The tenth grade boys’ Tyro Division Catholic Youth Organization basketball team from St. Margaret’s parish, Middle Village, won the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan championship Sunday.

Led by Coach Sammy Santiago, St. Margaret’s defeated its main rival, St. Joseph’s, 71-61. Even without one of the teams top players in Jordan Santiago (injury) for the final two rounds of the playoffs, St. Margaret’s battled hard to earn the championship title.

The championship run was a total team effort, as Jason Camus, Mike Hering and Dylan Hogan paced the team’s scoring and Brian Kempijan and Chris Zervos also contributed on the court.

St. Margaret’s also relied on its “Big Three” of Ray Maurer, Justin Buffamonte and Tristan Pegues. These players controlled the boards and stepped up their play defensively to will their team to victory.

The championship team can be seen below:

From left, Jason Camus, Ray Maurer, Jordan Santiago, Justin Buffamonte, Chris Zervos, Brian Kempijan, Mike Herring, Tristen Pegues and Dylan Hogan. Front row, Coach Santiago.