Play It Forward
Wallenpaupack Reclaims Hawley Rotary Title As Monticello Comes Up Short In Attempted Three-Peat Bid; Fallsburg Boys Win Hambletonian Classic Championship Vs. Sullivan West While Lady Comets Top Lady Westies In Consolation Match Up As All Aforementioned Teams Look To Parlay Tourney Experience Towards Improvement For The Grueling Challenges To Come
14th Annual Hawley Tip Off Classic Championship Game: Wallenpaupack 47, Monticello 35
Boys Hambletonian Classic Championships: Fallsburg 45, Sullivan West 29
Girls Hambletonian Classic Consolation Game: Fallsburg 40, Sullivan West 23
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Scenes from the 14th Annual Hawley Tip-Off tourney (Clockwise) Monticello's Rob Riley scores the first points of the game. Monticello's Anthony Gray electrifies the crowd with this athletic lay up and drew the foul to make it a three-point play. Monticello's Naquan Holman rises up for a shot and is closely defended. Tournament MVP Jake Brown had 24 points in this game and 26 in the first one against Mountain View. The Buckhorns pose with their trophy which was in Monticello's possession for the past two years. Jake Brown shoots over Anthony Gray. The trophy is back at the Big Lake.
WALLENPAUPACK PA AND CHESTER, NY—“The past is history, the future is a mystery but today is a gift, that ‘s why we call it the present,” goes the adage which reminds us that our lives are comprised of three separate domains: what was, what will be and what is.
For basketball teams reckoning with the here and now challenges of the game at-hand, the degree to which they execute their game plan, work together cohesively and deal with the inevitable adversity that comes within the context of a game is all that can be controlled.
That said, what went before, particularly when teams have a history with one another as well as a consciousness of their own prior successes and the lack thereof, the imprint of what came before lurks strongly below the surface. That is particularly true for coaches and the veteran players returning to the fray from past seasons.
Teams that won before want to do so again, while those that came up short in their quests are motivated to turn the tide in their favor.
To put it succinctly, when that tip goes up as it did in this year’s 14th Annual Hawley Tip Off Classic Tournament between cross-river rivals Wallenpaupack and Monticello, the present is all that matters. Gone now was Monticello’s senior-laden team that edged out Wallenpaupack 41-40 for its second straight title a year ago and its fifth straight victory on the Buckhorns’ home court.
For Monticello Coach Chris Russo, that night which authored the story on this website entitled “In a New York Minute” http://74.220.215.54/~sportsi2/in-a-new-york-minute/, was a memorable milestone in a remarkable season. By comparison for Wallenpaupack Coach Rich McGinnis, it was a lost opportunity to close out a game he felt his team should have won and an augur for a struggling 5-18 season in the daunting world of Quad A Pennsylvania basketball.
But no matter what the outcome of the past or present encounters, basketball teams are always forward-looking as they know that no matter what has transpired, it’s what they do tomorrow, next week and the weeks that follow that will determine their fate and what kind of legacy they’ll leave for next year’s team to follow.
To wit, the Buckhorns put last year’s loss and the 2009 one as well in the rearview mirror and looked to parlay their easy 45-23 semifinal victory over Mountain View into the real goal of bringing home the trophy and title they dearly sought.
Monticello returned two veterans to the fray in junior Rob Riley and senior Anthony Gray. Both had played in last year’s tussell but they’d have to approach this year’s quest for the three-peat without the likes of Kenny Sanders Jr, Jesse Kapito, Austin Billig, Billy Cargill and Juan Peña. With as many sophomores on the team as seniors who at present lack the kind of experience only gained from the crucible of big game pressure, the Montie veterans hoped they could carry the team.
To be successful against Wallenpaupack, the Monties would not only have to deal with their size, quickness and cohesive play, but most importantly with standout junior guard Jake Brown who had scored 26 of the Buckhorns’ 45 against Mountain View. Gray was confident that his defensive verve would shut down the AAU-schooled guard. Gray’s messianic approach may have been a bit too enthusiastic as it netted him a trio of first half fouls and consigned him to the bench while Brown continued his showmanship on his way to a game-high 24 points.
Life is about the learning. As legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden noted, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” There would be lessons aplenty for both teams to carry forward from this tournament; lessons that would resonate with meaning long after the memory of this emotionally charged night faded into the realm of what was from the resonating intensity of what is.
In last year’s piece I chose to write a blow-by-blow description of the action, something I eschew this time out for two reasons: First, this game was not the nail-biter of a year ago. Aside from its 10-9 first quarter lead, Monticello trailed the rest of the way sometimes closing the gap to two or three but never able to get the critical stops it needed or to make its offensive trips up the floor consistently profitable.
There were too many one and done shots, too many misses and too much deviance from the kind of efficient basketball that had seen the Monties overcome early lack of focus to devastate Western Wayne 61-39 in the semifinal clash the night before.
Wallenpaupack was an entirely different animal and the Monties were going to need their ‘A’ game to keep pace with what would amount to a Class AA school were they based on the New York side of the river.
Wallenpaupack’s William McLaughlin controlled the opening tip against Riley but the Buckhorns failed to convert. That honor became Riley’s as he pulled up for an early jumper. Brown would soon tie it up with a put back of his first attempt. A blocked shot by Monticello junior Naquan by McLaughlin sent an early message about the rigors of shooting in the paint.
Brown would score seven of his team’s nine in the opening stanza with the other two coming from junior Nick Tereschak. The Monties got four from junior Latique Liles including a trey, as well as a pair of points from Gray and Riley to marshal the 10-9 lead.
Early foul trouble would force the Monties out of their intended array as Gray picked up his second and then third foul in the ensuing second quarter. Brown also had two fouls by the end of the second quarter.
Wallenpaupack began the second quarter with a pair of steals, one by Brown and the other by junior Alex Moit. The latter gave the Buckhorns an 11-10 lead. They’d never trail again. They outscored Monticello 10-6 in the second quarter to take a 19-16 lead into halftime. Brown had four as did Tereschak to go along with a bucket from McLaughlin. The Monties had gotten within one at 13-12 but Brown had a pair of pull up jumpers to push the margin to 17-12.
Monticello got four of its six from senior co-captain Ros Djombalaj including the last points scored in the period.
Russo implored his team to return to what they do best: play aggressive defense and to keep that intensity past the first rotation of the basketball. But Wallenpaupack was patient using the lack of a shot clock to rotate the ball and to often find easy backdoor penetration or points in the paint. Late rotation by the Monties put the Buckhorns on the free throw line.
Both teams had their most productive output in the third quarter as the Monties got 15, while Wallenpaupack scored 19. The Buckhorns had nine free-throw attempts in the quarter and they made seven of them on their way to an 11/17 night from the line for a 64.7% success rate.
The key to Wallenpaupack’s success in the frame was its distribution of the basketball as evidenced by the scoring balance. Brown had six points, Tereschak had five, Moit had four as did Antony Bouselli.
Monticello answered with four from Gray, Holman and Ben Kapito, two from Riley and one from Djombalaj. Wallenpaupack led 38-31 heading into the final frame wherein they outscored the Monties 9-4 to ice the 47-35 win. Brown was selected as Tounament MVP. He had 24 points in this outing netting him 50 for the tournament. Rob Riley was selected to the All-Tournament team along with Adam Gillis from Western Wayne, Joel Madas from Mountain View, as well as Moit and Tereschak from Wallenpaupack.
Buckhorns’ coach Rich McGinnis was visibly pleased with his team’s accomplishment. “Monticello is very quick. They can be very exciting in the open court when they get the ball in transition. We knew that coming in. I give credit to my seniors, the guys who have been here before and made it an objective to bring this trophy back to the big lake. I give them credit for the poise that they showed,” he noted.
McGinnis talked about Brown. “Jake is a special player. He’s phenomenal. But the kids have to realize that he’s not a one-man show and that we’re going to need other kids to fill certain roles. Some kids emerged in this tournament including sophomore Anthony Bouselli. He got rebounds, put backs and defended.
Everybody is starting to settle into their roles and that’s what the pre-season is about.
Asked about his expectations for the year, McGinnis noted. “We play in a very tough league but my hope is that each night these kids come out and find a way to compete. I think if we keep our poise good things will happen. Team chemistry is important and I’m not worried about that,” he averred.
McGinnis noted that his 5-18 team of a year ago struggled against the daunting competition. We’re hoping to learn from our experiences last year, compete and stay in games. Wallenpaupack is on the low end of the quad-A school. They have just over 500 boys from grades 9-12 and less than 500 girls. “We’re competing against schools that have upwards of a thousand boys or even 1200 once you get into the larger districts. Scranton won the league and district last year. “They’re absolutely electric. But we’re going to play some schools that are similar to us like Delaware Valley, North Pocono and Honesdale. It should be exciting,” he noted.
Russo noted “Our early foul trouble hurt us. What we said to the guys was we didn’t respond to the runs that they made at us and when the game got sloppy and physical we kind of took a step back. That’w what ‘s disappointing that we didn’t put that fight in. We got into too much one on one and people got away from what we had practiced doing,” he offered.
“This is a young team. We have as many sophomores as we have seniors and one of our seniors never played before. We have to adjust and go back and re-teach to make sure guys are in the right spot because when they’re not that’s when we get in trouble. It was disappointing because we didn’t’ execute or defend the way we should.”
Russo went on to say, “We did get a bit too concerned about things which are outside of our control. We wrote that on the board at halftime. We were focusing on some of those things he noted. In the locker room after the game Gray took a lot of the responsibility on his own shoulders for losing his focus and promised the team that things would be different from here on out.
“That’s a sign of maturity,” noted Russo who reminded the team that it was a collective onus, not just on one person.
Needless to say the entire conversation with Russo and the demeanor of the team was a far cry from the night before when the Monties overcame some early defensive lapses to overwhelm Western Wayne 61-39 after trailing 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Outscoring the Wildcats 32-20 in the second quarter was a product of great defense and running effective offensive sets. Playing at that level, Monticello looks highly competitive. Riley had 15 points in that win while Gray had 13. Djobalaj chipped in 12. That win was Monticello’s sixth consecutive victory on the Buckhorn’s floor. The first one had come while Russo was still an assistant to Dick O’Neill three years ago.
Russo effusively praised the hospitality extended by Wallenpaupack. “They treat us great here,” he noted.
Monticello (1-1) host Sullivan West (1-2) which is coming off of its 45-29 championship game loss to Fallsburg in the Hambletonian Classic tourney in Chester.
Comets Defeat Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic Final
Scenes from Fallsburg's Hambletonian Classic Tournament championship over Sullivan West (clockwise) Rakkir Watson scores two in the early going. Sullivan West's Sawyer Erlwein defends as Fallsburg's Jim Bertholf looks to pass. Erlwein was selected to the All-Tournament team. Suliivan West's John Masten goes up for two. All-Tourney team member Braiden DeGraw and tournament MVP Michael Robinson. Sullivan West gathers in a huddle in the pregame. Sullivan West's Matt Cardona goes up to score. He led the Bulldogs with seven points. Fallsburg Comets pose with tournament trophy and plaques.
For the second time this season Class B Sullivan West faced off against Class C Fallsburg, this time in the championship game of the Chester Hambletonian Classic Tournament. Fallsburg defeated Chester while Sullivan West had easily downed Chapel Field in the prior weekend’s opening round tilt. Fallsburg had come from behind in their prior fray with the Westies at the Walton Tournament for the 61-57 victory.
This time out it was far less competitive. Fallsburg scored the first four points as Rakkir Watson and Michael Robinson connected but Sullivan West put on a 9-0 run with four points from John Masten, three from Andrew Parsons and two from Matt Cordona. Watson’s three pointer at the buzzer allowed the Comets to come within two at 9-7.
From then on Fallsburg blanked Sulllivan West entirely in the second quarter while scoring 13 of
their own for the 20-9 halftime lead. Robinson had seven in the stanza, while Watson, Jarrett Madison and Jimmy Bertholf had a bucket apiece. That said, Fallsburg’s shooting was off as well as they were only 9/30 from the floor in the first half and had accrued a trio of offensive fouls.
Sullivan West (1-3) had major shooting issues as the third quarter progressed as they managed only eight points in the third quarter to Fallsburg’s 13. The Comets led 33-17 after three quarters. Each team scored 12 in the final frame. Robinson ended up with 16 and was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Braiden DeGraw was quiet with seven points in this game but his prior game onslaught of 27 points enabled him to be selected to the All-Tournament team along with Sullivan West’s Sawyer Erlwein who had five points in this outing. Erlwein played well defensively and stood in to take a couple of charges.
The Bulldogs travel to Monticello on December 15 to take on the Monties in “The Pit.”
Fallsburg coach Pete Dworetsky felt his team played well defensively. “When we played up at Walton we made some bad decisions and mistakes but today to give up only nine points in a half is impressive. We didn’t give up a basket in the second quarter. We did miss a lot of shots. Shots that were falling the other night in close didn’t go in. Basketball is like that.”
Fallsburg is off for the next 11 days before they play Livingston Manor. “They’re a tough team and they’re well-coached. Fallsburg’s one-point loss to Chester in the last game of the regular season last year cost them a share of the Division V championship. They beat Seward at home but lost to them in Florida and again in the sectionals. The Comets bring their entire team back this year and look to make a serious run in Class C.
Sullivan West first-year coach Bruce Nober had this to say about his team’s subdued performance. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket today. We shot terribly from the foul line too (2/9=22%). Nober noted that Fallsburg outrebounded his team.
We’ve just got to compete. We competed the first quarter today and then we didn’t compete the rest o the game.” Nober noted that it’s been a few years since Sullivan West has won (last year they won just one game) and we’ve got to get over the hump.” Reflecting on this game, Nober noted “if you hold a team to 45 points you should be able to win.”
Lady Comets Garner Consolation Game Win Over Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic
Scenes from Fallsburg's 40-23 consolation game win over Sullivan West in the Hambletonian Classic Tournament at Chester (clockwise) Sullivan West's Erika Stauch scores from the wing in the early going. She was named to the All-Tournament team. Fallsburg's Sheryl Pinder was also an All-Tournament Team honoree. Sullivan West's Marianne Durkin dribbles the ball up the floor. Fallsburg's Shanice Mack is guarded by Sullivan West's Stephanie Hauschild and Fallsburg freshman Diana Presti scores in her debut.
Sullivan West schemed to contain senior guard Sheryl Pinder and they did just that holding the fiery shooter to just two points in the first half and seven overall. But as it would turn out Pinder was the least of their problems as they were physically bested by the Lady Comets who out-rebounded and out-muscled the young Lady Bulldogs to the tune of 40-23 in the Consolation Game of the Chester Hambletonian Classic.
Fallsburg led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20-13 by the half. Like it did in its prior loss to Eldred, Sullivan West struggled to score. With his entire starting team graduating in June, Sullivan West Coach Pat Donovan knew this team would be young and inexperienced. “We’re just not strong,” he noted following the loss to Fallsburg that put his team at 0-2.
While Pinder was relatively quiet, Kelsey Moody was anything ut. She had 11 points and nine rebounds in the win despite playing on a very sore ankle. Pinder had eight assists but for Coach Daniel Redmond, better news was the debut of freshman Diana Presti who scored eight points along with the performance of Paige Seletsky who was playing in only her fourth varsity outing. Seletsky and Shanice Mack each recorded nine rebounds. Mack scored nine points.
Pinder and Sullivan West’s Erika Stauch were chosen to the All-Tournament Team. Tournament MVP was Chester’s Mardelle Jean who scored 20 points in Chesters 48-20 Championship game victory over Eldred. Chester is now 2-0, while Eldred fell to 1-1.
“We got great rebounding today,” said Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond. “We really attacked the boards. Kelsey Moody has been hurt but she’s fighting through the pain. Even though Sheryl struggled when we have our two bigs (Mack and Moody) working down low we can make a lot of good things happen,” he added.
Fallsburg made it to the playoffs last year before losing to Eldred. The Lady Comets hope to go even further this time around.
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