Stun Gunners

Sullivan West Rides Matt Cardona’s Fourth Quarter Avalanche Of Five Threes To Shock Host Monticello In Come-From-Behind Dramatic Win; Bulldogs’ Fourth Quarter Output Matches Their Prior Three As Their Cohesive Play Proves Effective Against Monticello Second Half Breakdown

Sullivan West 58, Monticello 50

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

MONTICELLO, NY—It wasn’t quite as big as David’s slaying of Goliath, but from the standpoint of the heretofore struggling Sullivan West Bulldogs whose last losing outing against Fallsburg witnessed a scoreless second quarter miasma, the dramatic December 15 come from behind 58-50 win over Monticello on the Panthers’ storied home floor is apt to be one for the ages.

Stunning to say the least, this electrifying game far outstripped any expectations as the visiting Westies found their mark, particularly from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter as they poured in 29 points in the frame, 18 of which came from Matt Cardona.

Sullivan West's Sawyer Erlwein knows about toughness and pressure from his football experience. Here he seems undaunted as he is guarded closely by Monticello's Latique Liles.

The fourth quarter surge doubled their point output for the first three quarters in an avalanche of offense that Monticello just could not stop. Cardona’s accuracy, abetted by Sullivan West’s eight-for-ten shooting from the line in the final frame, provided the dagger much to the delight of the Bulldog fans who had traveled from West to East to support their team.

Indeed the dividends of Cardona’s relentless work on his three point shot, marshaled by countless hours in the gym and elsewhere paid off in a mother lode of five treys in the final stanza. As Monticello continued to make far too many empty trips up the floor in the game’s deciding closing minutes, Sullivan West executed what coach Bruce Nober had been stressing all week long: make the extra pass and find the open man.

The three point heroics reminded this writer of another Sullivan West win in the Pit years back when Joe Meyer hit a three at the buzzer to stun the then powerful Panthers. The look on the faces of the Monties that night had the same evidence of dismay and consternation.  “How could this happen?” they seemed to say. In both instances it was defensive breakdowns and fearless long-range shooting that provided the victories which occurred years apart.

In the interim, Sullivan West has struggled mightily. Winning only one game last season against winless Port Jervis was a weak tonic for a team that was once an annual contender for Section Nine glory. Case in point was last January’s 92-41 thrashing by the Panthers. For returning players like seniors E.J. Franskevicz and John Masten, this year’s outcome erases that woeful memory and replaces it with a victory they’ll remember for years to come.

People sometimes ask me why I spend so much time racing from hither to yon to cover basketball. Last season I did upwards of 80 games.

The answer is simple. The game rocks.

Monticello's Rob Riley rises up strong but fails to convert this shot in the late going with his team up by one point with 1:51 remaining.

Speaking of rocks, on this occasion, “The Jingle Ball Classic,” a fundraiser for the Monticello Toy Drive,  it would have been apropos for the Westies to go home singing the Jingle Ball Rock substituting the word ball for bell from the 1957 classic “Jingle Bell Rock.”

Monticello came into this game at 1-1 having beaten Western Wayne in the Hawley Rotary Tip-Off Tourney opener and losing its bid for a third straight title win by dint of its 45-37 loss to Wallenpaupack.

This was their home opener and the gym was packed for the occasion.

Sullivan West’s lone win had come versus Chapel Field. They had lost  one to Walton and two games to Fallsburg including the championship game in the Chester Hambletonian Classic, a game they hoped they could soon forget. As of this writing, that doleful showing is but a dim glimmer compared to the glow of this victory.

Rob Riley controlled the opening tip for Monticello against Matt Cardona. Both players would figure big in this game erelong. Monticello’s Latique Liles was fouled on the Monties’ first shot attempt. He missed both, an ominous preview of Monticello’s dreadful three-for-ten from the line in the first half.  By night’s end they’d shoot 14-for-24 from the stripe for a lackluster 58 percent.

Sullivan West would save its best free throw shooting for the fourth quarter when they’d hit eight of nine from the line to assure the win.

Cardona scored the game’s first points as the teams battled intensely. Monticello got early success as Anthony Gray used his athleticism and leaping ability to drive the ball to the rim for four first quarter points.  More importantly, the Monties had a balanced attack as they got four from Naquan Holman and Riley to enable them to hold a narrow 12-10 lead over the feisty Bulldogs by the end of the first quarter.

Three-pointers from E.J. Franskevicz and Patrick Pierce provided the first salvo of an eventual nine from beyond the arc by game’s end. Sawyer Erlwein added a bucket to go along with Cardona’s aforementioned opening deuce.

The second quarter was another matter though as Gray upped the ante and Sullivan West looked powerless to stop him. Gray scored nine of his team’s 18 points in the frame, while Riley had six including a shot at the buzzer. Ros Djonbalaj added a trey.  When Gray didn’t convert on his drives, he was fouled in the process. He hit three of six from the stripe in the period.

Arc light: Matt Cardona's accuracy from beyond the arc was vital in this victory. This first half connection shot over Monticello's Ros Djonbalaj was just inside the three point line. and netted two.

Sullivan West responded with a mere seven points in the quarter to trail 30-17 at the half. Four of those came from Cardona and two from Franskevicz. Sawyer Erlwein hit one of two from the line.

While the Monticello cheerleaders raised the temperature with their electrifying verve, the Sullivan West crowd seemed subdued by the first half results. From their standpoint, though their team had worked assiduously, they seemed to be outmatched.

Looks can be deceiving.

Monticello scored the first four points of the second half but a trey from Franskevicz nearly neutralized that as the tide began to shift slowly at first before gaining momentum. Sullivan West would outscore Monticello 12-8 in the third quarter to cut the 13-point halftime deficit to nine as they would trail 38-29 heading into the final frame.

In that third quarter, their best of the first three, they got five points from Franskevicz and Pierce who both contributed their second treys of the game. Cardona was quiet with just two points in the stanza. He was storing it up for his fourth quarter preeminence.

Monticello’s eight point output was a product of hurried shots and a lack of team play. In lieu of rotating the ball, their set offense deteriorated into a street game which manifested itself in unproductive drives into a sea of defenders. Credit Sullivan West’s defense with closing off the lane to uncontested penetration. Despite the emotional admonition of Monticello Coach Chris Russo, his team just couldn’t find its way back onto the right track.

During that third quarter, the Monties made only one basket, that coming from Riley. The other six points came from the free throw line. Sullivan West scored the final five points of the third quarter capped off by a great backdoor cut by Pierce.

Great drama is defined by its riveting climax and that is what the crowd was about to experience as the fourth quarter began.

Sullivan West inbounded but Gray got the steal. The Monties promptly turned it over and Masten scored. Another Montie turnover preceded a trey from Cardona to make it 38-34. The temperature was rising rapidly as the once 16-point Monticello lead had dwindled to four with 7:01 remaining.

"Get 'em up," commands Dawg Pound kingpin Charlie Ciccione (bottom right) as the visiting Bulldogs show their rabid rooting for Sullivan West free throws to fall through the rim.

Russo fumed as he watched his team unravel. Djambalaj hit one of two from the stripe. Riley blocked Pierce with an athletic leap. The teams took turns coughing it up. Pierce missed a trey but Gray traveled as things continued to go south for the Monties with 5:14 to go.

After a Sullivan West miss, the Monties wasted a trip with a hurried air ball by Liles. Cardona knocked down a three to make it that much more painful for the struggling Monties as they now clung to a paper thin two- point lead at 39-37.

Riley scored to make it 41-37 but Cardona cut it to 41-40 with his third trey of the quarter. Pierce missed a chance to get the Westies the lead with 3:50 to go. Gray picked up his second foul and the team’s sixth as Sullivan West nudged closer to the bonus with 3:32.

Pierce gave them the lead at 42-41 with 3:13 to go. Monticello couldn’t convert and Cardona buried another trey from the corner as the ball was adeptly kicked back out to him for the 45-41 lead. The atmosphere in the Pit was beyond description as the home crowd implored their team to rally, while the Westies stirred on by the rabid Dawg Pound countered effusively.

With 2:57 to go Riley answered with two points in the paint. Franskevicz hit a shot but Gray answered with a trey to close the deficit to 47-46. Cardona missed a trey but Sullivan West maintained possession with 2:03 to go. Erlwein fouled Gray who hit both from the stripe as the Monties regained the lead at 48-47 with 1:51 remaining in the game.

The Monties had two time outs and the Westies had three and a 30-second time out remaining.

Franskevicz missed a trey and Gray missed a layup. The Monties still had the rock and the lead with 1:22 as Russo called a time out. Monticello inbounded the ball but Riley’s bucket rolled around the rim and out. Gray missed a layup attempt and Cardona answered with a lethal three to give the Westies a 50-48 lead.

Sullivan West would never trail again.

The Monties were now down two with no time outs and 38 seconds. They turned the ball over and the rest would be history. Cardona went to the line and hit both to make it 52-48. Pierce fouled Riley who cut the lead to 52-50 but that would be it for Monticello scoring as the Westies closed out the game with free throws. Cardona hit one of two but Pierce went to the line and hit both. Masten added a pair of free throws to make it 56-50. The final points came from Franskevicz as he hit both from the line.

Down to the wire: In the game's waning minutes Sullivan West's Andrew Parsons goes up for a shot that doesn't fall. No problem, the Westies got to the free throw line and made eight of ten in the final stanza. There was no call on this shot though.

Cardona had this to say; “I work on threes everyday. They were giving me open looks and I was letting them fly as they went in,” he said humbly. “It’s great to get a win here. It could be a game to turn the season around for us. We have the potential to be a good team but we just have to keep going. Today was a good one,” he added.

Nober’s demeanor was markedly different than the one he had evinced following the stultifying loss to Fallsburg.  He had this to say: “Matt stepped up and hit some big shots but the reason was we made that extra pass and he was open.” At half time Nober had told the team to stay together and leave everything  they had on the floor.

“All week long we worked on two things: boxing out and playing as a team on offense by moving without the ball and making the extra pass. I asked them to believe in the game plan and to execute.”

Nober felt that the win would build confidence, especially as he noted, “against a talented and well-coached team. Monticello is an ‘A’ school so it’s even bigger.”

Sullivan West will prepare for its upcoming game against Port Jervis and looked to build on this storied win.

Asked about what went well and what went awry, Russo answered this way.
“I thought  we played a pretty solid first half and closed out well on their shooters. But it was a tale of two halves. We gave up 40 points in the second half. Their shooters got hot but we let them.  We took some chances on defense that we’re not supposed to do. That makes everybody else rotate over and leave an open guy.

When you  get beat in the open floor because you gamble, you’re now playing on the wrong side of five on four against a team that is willing to make the extra pass, especially to kids who can shoot it. We had them scouted and I told my team in the locker room. This is what they do: they’re going to play well on defense and they’re going to keep shooting the three whether it goes in or not.”

Russo added, “We just can’t giving teams open looks.” The team took the loss hard. “That shows a level of concern and the will to do better,” said Russo. “They want to win, that’s in them. Sometimes we want to win so badly that we do things that are uncharacteristic of what we should be doing.” Russo didn’t think his team took Sullivan West too lightly.

Russo did mention to his team prior to the game that this Sullivan West team was coming in trying to not have a repeat of last’s year’s thrashing. “We just lost some focus on the defensive end and let their shooters get open,” he concluded.

Gray had 22 points for Monticello, while Riley had 20. Cardona led Sullivan West with26, Franskevicz had 14 and Pierce had 11. Sullivan West improved to 2-3, while Monticello fell to 1-2.

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