Green Wave Rides the Bracket to the Crown at East Shoreline

Three rounds, five games, one champion. When the Shoreline men’s league finally settled its postseason at East Shoreline Catholic Academy, it was the Green Wave hoisting the hardware — behind a title-game showing from Jimmy Giorlamo that nobody who was in the gym will soon forget.

The Bracket

The postseason opened Tuesday, September 1, with the Knicks setting the tone in a 57–48 win over Black Mamba. Taylor Houghton was the engine, pouring in 27 points with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and five made threes — a one-man perimeter problem. Brian Jackson chipped in 9 and 6, while Black Mamba got a game try from Colby Morawski (16 points, 5 boards, 2 triples) and Paul Votto (12 points, 3 steals). Dan Greif quietly stuffed the sheet with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

The other first-round tilt was a rebounding clinic, with Red Storm grinding past the Bulldogs 56–48. Branden LaPia (19 points, 13 rebounds) and David Orr (15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) went to work on the glass, and Jason Erxleben stitched it all together with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The Bulldogs didn’t go quietly — Dan Scandalito hit five threes on his way to 19, and Mason Carey posted a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double with three treys of his own — but it wasn’t enough.

Round two, Thursday the 3rd, is where the field narrowed. The top-seeded Green Wave handled the Knicks 54–46, powered by Jeremy McDonald’s 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals and a delightfully disruptive line from Jimmy Giorlamo — 10 points and 5 steals. Alex Hetherington kept the Knicks within range with 18 points and three triples, and Scott Edmond banged for 10 and 9, but the Green Wave defense had the last word.

The night’s upset belonged to the Huskies, who bounced Red Storm 48–43. Josh Carter led the way with 16 points, Scott Houghton buried three triples for 13, and Ryan Florentine filled the box score with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Red Storm’s David Orr was magnificent in defeat — 21 points, 4 blocks, 3 threes — but the Huskies’ balance carried the day.

That set up the championship, Wednesday, September 9: Green Wave 65, Huskies 53. Giorlamo picked the biggest stage of the year to deliver his signature game, dropping 29 points with 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks and five made threes. McDonald was his steady co-star with 17 points and 9 rebounds. The Huskies punched back — Carter had 17, Florentine 16, Jon Fiorillo 10 off the bench — but couldn’t dent the Green Wave’s 12-point cushion. Green Wave are your Shoreline champions.

The Standings

The final table mirrored the bracket: the Green Wave finished a league-best 8–2 and closed on a four-game winning streak — exactly the form you want peaking in the postseason. The Huskies (7–3, won two straight) validated their No. 2 seed with that Red Storm upset and a title-game appearance. Red Storm (6–4) and the Knicks (5–5) had their moments, while Black Mamba (3–7) and the Bulldogs (1–9) close the book looking for more next time. No positions shifted heading into the title.

Movers & Shakers

A star-studded postseason ledger. Across the week’s games, Jimmy Giorlamo and Jeremy McDonald tied for the scoring lead at 39 points apiece — Giorlamo adding a jaw-dropping 9 steals, 3 blocks and 5 threes, McDonald grabbing 21 boards. David Orr wasn’t far behind with 36 points, 18 rebounds and a league-leading 6 blocks, and Josh Carter (33 points) and Jason Erxleben (29 points, 7 assists — tops in the league) rounded out the scoring board. Branden LaPia logged 28 and 19.

On the glass, Huskies’ Neil Anglemire cleaned up with a week-high 35 rebounds. Double-doubles came in bunches: Giorlamo, McDonald, Shawn Love, Carter, Florentine, LaPia, Erxleben, Orr, plus the Knicks’ trio of Taylor Houghton (27-11), Brian Jackson (20-12) and Scott Edmond (15-24 on the boards), and Bulldogs’ Mason Carey.

Congratulations to the Green Wave — Shoreline champions, top to bottom. That’s a wrap on the season.