Basketball

Talon talent

Burke Eagles’ dominance of Sullivan West evinces huge gap between fierce rivals

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GOSHEN, NY — For years on end, whenever Sullivan West and John S. Burke took to the court for a boys basketball game, the atmosphere was purely electric. Games were guaranteed to be fierce down-to-the-wire encounters, whose outcomes were in question in the game’s waning minutes.

But, at least for the present, those days are over. Beginning in earnest with last year’s Class B sectional semifinal in which Burke shut down Sullivan West’s Kevin Cappiello on its way to 59-48 win, Burke showed its ability to throttle Sullivan West’s offense with a stifling man defense that would limit top shooters’ access to the ball and seriously minimize good looks at the basket. The final score in that semifinal did not reflect Burke’s utter control of the game.

Burke went on to survive an overtime 55-50 thriller against a surprisingly strong Marlboro squad to recapture the Section Nine title they had lost to Spackenkill the year before. In 2004-05, Burke’s title win over Sullivan West was debunked when it was subsequently revealed that they had played an ineligible player during the entire season.

It was during the 2004-05 season that the rivalry between the boys teams reached its greatest intensity.

But at present, while there is still chatter about Sullivan West-Burke basketball clashes, the gap between the teams has become a chasm.

In their January 4 division fray in the Eagles aerie, Burke flawlessly executed its strategy of defensive strangulation, forcing turnover after turnover with its relentless pressure. Sullivan West’s guards had trouble distributing the ball as numerous passes were picked off in traffic, which resulted in transition buckets at the opposite end of the floor.

Offensively playing five seniors who seem to mesh seamlessly, Burke was able to reverse the ball at will and work it into the low post where recently acquired DJ Gibson was proving himself to be a solid presence, something Burke desperately needed to enhance its arsenal following the graduation of Kyle Byrons and Tyler Locatell. Gibson transferred to Burke from Middletown High School.

Gibson netted nine of his eventual game-high 15 points in the first quarter as Burke rushed out to a 21-7 lead by the end of the opening period.

Sullivan West’s Chris Story canned the game’s first bucket after the Bulldogs controlled the tip. But aside from a three pointer by Jason Leewe and a bucket by Brad Reimer, the rest of Sullivan West’s offensive sets were plundered and sundered by Burke’s helping defense that rotated to the ball before Sullivan West players had time to think about what they might do with it.

Burke’s first-quarter flurry came courtesy of a quintet of players, including guard Derrick Stanton who had five. Stanton hit a three in the first frame and would later add another three before exiting with 14 points. Stanton’s respite, along with that of Burke’s other starters, gave valuable minutes to Burke’s bench players anxious to show coach Doug Janeczko how they could contribute.

Going 10 deep this year is one of the things Janeczco hopes to be able to do. Last year’s war with Cinderella Marlboro nearly exposed Burke’s lack of depth. Burke got opening-quarter points from Chris Undersinger, Jim LaFrance and Connor Sullivan.

Adding 26 points in the second quarter to Sullivan West’s nine led to a 47-16 lead at the break. Stanton added seven to his eventual total of 14 in the frame and Gibson posted six. Both were given extensive rest for the remainder of the game.

Story scored five in the quarter, half of his team-high 10 by night’s end.

Little changed in the second half with the exception of substitutions by both teams. As the lead widened, Janeczko deployed his entire bench, which showed its ability to harass on defense and score using Burke’s patented offensive strategy of spreading the floor, rotating the ball and looking for cutters in the paint.

It’s all about execution. Sullivan West coach Cliff Kelly brought in his bench players as well, giving them minutes in a game that had been decided in the first eight minutes.

Kelly and his players were disappointed with the outcome. Having led O’Neill for much of the game, a team that beat Burke earlier this season, Sullivan West expected to be competitive, but as Kelly pointed out after the game, the Bulldogs (4-5, 0-2 OCIAA) didn’t match up well with Burke (5-2, 2-1 OCIAA).

Sullivan West defeated Port Jervis on January 5 in the previously postponed championship game of the Billy Moran tournament (see story, page 36). This week, they played Port Jervis again before taking on Tri-Valley.

Burke will turn its attention to Cornwall, Middletown and Fallsburg. Cornwall bested Burke 67-38 during a holiday tournament. The game at Fallsburg on January 11 will be a league tilt.

Sullivan West’s hopes for reaching sectionals will depend in part on its ability to wrangle with the likes of Fallsburg, Liberty and O’Neill. They will play the latter in Highland Falls later this season. To achieve a .500 league record, the Bulldogs will have to go 4-2 in the remainder of their league games. One of those is against Burke on February 14 in Lake Huntington. An overall record of .500 or better is another way to reach the post season.

Janeczko was pleased with his team’s play but said that the intensity is not all there yet. As the defending champion, Burke knows that it is in the gun sights of the other teams in the division. But having been nicked once in the loss to O’Neill, it seems as if Burke’s talons are sharp and ready to tear into the opposition the rest of the way through.

Time will tell.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of pictures.