Boys’ basketball

Bulldogs tossed from Eagles’ nest

Burke takes round one in fight for Division IV title

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GOSHEN, NY — Basketball is a learning process and at times a school of hard knocks. Part and parcel of that hardwood education is the occasional punishing defeat teams will suffer along the arduous road to championships.

After suffering a one-sided thrashing on the road to division rival John S. Burke Catholic on January 10, the Bulldogs (9-2, 2-1 OCIAA) must now regroup, re-learn and re-dedicate themselves to the things that can make them special. Doing that will enable them to defend their Division IV title and perhaps offer them a chance to raise a sectional championship banner adjacent to the colors won by the football team this past fall.

With Burke throwing down the gauntlet and rival Highland scouting the game, the Bulldogs now know such glory won’t come easily.

Perhaps lulled into a sense of complacency by recent easy wins over Fallsburg and James I. O’Neill, whose combined record of 0-19 speaks volumes, the Bulldogs were feeling relaxed and loose prior to round one of the battle for division supremacy. That looseness quickly transformed into paralysis as Burke’s quickness, pressure and crisp execution dictated the ebb and flow of the game.

“They beat us in every way imaginable,” said Sullivan West head coach Rick Ellison.

“They were quicker to the ball, they shot the lights out and they out-executed us. If we’re going to turn this around, we’re going to have to pay attention to the details,” Ellison said.

He noted that his team was able to get away with certain shortcuts against less challenging opponents, but said, “We’ve got to do the little things if we’re going to win.” Those little things like setting picks, boxing out, making good passes, defending the baseline and making free throws were sorely absent in the course of the rude awakening that took place in the Eagles’ nest, a place where Burke has historically shown its dominance. (Remember the Bulldogs’ stunning loss to Burke’s junior varsity team last year?) Sullivan West simply did not execute in this game that was reminiscent of last year’s sectional final loss to Red Hook.

Burke coach Chris Neidig’s squad was well prepared for this one. While both teams used a man defense, Burke used excellent ball rotation to find cutters for easy inside shots. Sullivan West was intensely pressured and never got into a rhythm. Burke defenders came out on three-point shooters and contested passes, resulting in 13 Bulldog turnovers. Burke converted many of those exchanges into points at the opposite end of the floor.

To their credit, Sullivan West forced 15 Burke turnovers, but players often failed to make the Eagles pay for their errors.

Sullivan West controlled the tip but quickly lost the ball out of bounds. It was an ominous foreshadowing of what was to come. Joe Meyer’s three-point shot cut an early 4-0 lead to 4-3, and though the ’Dawgs hung close at 8-5, it was apparent early on that Burke (7-3, 2-0 OCIAA) was having an easier time scoring. Using deft passes, an inside size mismatch and taking advantage of Sullivan West’s lack of help defense, Burke got the ball to open shooters and executed pretty backdoor cuts to run the lead up to 17-9 by the end of the first quarter.

With drives to the basket resulting in offensive fouls, blocked shots or misses, the Bulldogs soon began to settle for poor shot selection, giving Burke dominance on the boards and playing into their desire to run in the open floor. When the Bulldogs tried to trap, the Eagles quickly passed over the top and got numbers at the other end for chippy layups.

The lead bulged to 40-21 by halftime and 58-32 by the end of the third frame. Derek Hahn got active in the fourth quarter and went on to lead the Bulldogs with 12 points. Sullivan West’s four aces, Sean Kelly (nine points), Joe Winski (six points), Joe Meyer (nine points) and Sean Semenetz (two points), were trumped by Burke’s Jason Green, who scored 18, Eric Melendez, who tallied 14, and Kyle Byrons, who racked up 11. Burke’s point guard Johnny LaFrance had a pair of threes while outmaneuvering his defenders and setting in motion Burke’s effective game plan.

Making only seven of 16 free throw attempts didn’t help Sullivan West either. “This was the best we’ve played this year, but I fully expect things to be different when we go up there to Sullivan West,” said Neidig, whose team has sharpened their skills thus far by taking their lumps against Class AA Poughkeepsie and Pine Bush as well as North Rockland, a tough opponent that the Eagles defeated.

“We didn’t play well against Cornwall but we get them again this Friday and hopefully we’ll do better,” said Neidig. Burke was the league champion from 1992 to 1997. It is clear that the Eagles would like to return to the top of the pile.

Going back to the things that enabled Sullivan West to beat Monticello, Goshen and Saugerties should help resettle the Bulldogs, who face Forest City at home on January 12 and then travel to Marlboro on January 15. In the interstices, practice will be intense. Of that you can be sure.

Bulldogs capture a league win over O’Neill after dismantling Fallsburg

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — “How the mighty have fallen” might well describe the decline of James I. O’Neill from a league contender position last year to a team with a record of 0-11 this season.

With the graduation of deadeye shooters Ben DeAngelis and Bobby Dodge, the Raiders could not handle Sullivan West’s quickness, deft passing and fine shooting on January 6. After falling behind 4-0, the Bulldogs (9-1, 2-1 OCIAA) used steal after steal to drive a rapid transition game that got them 10 straight points.

Sean Kelly’s fine play and Joe Meyer’s signature buzzer-beating trey gave the ’Dawgs a 23-11 first-quarter lead. Their stifling defense limited the Raiders to four points in the second quarter while the Bulldogs got five threes in the first half. Subbing in players from the Bulldogs’ bench didn’t stop the offensive juggernaut. The lead bulged to 44-15 at halftime and 59-22 by the end of the third quarter.

In the final frame, Justin Polizzi got his first varsity basket to the delight of the noisy home crowd. The final score of 70-30 defined the mismatch. Joe Winski had 10 points with one three-pointer; Sean Semenetz led the team with 15, including a pair of treys; Joe Meyer had 12, including a pair of three-pointers; Sean Kelly posted 14 points in the win. O’Neill’s J.R. Downey and Andrew Bosch each had eight points for O’Neill.

FALLSBURG, NY — Joe Meyer was feeling it as he set up on the left wing for a trio of three-pointers in the first half against Fallsburg as Sullivan West burst out to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Meyer’s 19-point game defined him as the game’s leading scorer.

One benchmark of the Bulldogs’ experienced seniors is their knowledge of each other’s game. Seeing that Meyer was in the zone, they got him the ball early, often allowing him to drill shots all night long. Fallsburg (0-7) continued to struggle despite having good athletes. After reaching the state semi-finals two years ago, the Comets have been in a downward spiral.

Other boys’ action

Red Hook 81, Marlboro 30

S.S. Seward 77, Eldred 44

Chapel Field 65, Roscoe 45

Monticello 51, Warwick 49

John S. Burke Catholic 62, Minisink Valley 46

Cornwall 54, Valley Central 31

Liberty 51, Tri-Valley 41

Goshen 44, Port Jervis 41

Tri-Valley 61, Fallsburg 49

Highland 62, Spackenkill 51

Marlboro 45, Onteora 37

Red Hook 54, New Paltz 29

Tuxedo 49, Chester 47