Boys basketball: Billy Moran Tip Off Classic Finals

Scrappy Dawgs beat Spartans for Moran title

Teams exhibit Blue-collar effort but Dawgs get clutch in the end

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Far above the confines of the noisy gym where Sullivan West was battling S.S. Seward in a tremendous early season game, Billy Moran may well have looking down from the celestial reaches of heaven and smiling on December 12.

The iconic scholar athlete, who graduated from Delaware Valley and whose life was tragically cut short by a drunk driver, would have marveled at two things. First, that his name is still alive in Sullivan West’s opening basketball tournament and second, and even more significantly, that the essence of what he stood for as an outstanding scholar- athlete still lives on in the players that followed him 24 years after his death.

Moran’s life ended abruptly while in Florida during spring baseball training with his teammates from Union College. It is in his name that his parents, Kathleen and William, instituted a scholarship in 1983. This tournament serves as a fundraiser for that scholarship and functions as a reminder of what Billy stood for: unflagging effort, determination and impeccable character.

The Sullivan West School District now incorporates Moran’s alma mater, Delaware Valley, and Billy would have been proud of the efforts of the players who followed in his footsteps.

Facing an extremely well coached and talented team from S.S. Seward figured to be the Bulldogs’ first big challenge of the young season. Seward easily disposed of Liberty in the opening round while Sullivan West had its way with Fallsburg.

To beat Seward, Sullivan West coaches knew that their shooters would need to get good looks at the basket against the Spartans’ tough zone defense and that they would have to put bodies on Seward’s big front line to contend for control of the glass. With an inexperienced team, the question of how the Bulldogs would respond to the challenge remained a pre-game mystery.

Sullivan West controlled the opening tip but turned the ball over. Seward junior Jeremy Harter scored the night’s first points, but a turnaround shot from Bulldog big man Derek Hahn tied it. Seward got baskets from Sadam Sahmanovic and Harter to pull ahead 7-4 before Paul Pitz tied it up at seven- all with a floating three pointer. When Brett Youmans hit one in the paint and Hahn blocked a shot by Bryan Folkl, the atmosphere in the gym started to vibrate. Pitz fed Kevin Cappiello and the Dawgs led by four.

Seward quickly regrouped to score the next six and led 13-11 after one frame.

Seward’s Brenden Myers added to the lead to start the second quarter. Kevin Brewer’s lay up got the Dawgs within two, but Sullivan West’s early foul trouble resulting from reach in fouls had Hahn and Cappiello on the bench. Using their depth from bench men Alan Ackermann, Kienan Garn, Bryan Schmidt and Ross Bernhardt, the Dawgs kept the flow going. Yeomans hit a three to cut a four-point deficit to one. It was the first of a number of key shots that would eventually earn him the distinction of being named th tournament’s MVP.

Shots were contested at both ends of the floor by each team’s tenacious defense.

Brewer gave the Dawgs the lead at 18-17, and Ackermann’s put back of a rebound extended the margin to three.

Then the Dawgs went cold, but a series of five empty trips was fortuitously ended with a Brewer three. During that drought, the Dawgs’ defense kept Seward at bay. A put back by Myers closed the frame with Sullivan West leading 23-19 at the half.

Seward opened the third quarter with a seven-to-zero run capitalizing on Dawgs’ misses.

Cappiello got back in the mix after his foul-induced hiatus and helped the cause. Consecutive baskets and a free throw by the veteran guard tied it up and Hahn’s follow-up of his own miss gave the Dawgs a 28-26 lead. The quiet crowd found its voice again.

Another Hahn block triggered a wire-to-wire run by Brewer, and the lead went to four.

Seward got a free throw and a three from Harter to tie it at 32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Moran would never have flinched at this challenge, and neither did the team now playing in his name. Forcing a turnover from Sahmanovic, the Dawgs got two from Cappiello. Folkl put a beauty of a move on Hahn in the post to tie it but a huge three by Brewer sent the crowd into paroxysms of chants. “Here we go Bulldogs, here we go,” echoed through the gym and up into the atmosphere. Billy must have known that the die was cast and that the Dawgs would win.

But back down in the gym, the game still hung in the balance. Sahmanovic’s three tied it again at 37-all. A few seconds later, Harter’s three put the Spartans ahead 42-39. The clock read 4:10 to go.

Into this maelstrom of tension entered cool-headed Yeomans, a kid that football coaches just awarded the “Iron Dawg” award for his intensity and 100-percent effort. Yeomans, who freely admits that he isn’t really a basketball player, hit a three to tie it and another three to give the Dawgs a 45-44 lead with 1:40 to go. Clearly Yeomans’ assessment of his hardwood ability is a bit understated.

Seward inbounded the ball, and Hahn pulled down a huge rebound of his own miss, fed Cappiello and gobbled up the rebound of Cappi’s shot for a big put back basket. The big fella gave the Dawgs a 49-44 lead, and the crowd sensed the imminent victory. Cappiello’s two free throws closed the scoring, and the Dawgs left the floor with a quality win under their belts.

Harter and Sahmanovic were named to the all-tournament team along with Lakarri Byrd from Liberty, Chris Gates from Fallsburg and Hahn. Youmans was named tournament MVP.

Stat line: Harter led the Spartans with 16 points. Myers had 12. For Sullivan West, Brewer and Hahn each had 12. Youmans had 11. The Spartans were nine-for-16 from the line while Sullivan West was five-for-nine.

Seward coach Rob Gravelle summed it up this way. “I think both teams had the same strengths and weaknesses. Both teams had a hard time getting open shots. Each played tenacious defense and got on the glass. Whoever was going to make the last run was going to win. Unfortunately for us, we had the second to last run,” he said.

“With their big man Hahn in the post, we couldn’t play man defense. They’re deep. They kept bringing in kids,” he added. Gravelle extolled the play of Harter, who is only in his second year of playing basketball. “I credit Sullivan West for the fact that we missed a lot of shots. There was contact on virtually every shot at both ends of the floor,” said Gravelle. He concluded that both teams put forth a “blue-collar effort,” in the absence of any one dominant player. Seward’s record is now 2-2. Sullivan West improved to 4-0 with the Moran title win.

Sullivan West’s coach Rick Ellison was visibly pleased with the win. “For an inexperienced team, we played extremely well. We played through a rough stretch where we were missing Hahn and Cappiello to foul trouble. Our defense is working well, but on offense, we still need to make better decisions.” Ellison was proud of the efforts of his bench. “Ackermann and Garn did good things out there,” he said.

Youmans said, “ I just tried to play as hard as I could. I bring the same intensity to every sport I play.”

The Bulldogs now face the challenge of facing four Class A teams in a row, starting on December 14 with powerhouse Cornwall and followed by games against Goshen, Port Jervis and Monticello.