Basketball

Forth in the fourth

Figueroa leads fourth-quarter surge to help Bulldogs beat talented Manor

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY—Livingston Manor didn’t just come to play against Sullivan West; they came to win.

Armed with an ample display of athleticism, tough zone defense featuring extended half-court traps and slicing cutters getting to the rim, the Class D Wildcats looked as if they just might pull off a banner headline upset over the Class B Bulldogs on December 15.

Almost, but not quite.

In a tantalizing, fast-paced game that featured six ties over the course of the second and third quarters, Sullivan West’s timely shooting, fueled by Brad Reimer’s game-high 30 points that included a trio of treys and Dan Figueroa’s fourth-quarter surge of 10 points including two of his three pointers in the frame, proved to be too much for the Wildcats as the Bulldogs’ late heroics led to a 71-64 win in the non-league fray.

With the win, the Westies improved to 3-1 while Manor suffered its first defeat and fell to 2-1. Both teams showed moxie and grit, as neither quit in a game that was up for grabs until the final minutes.

Manor came out in a man defense to start the game and soon found itself outmatched. “Defensively, we weren’t even guarding anybody,” said coach Charlie Hicks, who called an early time out to admonish his team’s laxity. Though Manor had struck first with a three-pointer by Ross Abbott, the Wildcats soon found themselves trailing as the Bulldogs got seven each from James Spruill and Reimer in the first quarter. The Bulldogs led 20-13 at the end of the period.

Hicks changed up to a three-two zone with an extended half court trap and Sullivan West fell right into the Wildcats’ clutches. Sullivan West continued to try and fast break against the press, failing to get good looks. The result was a nearly four-minute drought that allowed Manor to get right back in the game.

“You can’t catch and hold the ball or they’ll trap you” Kelly would later note. With Claude Davis coming off the bench, the Wildcats got the spark they needed. Davis tweaked an ankle in practice recently, but his presence down low provided 10 key points in the quarter, along with timely threes from Troy Correa and a buzzer-beater by Abbot.

The game was knotted four times in the frame as Manor outscored Sullivan West 21-12 to take a 34-32 lead into halftime. Each team had nine turnovers in the first half as steals and errant passes abounded, much to the chagrin of Hicks and Sullivan West coach Cliff Kelly.

The third quarter saw even-handed play as Sullivan West barely outscored Manor 19-18 and Manor held a 52-51 edge heading into the final frame. Reimer’s 11 points in the period carried his team as he raised his game with streaking drives to the rim and a swishing three. Figueroa and RJ Rosa fired in from downtown as well as Hicks looked on, wondering if Sullivan West was ever going to miss. “Everything they threw up went in,” he would later note. Manor had led by as many as six points but couldn’t pull away. “We made some stupid mistakes by leaving shooters open and doubling at the wrong time,” Hicks said in his post-game recap.

Davis slashed to the rim to extend the lead to start the fourth quarter, but a timely bucket by Eric Leewe cut it back down to one. Shortly thereafter, showing muscle on the offensive glass, Manor put back the fourth of a series of rebounds to pull ahead by five. But five straight points from red-hot Figueroa, which included a three, tied it at 58-all.

Rosa gave the Westies the lead but Shane Lewis tied it up again. Figueroa put the Dawgs on top and from there out the Bulldogs never trailed again. A three by Reimer made it 65-61. Hendrickson hit one of two from the stripe to cut the margin to three, but in the highlight play of the game, Reimer saved a ball that was going out of bounds and back flipped it, reminiscent of Derek Jeter’s famous back flip to Jorge Posada in the Yankees versus Oakland game-five thriller in the American League Division Series in 2001.

Reimer’s ball was snared by Figueroa, who nailed a swishing three as he was fouled. He missed the free throw but the Dawgs now led 68-62. Spruill, who is nursing a sore ankle, came back onto the floor to stabilize the point. He had a late bucket and Reimer had a free throw to help the Westies ice the win. Manor made it interesting right to the end by forcing a turnover with 48 seconds to go, but they couldn’t manage to get the big shots when they needed them most.

Hicks was disappointed with the loss, but felt his team had played well in spots. “We’re a fast-paced team that wants to put pressure on our opponents,” he noted. That strategy worked in the Wildcats’ dramatic 77-75 overtime win over division rival S.S. Seward, as well as in a convincing 81-28 win over Roscoe.

Sullivan West assistant coach Pat Donovan had scouted the Manor-Seward game, so there were few surprises. “They’re a good team,” said Kelly. “We knew they would dribble penetrate but we didn’t play good helping defense early on. When we did, and finally jumped into the passing lanes, things got better.” Asked about Manor’s effectiveness at getting open cutters to score easy inside buckets, Kelly replied, “You’ve got to bump cutters.” No doubt that is something the team will stress more in coming practices.

Sullivan West hosted S.S. Seward on December 17 and will travel to the Family School on December 19.

Manor visited Tri-Valley on December 16, and will host Chapel Field for a league game on December 19. Bears coach Brian Tingley scouted the Sullivan West-Livingston Manor game.

Sullivan West was three-for-six from the free throw line. Manor was five-for eight in a game in which few fouls were called.

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