LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — It wasn’t for a lack of spirit and intensity—aided by a squad of energic cheerleaders and a partisan home team crowd—but the Sullivan West Bulldogs (4-11) got sent back to the doghouse on February 6, as they were pounded 74-48 by the Bears of Tri-Valley (11-5).

The visitors outpaced Sullivan West in the first two periods on the hardwood (21-8, 27-8) to take a 48-16 lead at the half, on the way to an eventual “dog-town whuppin.”

The Bears’ coach invoked an unofficial “mercy rule” in the third frame, as the Bulldogs briefly bounced back against the bench to outgun the visitors 16-7, but in the final period it was back to business for Tri-Valley as they outscored Sullivan West 19-16.

Sullivan West’s leading scorers: 

Brandon Haas (19 points), Austin Nystrom (11), Charles Kutschera (7) and Matthew DuBois (6).

Tri-Valley’s leading scorers:

Boe Mueller (17 points, including 5 three-pointers); Joshua Fanslau (16, including 2 three-pointers); Misha Khodakovski (12); and Matthew Fanslau (9).

Stats from the free-throw line: SW 3/6 (50 percent), TV 7/13 (54 percent). 

“We came out strong, because we knew we had to here,” said Bears coach Kevin Delaney, adding that the Bulldogs are among their top rivals. “We were ready to play; we were ready for it,” he said.

According to Delaney, standout bucketeers for the victory included Khodakovski—“he’s had three or four good games in a row, playing pretty good”—and Mueller. “Our shooter; he had a good night, played with a lot of heart.”

In summing up the game, Bulldogs helmsman Ronj Padu said, “We fought hard, but we didn’t get the outcome we wanted.

“We just didn’t do the little things today,” he continued. “We didn’t box out; gave them too many second-chance opportunities, and had too many turnovers.”

As to bright spots, Padu cited the “good energy from the guys who normally get to play a lot,” and pointed out the play of Liam Cavanaugh, Billy Roycroft and Allyn Walter.

Standouts included Brandon Haas, who “made a big impact, a big uplift for our offense” and Matthew DuBois. “His ‘threes’ made a difference.”