Opening night of CYO basketball consisted of many good games that did not fail to disappoint. Starting the season off with a bang, Saint George played at Blessed Sacrament, Saint Pete’s played at Saint Jude’s, and Our Lady of Peace played at Saint James.

The game at Blessed Sacrament tipped off at 8:30 p.m. with both teams ready to play. Saint George came out strong with a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Blessed Sacrament scored a few times in the paint but was only able to move this lead to a 12 points by the end of the first half. Coming into the second half, Saint George came out strong and scored on their first handful of drives, increasing the lead making them almost unreachable. Nick Leone and Luke MacKenzie of Blessed Sacrament had blocked two shots at this point, but it didn’t really matter. Justin Corsale threw down a pointless dunk, solely to flex on the other team, but his efforts are respected. Saint George ended up winning this game by a landslide, and Blessed Sacrament will have to retreat to the drawing board and try harder next time.

Saint Pete’s took their first game on the road at Saint Jude’s and lost 69-49. After a close first half, Saint Jude’s pulled away in the third quarter, going up 20. After a run by the Saint Pete’s bench, the 4th quarter was close in the beginning, but Saint Jude’s kept the lead and won in the end. Saint Pete’s was led by 24 points from Colin Teraski, and Saint Jude was led by 20 from Tyler Darden and 17 from Collin Johnson.

St. James played very tough against OLP, but not to the standards of the elite offense that the Crusaders bring. Rebounding was a big struggle for both teams as well. Many players got into foul trouble and couldn’t hit their free throws. OLP shot 30 percent from the free throw line, but still came out with a win. OLP starts the season of with a win and St. James begins the year 0-1.