LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — There’s nothing quite like a win on Valentine’s Day for celebrating a victory on your home court.

And that’s exactly what happened on February 14, as the Wildcats of Livingston Manor defeated the visiting Yellowjackets of Eldred 65-41 in a boys’ varsity game of hoops on the hometown hardwood.

The game started out with an early 8-0 run by Manor. Then the momentum shifted temporarily as the Yellowjackets made a few adjustments to stage a 10-0 romp. But then the home team settled down in the second frame to pick up a 24-point victory at the final buzzer.

For the Yellowjackets (2-11), it was the closing game of the season, while for Manor (7-10) it was their second win over Eldred—they defeated the Jackets 49-37 on January 25—and on to the upcoming sectionals.

The scoring was even-steven in the first frame (12-12); in the second period, Manor topped Eldred 18-7; it was even up 19-19 in the third; while in the last inning, the Wildcats clawed the opposition 16-3, as both coaches gave their respective benches a bit of playing time.

Livingston Manor’s top scorers: 

Ben Johnson (17 points, including a trio of three-pointers); Anthony Zamenick (16, including 2 three-pointers); Josh Hendrickson (8); Kaleb Maldoando (7, including a three-pointer); Aiden Johnson (6); while Aidan Roycroft and Logan Park each contributed a three-pointer.

Eldred’s top scorers: 

Trai Kaufman demonstrated the art of the rim-rattling high school dunk as he posted a game-leading 22 points including 2 three-pointers. He was followed by Kaleb Fisher (11) and Cooper Stutz (6).

“We started off good in the first half, and then we just ran out of buckets,” said Yellowjackets’ coach Bill Furler. About the shortfall in baskets, he added, “That’s the story of our whole season.”

Eldred is in a rebuilding year, as this season they fielded one senior and four sophomores in the starting lineup. For the record, they only had two upperclassmen, while the rest of the squad were 10th graders, not all of whom had varsity experience.

“We played some good basketball against a good team who are really experienced, but our defense fell apart in the second half,” said Furler.

“We needed a win tonight to stay alive, but it ended the season for us. Now it’s back to the drawing boards and get ready for next year… the future is bright.”

Charlie Hicks, helmsman of the Wildcats, said of this year’s time of hoops, “We’ve been having a good season, but lost a couple of tough games to bigger schools.”

And of their second win over Eldred, he commented, “We settled down,  took some deep breaths, and just played good team basketball… defense, communication, made the extra passes, and it made all the difference.”

For the rest of the story and more photos, visit riverreporter.com/sports.