Basketball

Experience is a dear teacher

Burke’s pressure and timely shooting yield a win over Division rival Sullivan West in ‘The Pound’

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY - John S. Burke Catholic coach Doug Janeczko saw eight of his veteran Eagles graduate last year and admitted that he was a bit unsure as to how this year’s team would handle adversity.

When the Eagles visited archrival Sullivan West on January 4, both teams boasted 3-0 league records and a desire to take the Division IV lead.

He needn’t have worried.

While eight went out, a key one came in. Guard Derrick Stanton transferred from James I. O’Neill and immediately fused with veterans Kyle Byrons, Eric Melendez and Tyler Locatell to form the nexus of another tough Burke team. In the game’s critical fourth quarter, Stanton scored eight of his 12 points and swung the game’s pendulum back to Burke’s advantage with a pair of timely steals and five straight points, including a three.

The small fireplug helped to extinguish Sullivan West’s comeback bid, necessitated by inconsistent play and a second-quarter miasma that saw their eight-point first-quarter lead of 17-9 evaporate. Burke forced eight Bulldog turnovers and outscored the Dawgs 22-7 in the second frame. The Dawgs came back with a superior third quarter, but against a team like Burke, you need consistency, and not what Sullivan West coach Bob Menges described as “peaks and valleys.”

At the game’s outset, Sullivan West dictated the tempo. Playing in front of a stoked home crowd, the Dawgs, led by standout Kevin Cappiello, came out on fire. After a Byrons free throw gave Burke the first point, Derek Hahn muscled into the low post and gave the Dawgs the lead. Stanton immediately made his presence felt on a great move without the ball to get open for a quick two. In the next two and a half minutes, the Dawgs went on a 9-0 run, fueled by a pair of threes from Cappiello, who was a sea of constant motion.

“We had trouble finding Kevin early on,” said Janeczko, “despite the fact that our game plan was to not let him beat us.” Cappiello raised the roof with a back underhanded scoop and the Dawgs led 14-5.

But despite the early lead, students of the game, including Cappiello, Derek Hahn and coaches Bob Menges and Cliff Kelly, knew Burke could withstand a run. Burke is a team of veterans who have been through big games both in season and on AAU traveling teams. Despite its loss of players to graduation, those that follow have earned their stripes. It’s a perk of being a private school with a talent pool that most public schools of similar size cannot match.

That said, Sullivan West is a fierce foe.

“Aside from the game against Cornwall, we haven’t faced the kind of adversity we faced tonight,” Janeczko said following his team’s 58-54 win.

In the big second-quarter swing, Burke swarmed Cappiello whenever he touched the ball. Despite the pressure, he was able to step through most traps and get the ball to his teammates. That was Burke’s strategy: to make other players beat them. The Bulldogs did get a big three-pointer from Kienan Garn, but Locatell answered with one of his own on the next trip up the floor. Burke stoked up the heat and in the hands of several inexperienced Sullivan West players, the ball came loose and Burke got points off turnovers. Moreover as Menges pointed out after the game, “When they made their shots they could set up their press. When they didn’t make their shots, they couldn’t.

Burke made its shots, including a quartet of three pointers. Two came from Sean Gillen, a player that escaped the radar of the Bulldogs’ scouting of the Cornwall game. By night’s end, Burke would have seven threes. Sullivan West matched that total with seven of its own, including five from Cappiello, two in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles got key shots in the second quarter from Melendez, who did a good job guarding Cappiello. Stanton was limited to a pair of free throws in the frame.

The Dawgs turned the tables on Burke in the third quarter, which started ominously with a turnover. But great Bulldog defense limited Burke to nine points, three of which came from Locatell’s downtown shot. Last year in the sectional final against Spackenkill, he hit a trio of treys, all of which came at key moments as he subbed in for Byrons. Burke lost that game by two points and seems to have every intention of getting back to the final and beyond.

Bulldog Jason Leewe hit a three and Hahn pitched in eight of his 10 points as the Dawgs roared back to take a 41-38 lead by outscoring the Eagles 17-6. A last- second shot by Byrons at the buzzer narrowed the gap to one, as Sullivan West took a 41-40 lead into the final frame.

Reminiscent of a sectional final in 2005 when Sullivan West led by 10 at the half following a half court shot by Cappiello, Burke fought back with a vengeance. In that game, and in this one, they used great defense to limit good looks at the basket while they made their shots on every trip. This time, Stanton started a 6-0 run in the fourth quarter with a wide-open shot from the corner. Byrons and Locatell followed suit.

Both teams were soon in the bonus at the free throw line. Leewe made both of his and Cappiello would nail one-of-two to get the Dawgs within a bucket at 46-44. Burke couldn’t make its shots, and Sullivan West didn’t capitalize as Hahn missed a 10-foot jumper. When James Spruill pulled down the rebound off a Burke miss, the Dawgs lost their next chance to tie as Melendez stripped the ball from him and Spruill fouled him.

Melendez missed the front end of a one-and-one, but a foul by Hahn put Melendez right back on the line. A lane violation gave the Dawgs an opportunity, but Stanton stripped the ball from Cappiello and hit a critical three-pointer. He followed that with another steal and a lay up. Cappiello would hit another three but the damage was done.

Byrons led the Eagles with 13. Stanton and Locatell each posted 12 and Melendez had 10. Cappiello led all scorers with 21. Hahn had 10 points. Burke shot nine-for-17 from the free throw line. Sullivan West canned seven-of-15.

Menges put the loss in perspective. “It’s something that happens with young teams. Burke had a lot more experience in big games than we did. I’m not disappointed with my team’s effort, but our younger players need to come to the ball and once they get it, they need to attack. I thought in the fourth quarter that our young kids did a great job.”

Burke (7-1, 4-0 OCIAA) will host Sullivan West (5-4, 3-1 OCIAA) on February 12 in the Eagles’ aerie in Goshen.