Forward March!

Richard A Ross
Posted 8/21/12

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY—For its sheer emotion, there is nothing akin to high school playoff basketball, wherein it’s win or go home and a season’s life hinges on a team’s ability, character and …

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Forward March!

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SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY—For its sheer emotion, there is nothing akin to high school playoff basketball, wherein it’s win or go home and a season’s life hinges on a team’s ability, character and resilience. For the No.6-seeded Sullivan West Bulldogs, their historic and cathartic 70-64 quarterfinal road win against Section IX Class C defending Champion S.S. Seward was one of the most storied victories in the school’s history.

Having lost to Seward twice in extremely close games, the Bulldogs felt they had the best draw in the tournament with a first-round game against the Spartans. And indeed, they led at the end of every quarter even with senior standout Ronj Padu riding the bench in foul trouble for the better part of three quarters. Padu would return to the fray and play with four fouls to contribute great defense, rebounding and ultimately adding 10 points to the cause. Noah Bauer’s quartet of three-pointers were a key part of the assault, particularly a trey he hit to reverse a late surge by Seward that had put the Spartans briefly ahead in the game’s waning minutes. Bauer, who posted 18 points in the win, has 64 threes on the season. He is the Section IX leader in that category. Jiron Kevii scored 22 points in the win, and Mark Castro had 14 for the 12-7 Bulldogs, who advanced to play No.2 Rhinebeck (8-5) in the semifinals. Details of the SW-Seward game can be read in “One for the Ages” on www.sportsinsightsny.com. Sullivan County teams had their share of magic as the No.2 Class B Liberty boys (8-10) held on to beat No.7 Millbrook (5-11) 44-42 with a game-winning shot from Tarik Johnson. Liberty advanced to host No.3 Highland (13-5) in the semifinals. The No.4 Class B Fallsburg Lady Comets (15-4) ousted No. 5 Highland (10-9) 45-43 in overtime to advance to play No.1 Marlboro (11-5). The No.2 Eldred Yellow Jackets (7-12) downed No.3 Chapel Field 69-58 to advance to the Class D boys finals to take on Livingston Manor (11-5). In first round action the only county team to suffer a defeat was the No 5 Tri-Valley Bears (11-8) who lost a heartbreaking 56-55 game to No.4 Chester (13-6). Much more action was scheduled to unfold as the No.2 Tri-Valley Lady Bears (10-8) got set to take on No.3 Pine Plains (11-7) in a Class C semifinal. The Class D defending champion No. 1 Eldred Lady Yellow Jackets (15-3) got set to host No. 2 Livingston Manor (5-13) in the finals. Eldred defeated Tri-Valley 55-51 in the final regular season game of the season. The non-league win for Eldred was its fifth against bigger schools. They beat the Class C Lady Bears twice as well as Seward, Chester and Class B Fallsburg. Their only losses came against Tuxedo, Pine Plains and Port Jervis. The No.2 Class A Monticello Panthers (14-4) hosted No.7 New Paltz (4-12). The winner advanced to play No.3 Saugerties (14-3). All tournament finals will be played at SUNY New Paltz, except the Class D games, which will be held at Sullivan County Community College. Impending hazardous weather played havoc with postponements throughout the region. At the Section IX indoor track state qualifier, Sullivan West’s Anthony Rydell qualified for the state meet to be held at Cornell University on March 7, with a lifetime best throw of 52-6 ¼ in the weight throw. For albums of photos, visit www.sportsiny.com

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