COLONIALS CONDUCT CLINIC FOR CITIZEN SCHOOLS PROGRAM: Recently, members of the A-B Colonial boys basketball program conducted a clinic at the Madison Park High School for over 30 eighth graders.  Both participants and coaches alike had a great time and the especially enjoyed playing "Beat the Coach" (and as the A-B players can attest, there are some VERY talented kids with a bright future ahead of them in this program!).  The clinic was the result of an invitation from the "Citizen Schools" of Boston (www.citizenschools.org) for the A-B players to help teach these eighth graders some of the basic fundamentals of the game.  Congratulations to the members of the team on a job well done!  The A-B players will be conducting a similar clinic at McCormick middle school in Dorchester in late October. 

TWO COLONIALS, TWO FIRST PITCHES, ONE NIGHT!:  On September 2nd, A-B Colonial senior Kyle Curry threw out the first pitch at the Lowell Spinners game.  The Spinners are sponsors of the upcoming Lowell Holiday Tournament and invited players from the eight participating teams to throw out a first pitch to help promote the event.  In addition, on the same night just down the road at Fenway Park, another Colonial was throwing out the first pitch for the big league club.  Former A-B basketball player and current Yale football captain Bobby Abare threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox game against Baltimore.  Bobby, along with Harvard captain Matt Curtis, threw out first pitches to promote the upcoming 125th anniversay of "The Game" between Harvard and Yale to be played on November 22nd at Harvard.   

DCL EXPANSION:  The Dual County League welcomes Arlington and Waltham into the league this year; this one year after the addition of Tyngsborough.  The league now has 12 teams and will break into two divisions.  The large school division will consist of Acton-Boxborough, Boston-Latin, Lincoln-Sudbury, Newton-South, Waltham and Westford Academy.  The small school division will include Arlington, Bedford, Concord-Carlisle, Tyngsborough, Wayland and Weston.  Each school will play the five schools in their own division twice, and the six schools in the other division once.  The six cross-over games will technically be considered non-league games as the two league champions will be decided solely on the record of the 10 games played within one's division.  Got it?...

COLONIALS IN LOWELL HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT:  The Colonials have accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Lowell Spinners Holiday Tournament.  This will be the 35th year of the tournament, but A-B's first year participating.  The field will consist of 8 teams, with each team playing three games.  Other participants include Westford Academy, Lincoln-Sudbury, Lowell, Dracut, Chelmsford, Pelham (NH) and Londonderry (NH).  All games will be played at the UMass-Lowell Costello Gymnasium beginning on December 27th.

ALGONQUIN ENTERS ROCHE BROTHERS ROUNDBALL CLASSIC:  A-B is pleased to welcome Algonquin High School as a new participant in the Acton Roche Roundball Classic.  The tournament will take place on February  15 and 17, 2009.

TONGO COMMITS TO STONEHILL:  Colonial senior guard Andre Peter Tongo has offically committed to play basketball at Stonehill College.  Stonehill is a member of the Northeast-10 conference. Peter will be joining a Skyhawk team which advanced to the conference semifinals this past season and the Division II Final Four two years ago. Peter was a four year member of the A-B varsity team, senior captain, two-time all-star, DCL-MVP of the large school division his senior year, and became the 7th boys player in school history to eclipse 1000 career points.  For the Acton Beacon article, click HERE.  Best of luck to Peter on a succesfull college career.

BANQUET CONCLUDES 2007-08 SEASON:  Freshman, JV and varsity players were all recognized for their efforts at the annual Boys Basketball  Banquet held at the Maynard Elks on March 13th.  The evening included the world premiere of Shane McDonalds 2008 Highlight Film, as well as special recognition of this year's senior class. Best of luck to all eight seniors: Melissa Marcotte, Eric Butler, William Baron, Joe Keith, Aiden Senner, Mike Berlied, David Cronin and Andre Peter Tongo.

VARSITY AWARD: The 2008 varsity team awards recipients...

• Most Improved - Jon Kahane
• Unsung Award - Alex Kastrinelis
• Defensive Stopper Award - David Cronin
• Most Valuable Player - Andre Peter Tongo

2007-08 SEASON WRAP-UP:  The Colonials finished their season with a 13-8 record, qualifying for the state tournament for the eighth time in nine years.  After an up and down first half of the season, A-B finished strong going 7-3 over the second half and winning five of its last six regular season games.