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Courtside
By RICHARD
A. ROSS
Boys’ Basketball Action
Sullivan West hangs tough against Panthers but fall
71-56
MONTICELLO, NY — Using great perimeter shooting from Everett
Saul, Joe Meyer and Sean Semenetz kept the Bulldogs close during the first
half of the January 21 game. Erratic shooting and poor shot selection neutralized
Monticello’s advantage in size and quickness. The Panther’s usual floor leader,
Eric Villegas, sat during a major portion of the first half, which shifted
the scoring burden to senior Geraldo Fernandez. Sullivan West’s Rob Orr was
in early foul trouble and had to sit out for a spell. Monticello led 16-15
at the end of the first quarter and 29-25 at the half. Brent Rose was active
on defense and forced a number of Panther turnovers.
The third quarter saw Monticello gradually pull away. Using
a rebounding advantage, the Panthers were able to get out on fast breaks
that resulted in lay-ups, a dunk by T.J. Walker and a number of free throws.
Geraldo Fernandez led the Panther scoring with 19. T.J Walker added 16 and
Deon Morgan had 12. Everett Saul paced Sullivan West with 12 points. Brent
Rose had 11 points for the Bulldogs. Monticello improved its record to 10-2
while Sullivan West fell to 4-8.
Tri-Valley’s Kyle Humphrey breaks school record in 70-66 loss
to Highland
HIGHLAND, NY — Kyle Humphrey broke Bryan Bowers’ school record
of 1,040 career points on January 21 with a huge 32-point game against Highland.
Humphrey had 6 three pointers in the losing effort giving him 1,065 points
for the season to date. Highland won the game 70-66. Highland notched only
its second win of the season (2-8) while Tri-Valley continued their up and
down season with a record of 7-5.
Sullivan West notches impressive win over State-ranked S.S.
Seward 72-63
JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Coming off a very impressive outing in
Monticello on January 14 where the Bulldogs hung close to the dominant Panthers,
Sullivan West faced another touted foe in the Spartans from S.S. Seward who
were playing without senior guard Dan Gass. Gass was serving the second game
of a two-game suspension that stemmed from a punching incident in a game
against John S. Burke Catholic last week. The Spartans held a first place
State ranking (Class D) until last week when they slipped to fourth. S.S.
Seward has been favored to win the Section 9 title. This night, however,
belonged to the Bulldogs. Brent Rose scored 20 points and Joe Meyer added
17. Tom Stagel, playing in his first varsity game, contributed 12 points.
Both teams had great three-point shooting. Sullivan West drained 7 threes
while the combination of Mike Hoyt and Joe Hoyt for S.S. Seward had 6 threes.
Sullivan West improved its record to 5-9 while S.S. Seward fell to 9-3. The
Bulldogs are definitely rounding into form as the season moves forward.
Girls’ Basketball Action
Liberty overpowers Sullivan West 46-33
JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Liberty’s juggernaut season continued
on January 22 as the Lady Indians showed exceptional passing and ball control
on their way to their 12th win of the season. Andrea Terbush led the Indians
with14 points. Terbush and guard Christine Warhya were very effective in
passing to players cutting back and forth under the basket. Nadine McCarthy
of Sullivan West scored 16 points to pace the Bulldogs. Using fast breaks,
Liberty got off to an 8-0 lead before JoAnn DiCostanzo hit a lay up followed
by a foul shot. Liberty led 16-9 after the first quarter and 28-17 at the
half. The Lady Indians went on a 14-0 run to start the third quarter effectively
putting the game out of reach before Nadine McCarthy finally hit a shot with
3:49 left in the quarter. Liberty coach Tom LaGatutta took his starters out
and gave his subs playing minutes. The Bulldogs were able to close the gap
but ended up losing 46-33. Liberty’s only loss this year was to Tuxedo. The
Indians improved their record to 12-1 while Sullivan West fell to 4-6, 1-3
OCIAA.
Liberty keeps on winning path defeating Eldred 48-34
ELDRED, NY — Liberty kept up its winning ways on January 24
with a relatively easy win over the Yellowjackets. Andrea TerBush sunk four
3-point shots on her way to a 20-point night. Jamie Hopkins had nine points.
Liberty used a full court press and aggressive defense to take Eldred out
of its flow early on. Liberty’s Christine Waryha opened the game with a 3-point
shot and the Indians proceeded to open up a 10-0 deficit before Lauren Timan
got the Yellowjackets on the board. Leading 14-5 at the end of the first
quarter, Liberty’s press became less effective as Eldred began passing the
ball over the top and getting some good open layups at the other end of the
floor. The score was 21-12 at the half. Liberty got into its running game
and the score reached 33-17 before Eldred went on an 8-4 run to close the
margin to 37-25 at the end of the third quarter. Coach Tom LaGatutta took
his starters out and Eldred was able to make good headway against Liberty’s
second team. As Eldred pulled within 10, three Liberty starters returned
to the floor to ice the game.
Eldred’s young team of mostly sophomores and juniors is improving
and next year may have the kind of experience that Liberty now possesses
with four seniors on the floor. Jenna Fredericks led the Yellowjackets’ scoring
with 10 points. Liberty is now 13-1 and faces division rival Tuxedo at Liberty
on February 11. Coach LaGatutta says his team’s success is based on teamwork,
contesting every shot and pass and the fine leadership of his seniors on
the floor. Eldred fell to 3-9.
Sullivan West outmaneuvers Port Jervis 51-42
JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Katie Capiello scored 12 points to lead
the Bulldogs over Port Jervis in a non-league win. Caitlyn Conklin put in
12 for Port Jervis. Sullivan West improved its record to 5-6 while Port Jervis
fell to 2-11. Sullivan West bounced back from a tough loss earlier in the
week to Liberty.
17th ranked Messiah handles Susquehanna
SELINSGROVE, PA — Amie Kretzing scored a game-high 19 points
as 17th-ranked Messiah defeated Susquehanna 53-40 in Commonwealth Conference
women’s basketball at Houts Gymnasium on Wednesday night, January 22. Christina
Vouriotis connected on all 10 of her free-throw attempts en route to 16 points
and a team-high six rebounds as the Falcons (14-2 overall, 5-0 Commonwealth)
won for the 44th time in their last 47 Commonwealth Conference games.
Senior guard Alison Ream (Elliotsburg, PA/Juniata H.S.) led
the Crusaders (10-3, 3-2 Commonwealth) in scoring for the eighth straight
game with 16 points while sophomore center Andrea Carlson (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown
H.S.) came off the bench to drop home a season-high 12 points.
Susquehanna, tied for the Division III lead in field-goal
percentage defense at 29.1 percent entering the contest, held the nation’s
18th-ranked shooting team to just 32.7 percent from the field on the game,
but the Crusaders committed 24 turnovers and shot just 34.9 percent in falling
to 0-3 versus ranked teams this season.
“I’m very pleased with us defensively, but if we could have
maintained that intensity and tempo it could have been different,” said Crusader
head coach Liz Cranmer Briggs. “We did a great job defensively, but we got
stymied on offense.”
Messiah led 28-19 at halftime despite going the final 7:32
of the half without scoring a point. Kretzing led the Falcons with 12 points,
including a pair of three-pointers, while Ream tallied nine points and six
rebounds in the opening 20 minutes for the Crusaders. In the second half,
the Falcons never let their lead fall below double figures as Vouriotis hit
eight foul shots and scored 12 points, while Kretzing added seven for Messiah.
With her 16 points, Ream moved into a tie with Sally Emerich (1982-85) for
12th place on the Crusader career-scoring list with 763 points.
The Crusaders were beaten on the boards by Messiah by a 36-34
margin, as sophomore forward Skyra Blanchard (Jonestown, PA/Lewisburg H.S.)
grabbed a team-high nine boards while Ream added seven rebounds for the Crusaders.
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TRR Photo by Richard A. Ross
Members of the Monticello Boys’ gymnastics team are: in the
front row, from left to right, Taylor Thomas, Kienan Garn, Brian Conaty,
Chris Reynolds, Jake Lang. In the middle is Jordan Wilson. In the back row,
from left to right are Talli Jackson (pre-team), Jonathan Ross, Assistant
Coach Rich Parks, and Coach Pedro Tweed.
(Click for larger image)
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Monticello boys’ gymnasts come on strong
By RICHARD
A. ROSS
BINGHAMTON, NY — The Monticello boys’ gymnastic team had great
success in a meet against Chenango Gymnastics, Empire Gymnastics and West
Side Gymnastics Clubs. It was the debut meet for three young Monticello gymnasts.
Taylor Thomas, Chris Reynolds and Jake Lang all competed for the first time
as Level 7 gymnasts. Jake Lang took second place all-around for 6 to 7 year
olds. Christian Reynolds took second place in the 8 to 9 year old group.
In the 10 to 11 year old category, Taylor Thomas took first place all-around
and Brian Conaty took second place all-around. In Level 5, Jordan Wilson
took fifth place. In Level 4 (advanced), Jonathan Ross came in third place
all-around while Kienan Garn came in fourth. All of the Monticello gymnasts
achieved scores high enough to qualify for the state championships. Pedro
Tweed coaches the boys’ team.
The boys will be competing in Syracuse on February 26 and
in Chappaqua on March 9. The state meet this year will be held in Buffalo
on March 23.
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