Boys’ basketball

Bulldogs bury Marlboro with reign of threes

Meyer and Semenetz set the pace with spectacular perimeter shooting

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MARLBORO, NY — Size doesn’t always matter.

Watching Marlboro center Garrett Huyler warm up, one had to wonder how the much smaller Sullivan West Bulldogs would handle the height mismatch. Huyler, who stands six-foot-seven, has been Marlboro’s leading scorer in a season that has, so far, been disappointing for last year’s Section 9 semi-finalists.

The Marlboro Iron Dukes were the one team among last year’s Class B schools in the Section 9 to give Red Hook a run for its money. In the section semifinals, the Dukes had the Raiders on the ropes but couldn’t withstand a late run fueled by Red Hook’s Greg Nero.

At the outset of this season, a game between the Bulldogs and Marlboro seemed to be one to circle on the calendar, but attrition really hurt the Dukes (3-8), who lost players like Jeff Beck and Merlin Pinnock, among others. Even with their absence, there was still Huyler to contend with, not to mention Chris Bonowski and Jeff McFarland, both of whom have been leading scorers in games this year, and Austin Gerentine, a quick guard and dependable free-throw shooter.

Coming just after the Bulldogs’ January 10 loss to Burke, the Sullivan West boys’ low-water mark this season, the game against Marlboro figured to be an acid test to determine if the “Dawgs” had gotten their feet back under them.

No question, they have.

Using a zone defense throughout the entire game, the Bulldogs boxed up Huyler and pressured Marlboro’s other shooters. Marlboro came out in a man defense, but as coach Larry O’Neal freely admitted after the game, “They were too quick for us and we couldn’t match up in a man defense.”

Marlboro switched to zone, first using a 2-3 and then a 3-2 alignment, but couldn’t rotate fast enough to deal with Sullivan West’s great inside-out game. Fearlessly taking the ball into the lane did result in getting some shots blocked by Huyler but also netted the Bulldogs points.

On the perimeter, Sean Semenetz and Joe Meyer were flaming hot. The pair torched the Dukes for 10 treys in the first half with six by Semenetz (Semi-auto) and four by Meyer, who dropped in three more in the second half. Sean Kelly added another as the Bulldogs compiled an outlandish total of 14 from beyond the arc.

“We live and die by the three,” smiled head coach Rick Ellison, but the unconscious outside shooting wasn’t the whole story. The work of Derek Hahn in the paint was impressive. At one point he turned and scored right over Huyler. Also key was the feisty play of point guard Kevin Cappiello.

“My sophomores are really getting into their varsity roles now,” said Ellison, who was looking forward to this week’s trip to Cornwall. “Our defense was better and we played together.”

Marlboro controlled the tip and got out to a 7-0 lead before Semenetz hit his first three at 6:02. Meyer hit a pair of free throws to get the “Dawgs” within a pair, but the Dukes extended their early lead to 12-5.

Then, Sullivan West went on a 20-point tear that bridged the end of the first quarter, when the Bulldogs led 16-12, with the middle of the second quarter; by 6:09 in the second, the Bulldogs’ lead had burgeoned to 25-12. That run was kicked off by a steal from jack-of-all-trades Joe Winski, who set up a Semenetz three, followed in suit by a three by Meyer, a feed from Cappiello to Semenetz for another trey, a perfect feed from Meyer to Hahn, and a trio of threes with Semenetz hitting the first and Meyer hitting the next pair.

High-energy defense kept Marlboro from scoring while the Bulldogs’ electric shooting created havoc in the den of Dukedom.

The Bulldogs led 43-27 at halftime.

The Dukes tore off four quick points to start the third quarter and Ellison called in his troops for a quick reorientation. Hahn’s shot over Huyler was key to reestablishing the flow. The “Dawgs” led 52-38 at the end of the third frame and freely subbed their bench players in the fourth quarter. Kevin Brewer, Justin Polizzi, Jonah LaGrutta and Andre Trujillo all got to see minutes as Sullivan West (10-2) went on to the 73-50 win.

Meyer led all scorers with 23 points. He drained seven threes. Semenetz had 18 points, comprised of six threes. Hahn racked up 16 points and Kelly had 12. Winski’s play cannot be underestimated. Versatile and tough, he is a key to the flow on offense and a relentless defender who is unafraid of contact. Huyler was the leading scorer for Marlboro with 17 points.

Other boys’ basketball action

Cornwall 63, Middletown 60

Livingston Manor 64, Roscoe 41

The Family School 67, Eldred 43

Port Jervis 78, James I. O’Neill 44

Goshen 52, Cornwall 48

S.S. Seward 63, The Family School 33

Monticello 55, Goshen 51

Livingston Manor 50, Chapel Field 45

Roscoe 65, Eldred 63

Liberty 64, James I. O’Neill 48

Chester 68, Fallsburg 37

Marlboro 56, John A. Coleman Catholic 40

Cornwall 57, John S. Burke Catholic 54