Basketball

Sunlight and shadows

Manor emerges with Groundhog Day league win over host Eldred

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ELDRED, NY — Like the notorious Punxsutawney Phil, Eldred emerged from its relative obscurity on February 2 into the bright lights of its home gym to grab headlines and signal the end to its somewhat dreary season.

With the eyes of their loyal fans fixed upon them, the fiery Yellow Jackets drew applause and adoration as they stormed out to an early 17-8 lead over Livingston Manor. Rik Dilles blocked three shots in the opening frame and scored six of his eventual eight points, as the Yellow Jackets raced around and through Manor’s vaunted man-to-man defense. Blair Flanagan added five and Jason Jennings contributed four in Eldred’s opening frame.

Indeed, it looked like the end of Eldred’s winter was about to be announced.

But when Wildcats’ coach Charlie Hicks called a time out and implemented a 1-2-2 defense with about three minutes remaining in the quarter to pick up Eldred at half court, the Yellow suddenly noticed their shadows and, at least for this night, winter remained both inside the gym and outside where snow continued to fall.

By night’s end, Manor emerged with a 55-43 league win and the bright prospect of returning to sectionals as it improved to 10-4 (6-2 OCIAA).

With a trio of strong seniors in Claude Davis, Mike Hendrickson and Shane Lewis, and lightning quick guards, Manor has been able to harry its opponents with its tight man defense. But Hicks knew Eldred really came to play and that it wasn’t working.

Good coaches make adjustments and Hicks’ decision would spell an entirely different forecast for his team that began to heat up after a chilly start.

“For some reason, they were breaking our man defense with ease, which has been our bread and butter,” Hicks said after the game. Putting the extra pressure on Eldred’s guards would result in 18 additional turnovers, as compared with the three the Yellow Jackets had committed in the first five minutes. Manor surrendered the ball 13 times by game’s end.

A collateral result of Manor’s pressure was its better positioning under the basket, which afforded it a rebounding edge and second-chance opportunities.

Eldred led 19-12 at the end of the first frame. But the second quarter would prove disastrous for the Jackets, who were outscored 18-2.

“We dug ourselves a hole we couldn’t get out of,” Eldred coach J.J. Gass would later admit, attributing turnovers and Manor’s aggressive rebounding and second-chance shots as the factors that turned a brief period of sunlight into the re-emergence of gloom as his team fell to 3-8 (1-6 OCIAA). “We’ll have to win from here out to make the sectionals.” Gass pointed to some positives, including holding his opponents to 25 points in the second half.

Manor led 30-21 at the half and increased its lead to 12 at the end of the third quarter. They entered the final frame leading 44-32. The second-half upsurge of Jennings, who scored 12 of his team-high 17 points, kept Eldred on fairly even terms with Manor in the second half. But the damage done in the second quarter would prove to be too great. Hendrickson scored 12 and Davis poured in 11 in the Wildcats’ winning effort. Manor was five for 10 from the stripe, while Eldred was eight for 18.

Hicks credited Eldred. “They stunned us a bit early on. They’re tough on this court and they definitely came to play tonight.”

Gass hopes his team can still turn the tide. “We need to rebound and take better care of the ball. We must have given them an extra 20 shots tonight on second-chance opportunities. You can’t win games when you do that,” he observed.

Eldred hoped to see some light as it traveled to Roscoe for a league game on February 4 before hosting St. Rose on February 6.

Manor looked to even the score with Tri-Valley at home on February 4. The Bears beat the Wildcats earlier this season in Grahamsville. On February 6, Manor will host Chapel Field for a league game.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of game photos.