Brunton (left) and Campion. Photo provided.
The Northwood Basketball League kicked off the 2025 season on March 3rd, and one week later, the first round is coming to an end, and the Elite Eight is right around the corner. The first eight games of the season were no disappointment to any of the fans. Every game has been tight, physical, and energetic. There have been some unbelievable upsets, crazy shots, and hilarious bloopers, and it has only been one week of the season. “This season is off to an insane start. I can’t wait to see how it plays out and if this intensity stays at this level,” Superfan of the league, Sophia DeAnzeris said when asked for her thoughts on round one.
The opening game on March 3rd featured the defending champions, Will Schneid and Mike Peluso, against two rookies, Chase Brock and Liam Connelly. The energy and nerves were high for this game, being the first of the season. Chase and Liam took the lead early and were only down 6-5 at halftime, but ultimately fell 11-5 in a game that was much tighter than the score indicated. The second game on opening night was Gavin Carr and Parker Thompson, a team projected to make the final four, vs Lucas Campion and Max St. Pierre. Max and Lucas fought extremely hard throughout the game and were able to pull off one of the craziest upsets in NBL history with an 11-7 win, advancing them to the Elite Eight.
On night two, Justin Macleod and Matthew White took on Kevin Betsch and Devin Smith. This game was another defensive battle where baskets didn’t come easily. In the end, there was another upset, as Macleod scored 9 of the 11 points to take down the game’s favorite. Justin has put himself into the MVP conversation early. After this game, Pete Moore and Henry Kress vs Jake Shingles and Cody Betsch. The final score of this game was 11-2, in favor of Pete and Henry, but the score doesn’t tell the whole story. The game was 0-0 for 7 minutes, until Pete took over and didn’t look back. Pete is also in the MVP conversation again as he feels he was snubbed last year.
The next game was Jacob Brunton and Nick Palmer vs Drew Donatello and Charles Pigeon. This game is being titled “the most entertaining game of the first round” by fans all around the league. The game was extremely physical and fast-paced, with both teams putting their bodies on the line throughout. Charles and Drew went up 9-3, but Brunton and Palmer never backed down. They scored 9 in a row to win 12-9. Jacob Brunton brought tons of passion to the court and has quickly become a crowd favorite due to his physicality and his celebrations. This team will be great to watch down the stretch.
The highly anticipated Shane Tronoski and Ty Simonet made their debut on Monday night against Trey Zeren and Ryan Demers, filling in for Henrik Hinse. There has been lots of cocky talk coming from Tronoski’s team and they had the chance to back it up, and they did. They won 11- and easily advanced to the next round. Before the game, Simonet said, “This game should be quick. Just another warmup for us”. The second game was Cash Lawrence and Owen Maclean vs another top 5 seed, Nathaniel Poole and Peter Morris. This game was a nail-biter. The game was back and forth for the entire game. Cash and Nathaniel were trading buckets all day; the game was never more than one score apart, but Poole and Morris pulled away with an 11-9 win in the end.
The final game of the first round was Anton Malyshev and Anton Stackow vs Casey Morrisey and Ryan Racine. This matchup has been dubbed a rivalry game, as Ryan was expected to sign with Malyshev, but plans changed, and these two teams met early in the tournament. The game was heated and physical, as expected, and ended in an 11-8 final, with Team Anton advancing. As the tournament is just getting started, stay tuned, as the games will only get more interesting!
The Elite Eight Matchups are as follows:
Schneid Peluso vs Brunton Palmer
St. Pierre Campion vs Poole Morris
Macleod White vs Moore Kress
Tronoski Simonet vs Malyshev Stackow