Basketball

The Tribe arrives

Eight-year trail of tears sectional absence ends with dramatic win over Sullivan West

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Amidst the emotional maelstrom of high school basketball lies the stark antithesis between the ecstasy of winning and the stultifying pain of defeat.

That dichotomy was on display following Liberty’s stunning 58-40 win over a depleted but valiant Sullivan West team on February 6, as players from both teams gave all they had in a game with much on the line.

Ultimately, the Indians’ depth proved to be the difference in their sectional-qualifying victory that was defined by a series of runs put on by both contenders.

For Sullivan West, now down to eight players, a number of whom were running fevers the day before, the loss put them closer to not making sectionals for the first time in the merged district’s history. Following a subsequent loss to O’Neill, Sullivan West beat Fallsburg and must now beat Burke to break even and qualify for sectionals.

Heart, they’ve got. Talent, they’ve got. Great coaching, they’ve got. The question is: do they have anything left in the tank?

While Sullivan West was left to ponder its possible short shelf life, Liberty found itself invited to the big dance that has shown it a cold shoulder for eight years. Back then, its current players were in grades three and four. No wonder there were wide eyes and tears aplenty following the berth-clinching win. When the final buzzer sounded, following the handshakes with their exhausted rivals, Liberty, now 6-9 (4-3 OCIAA), sprinted into the locker room to celebrate. The look on their faces as they tearfully hugged their coach Jason Semo said it all.

Assistant coach Chris Sinceno was on Liberty’s Section Nine champion 1999-2000 team, the last time the Indians were in the sectionals. He, along with many other Liberty denizens, bore witness to watching other teams celebrate while his alma mater was left on the outside looking in.

Liberty’s comeback makes for a banner story, a great follow up to its stunning turnaround in football this past fall. But from the outset, the Bulldogs were determined to make this game their story, not Liberty’s.

Sullivan West controlled the early flow doing something they struggled to do in their 70-54 loss to the tribe in Liberty a week ago: they got the ball down low to Chris Story. He scored seven of the Bulldogs’ first nine points and would go on to record 16 by halftime on the way to a game-high 21.

The Dawgs got out to a 9-4 lead but a three-pointer by Dashawn Williamson propelled Liberty right back in. In the next minute, a Sullivan West steal by Justin Armstrong, a turnover and another basket by Williamson led Sullivan West coach Cliff Kelly to challenge calls being made by the officials.

That netted Kelly a technical foul and Liberty’s Dustin VanLieu’s two from the stripe gave the Indians a lead they would never relinquish. Liberty closed out the quarter with a 12-0 run to lead 16-9.

Playing in front a sparse home crowd without any cheerleaders since not enough came out to warrant a squad this year, the Dawgs bared their teeth and opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run that resulted in a brief tie at 16 all, following a smooth trip through the lane by Armstrong.

But Liberty answered right back with eight straight points. The feisty Dawgs pulled within one at 25-24 before a buzzer-beating three by VanLieu gave Liberty a 28-24 lead at the break.

In the first half, Liberty got 13 points from Williamson, nine of which came in the first quarter. By night’s end, he’d match Story with 21 for the game-high tally. Van Lieu’s long-range shooting was off but he still managed to contribute 17 points by game’s end.

Sullivan West’s principal weapon, Brad Reimer, was closely shadowed by Liberty defenders who rotated to help whenever he touched the ball. That, coupled with the residual effects of his prior-day fever, limited his production to eight points.

“You’ve got to know where Reimer is at all times,” Semo would later say during his lengthy tribute to Sullivan West’s players and coach. “Cliff [Kelly] has done a great job. Everyone counted them out when Cappiello, Hahn and Ackermann graduated, but these kids come to play,” he said.

Despite their big losses to graduation, Semo regards this year’s Bulldogs as “a typical Sullivan West team.”

Prior to the game, Kelly had affirmed his team’s efforts. “If you had told me that we’d be here in this position right now, I might not have believed it,” said the coach, who hoped his depleted team could somehow find a way to muster two wins and earn an unanticipated sectional bid.

The second half began with a 6-0 run by the Indians, who would outscore their rivals 16-7 in the frame to take a commanding 44-31 into the fourth quarter. Liberty’s aggressive defense fueled its offense, which got points in the paint. Subbing brought fresh legs, as Liberty succeeded in wearing down Sullivan West.

Fatigue and great perimeter defense by Liberty caused Sullivan West to register a shut out in its three-point shooting. In its two prior games against Fallsburg and Liberty, Sullivan West 8-9 (0-5 OCIAA) had netted 15 from downtown.

Exhaustion not only affected its long-range shooting, it also took its toll at the free throw line. Sullivan West hit only four of 13 from the stripe. Liberty made six of 12 from the line.

With about two minutes to go, Kelly inserted subs Artie Norden, Gabe LaGrutta and Austin Sauer. A short while later, Semo sent in his five remaining bench players to complete the game.

The coach began his post-game comments talking about Sullivan West.

“They did a great job of finding Story tonight,” said Semo. “They played hard. They’re just not a deep team and that hurt them.

“Our agenda was to play great defense tonight and allow our defense to turn into offense, but they slowed us down early with their zone,” said Semo, whose team played stick-like-glue man-to-man defense all night.

“When we play aggressively, we get points in the paint. That’s our game,” said Semo, who went on to talk about his own team’s accomplishments.

“What’s special is what they’ve had to get through to do this, but even more important is the standard we’ve held them to both on and off the court. They haven’t just improved in basketball, it’s also been in their academics and socially,” he said.

“Liberty basketball is back,” said the coach proudly.

There’s no denying that.

Sullivan West beat Fallsburg and hosted Burke on February 14.

A Liberty win at home against Fallsburg on February 8 nearly knocked the Comets out of playoff contention. The Comets had to run the table against Liberty, Sullivan West, O’Neill and Rhinebeck to get in. Liberty defeated Tuxedo on February 11, and was scheduled to be at Cornwall on February 12, home against Afton on February 14 and to host a regular-season finale against Goshen at Sullivan County Community College on February 19.

Visit riverreportersports.com for more details and an album of game photos.