Win one

Sullivan West comes out firing in opening-night win over Port Jervis

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY—Authoritative, confident and balanced, Sullivan West hit the floor in its opener against Class A Port Jervis and stole the show.

Deploying effective defense, getting fine outside shooting and penetration to the rim by dint of some deft passing, the Bulldogs looked impressive in their 70-54 win over the Red Raiders who have one of Section Nine’s best leapers in senior Nick Smith.

Smith did everything in his power to elevate his team to a win. He poured in 21 points, got the crowd’s attention with a commanding dunk and blocked four shots. But despite Smith’s heroics, Port Jervis showed some defensive lapses and hurt itself with 19 turnovers.

That, coupled with Sullivan West’s accurate shooting with the exception of a second-quarter drought, led to Port’s demise, despite Smith’s showmanship and fine play by guard Joe McCoy, who added 17 points to the cause and played intense defense all night long.

A year ago, Smith was part of a dynamic threesome that included seniors Darrick Mason and sharpshooter Marcus Burbridge. The Bulldogs pulled off a dramatic 65-58 win over impressive Port on January 5, only to have Port Jervis pay them back 65-33 three days later to gain the season split.

With Burbridge and Mason now graduated, Sullivan West coach Cliff Kelly knew that keeping Smith reasonably in check would be key, but rather than putting Brad Reimer on him and risking early foul trouble, Kelly opted to use Dan Figueroa instead in a move that proved wise to say the least.

As legendary UCLA coach John Wooden once noted, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” Things happened all right, and it was apparent early on that the Bulldogs were prepared mentally and physically for their first challenge in a season in which they hope to fare better than a year ago, when they failed to make the sectionals for the first time in recent memory.

Smith controlled the tip against Reimer, but it was James Spruill who opened the scoring with a nice jumper from the top of the key. Smith answered back but the Bulldogs unveiled their balanced attack with points from Justin Armstrong and a swishing three pointer from RJ Rosa. The Dawgs opened up an 11-4 lead, foreshadowing their ability to put together runs that would neutralize attempts by the Red Raiders to get back into the game.

Sullivan West led 22-13 at the end of the first quarter with nine points from Rosa, five from Reimer that included a trey, four from Armstrong and two each from Spruill and Figueroa. Sullivan West’s helping man defense forced a spate of Port Jervis turnovers. By halftime, that total had swelled to 11.

Rosa was impressive with 17 points on the night. Hearkening back to Wooden’s quote, it was the little things that turned his game into a big one, including his constant movement without the ball and his mindful defense.

By night’s end, the Bulldogs would get double-digit scoring from five players, including Rosa, Reimer (16 points), Spruill (14), Figueroa (11) and Armstrong (10).

In the second quarter, though, Sullivan West experienced some defensive breakdowns that fueled a 9-0 Port Jervis run and allowed the Raiders to rebound from a 26-13 deficit to come within four. Unfortunately, those nine points would be all that Port could amass. Sullivan West broke out its doldrums with a pair of free throws from Armstrong and a three pointer from Figueroa to take a 31-22 lead into halftime despite having scored only nine points in the frame Kelly schooled his team at halftime.

“Make sure you’re in a position to either dribble, pass or shoot. Make yourself a threat wherever you are,” he counseled.

The team took him at his word. Shaking off the lethargy of the second quarter, the Dawgs scored 15 in the third quarter, just in time to match Port Jervis’ raised level of play from McCoy, who poured in nine of his team’s 13 points in the quarter. The Westies led 46-35 heading into the final frame.

Smith’s demonstrative blocks were impressive, as were his leaping shots. Photos in the album that accompany this story depict his incredible athleticism.

Saving the best for last, the Bulldogs punctuated their night with a 24-point fourth quarter fueled by six points from Spruill and Figueroa, five from Rosa, four from Reimer and two from Armstrong. Once again, balanced scoring demonstrated to onlookers, including Liberty’s coaches and starters, that the Bulldogs are multi-dimensional.

Diminishing their first-half total of eight turnovers to three in the second half showed better care of the ball. Kelly was impressed. “This was a good win. We’ve been working on catching and shooting,” he noted. Referencing his team’s second-quarter lapse, Kelly observed, “We weren’t shifting and we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. Our offense was just going through the motions. We had one kid shooting and four just looking on.”

First games avail coaches an opportunity to see what needs work. Port Jervis coach Ron Semerano knows his team needs plenty of that. “Our defense was very lax tonight, though it was intense,” he noted. “We turned it over way too many times. I think Sullivan West played well. They shoot well from the outside and have some really good role players. Whenever we got on a run tonight, they would answer.”

Port Jervis (0-1) will host James I. O’Neill on December 9. Sullivan West (1-1) lost to Walton in the Warriors’ Tournament on December 4. They played Harpursville in the consolation game on December 9.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of photos from the game.