot of fun to watch. Gomez-Matinez is as good as anybody we've seen at creating space off the dribble. Boudreau is a sharp shooter that can also finish off the dribble. Boudreau, although only a junior, has already committed to play at Boston College.

Both young ladies also have a great understanding of the game, and when they are both healthy, they will nearly be impossible to beat. If this round 1 game told us anything, it told us just that. When you consider that Boudreau only made one 3-pointer, Andover as a team was a dismal 2 for 13 from behind the arc, and Gomez-Martinez was just 6 for 19 from the floor, you wonder if Andover can be beat. The answer is, I don't think so.

However, if the Warrior can be beat, it is Central's height that gives them the only real chance in Eastern, Mass. Merrimack College bound 6'0" Melissa Miller (our # 13 ranked senior) had 10 points and 11 rebounds and was a huge factor in this game. 6'0" sophomore Casey McLaughlin (our #4 ranked sophomore) posted big numbers including 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. We predicted that McLaughlin would have a break out year for the Raiders, and if we judge by early results, it seems we are right on point.

Andover moved to 5-0 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the Christmas Tournament against Lowell on Monday. Central is now 3-1 on the season.

Saint John's Prep Dominates

Pat Connaughton Leads Prep

Saint John's Prep (our #1 ranked team in Mass) won easily last night defeating Lynn Classical 88-59 behind 28 points from our #1 ranked Mass senior Pat Connaughton.

The Eagles jumped all over visiting Lynn Classical. Although the final was 88-59, this one was much worse as St. John’s led 45-14 at one point in the first half. During this early run the Eagles drilled twelve 3's to open up the big lead.

As usual, Notre Dame-bound Pat Connoughton didn’t disappoint. The 6'5" senior played the point and drilled four ong-range threes early in the game on his way to 28 points. Junior Michael Carbone (our #18 ranked junior) tallied 21 points including 14 during the early run as his stroke was on from downtown.

Saint John's moved to 2-0 on the season and Lynn Classical to 1-1.

Performances of the Weekend

Alex Garstka Had Big Night


Seniors Alex Garstka of Westfield, Marco Coppola of Watertown, and Jaylen Alicea of Lawrence had big weekends. While all three put up big numbers, their respective teams moved to a total of 8-0 for the season.

In Western Mass, our 26th ranked senior guard Alex Garstka pumped in 37 points as Westfield staged a fourth-quarter rally to defeat visiting Chicopee 66-58. Westfield and Garstka went on a 14-2 run to close it out. The Bombers are 4-0 on the season.

In Watertown, our 19th ranked senior guard Marco Coppola scored 40 points versus Reading on Friday night in a 63-62 victory. In addition, Coppola had 29 in the Raiders opening night win against Burlington. Watertown is 2-0 and Coppola has 69 total points. Wow.

Our 9th ranked senior Jaylen Alicea scored 38 points with seven assists and three steals to power Lawrence over Chelmsford 77-66. The Lancers moved to 2-0 on the season.

A Funny Story about a Boy and a Drum

The Little Drummer Boy Causes Technical

The Haverhill High School boy's bench was given a technical foul in Friday evening's game against Dracut because a student was banging the drum in the crowd. The M.I.A.A. does have a rule about noise makers and I guess they hold the home team responsible. To be honest, I like the drum banging as it makes the atmosphere college-like. However, in the officials defense, he had warned the student earlier in the game. The funny part of this story is that the technical foul came with 8 seconds left in the game and Haverhill up by 7 points. The story gets even better as the technical occurred as the home team was shooting free-throws, not their opponent.