Endangered Eagles survive to soar

Burke’s late run thwarts Monticello on O’Neill’s home celebration night

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONTICELLO, NY — Monticello’s gym is known as “The Pit,” but “The Passion Pit” would be a more apt name given the fervor of the home fans and the gym’s unparalleled atmosphere. The normally high intensity of a Monticello home opener was ramped up 10-fold on December 5, as the crowd vociferously cheered as coach Dick O’Neill took center court to receive acclaim for the recent capture of his 400th career win.

Accompanied by his wife Diane, superintendent Patrick Michel, high school principal Arleene Siegel, athletic director Doug Murphy and assistant coaches Chris Russo and Antonio Simmons, O’Neill received the game ball, a commemorative photo, flowers and a copy of The River Reporter that detailed the coach’s iconic win.

Holding the ball aloft, O’Neill waved to the crowd, amid the sonorous din, in an early-season moment of O’Neill’s farewell tour. O’Neill is retiring in June. This was also his last game against John S. Burke. O’Neill’s five-year tenure as coach there, from 1980-85, created a storehouse of memories that are still near and dear.

Games between Burke and Monticello are always top-notch, and this one would live up to that standard. In a heavyweight fight, you’ve got to be able to give and take punches. Burke’s opening flurry of blows staked the Eagles to an 8-0 lead, a product of a pair of early threes, one from game high-scorer Connor Sullivan and the other from point guard Jimmy LaFrance. Middletown-transfer D.J. Gibson added two points in the paint for the early advantage.

O’Neill’s Panthers quickly got off the mat and hit back, attacking the rim and getting Burke in early foul trouble, to reverse the initial deficit. Burke accrued seven fouls in the first quarter and had tallied 12 by the half.

Part of Monticello’s strategy was to limit the production of standout Derrick Stanton by denying him possessions. With three early fouls, Stanton had to sit out much of the second quarter. The foul flurry also caused Burke to play a bit more tentatively, thereby allowing Monticello to control the tempo. Dictating much of that tempo was point guard Dior Jackson, who was doing damage by penetrating the middle of Burke’s defense.

William Watson broke the drought for Monticello, but Gibson answered right back. Gibson’s six points in the first quarter evinced part of Burke’s newfound depth. With Kyle Byrons, Eric Melendez and Tyler Locatell lost to graduation, coach Doug Janezcko turned to four veterans who saw major minutes last year, including Stanton, LaFrance, Sullivan and Chris Undersinger. Adding Gibson into the mix adds presence in the post. Gibson would do his lion’s share of damage late in the game when Burke would turn a close game into a late rout.

Meanwhile in the first quarter, Monticello went from a 10-2 deficit to get within four at 15-11 by the end of the frame, despite committing five turnovers to Burke’s two. Four points from Wesley Jones and five-out-of-six shooting from the stripe helped the surge. But as the game progressed, Monticello’s free-throw shooting deteriorated. By night’s end, they had shot only 50 percent and let 10 free points escape their clutches.

Monticello’s post presence John Hernandez went up strong to start the second quarter, as the Panthers closed to within two. Sophomore guard Briar Patterson electrified the crowd with a steal, but the theft didn’t translate into the tying bucket. Later, O’Neill would note that Monticello’s ability to force turnovers would have to yield better shots. At key times, Monticello stole the ball, only to turn it right back over.

Sullivan scored seven of Burke’s 11 points in the second quarter. Patterson netted five for the Panthers, who trailed 26-21 at the half. Late in the second quarter, Jackson drew resounding cheers as he took a charge by Stanton, which availed the Burke sharpshooter his third foul.

The Panthers inbounded the ball to start the third quarter, and Hernandez exerted his presence with a muscle-up to the basket and two put-back attempts. Unfortunately, none went through the cylinder. Sullivan converted at the other end and Gibson canned a free throw. Monticello got a couple of great assists from Patterson to Jackson and Kyle Wigfall to pull within two at 29-27.

A foul called on Monticello, on what appeared to be a clean block, stymied the momentum. Subsequently, poor transition from offense to defense allowed Burke to rip off a 9-2 run that put them back in charge at 38-29. Devon Mathis hit a three to cut the lead to six.

Monticello trailed 40-34 heading into the fourth quarter, something O’Neill would have willingly signed for prior to the game. Hernandez cut Burke’s edge to four at 40-36. Moments later, Burke was holding a 12-point edge behind the shooting of Sullivan and Gibson.

O’Neill urged better defense. “Jump to the ball and let’s get a flurry here,” he implored.

Jackson answered his call with a three to make it 49-40, but a loose ball suddenly got kicked out to Sullivan, who hit a timely three for Burke.

“We can create turnovers,” said O’Neill after the game, remarking on how Burke quickly transformed a four-point game to a 25-point win in the final eight minutes, “but you’ve got to make the other team pay by coming down the floor and at least getting a good look. You don’t necessarily have to score, but you can’t turn the ball back over.”

Jackson’s three was the last bullet in the Panthers’ arsenal. Monticello was only able to produce six points in the final quarter to Burke’s 25. Much of that unfriendly fire came from Gibson, who poured in nine of his 20 points in the closing minutes.

A shot by Dave Echevarria at the buzzer punctuated Class B Burke’s season-opening statement as they left the floor with a 65-40 win over Class A Monticello (1-2).

Janezcko felt his team showed patience down the stretch and that adjustments made to flatten out the defense had neutralized Jackson’s effectiveness in penetrating the seams. “We got good minutes from our bench and that’s a plus. I’d like to be able to go 10 deep this year, so getting contributions from guys on the bench when we got in foul trouble really mattered,” he said.

O’Neill said that Burke’s defensive adjustment was not entirely responsible for his team’s late collapse. “We didn’t show any energy late in the game,” he said, expressing his disappointment. “We played well for 28 minutes.”

“This was a much better effort than we showed in the Wallenpaupack tournament,” he said. “We limited Stanton tonight, and if we had made a few more free throws, that would have helped too.”

Burke (1-0) was slated to travel to Kingston on December 11. Monticello (1-2) was scheduled to host Washingtonville on the same day.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of game pictures.