By Ted Waddell
JEFFERSONVILLE — December 8, 2000 – In Tuesday’s opening round of the 7th Annual Jeffersonville-Youngsville Tip-Off Classic, the Narrowsburg Indians boys’ varsity team handily defeated the Lions of Chapel Field, 71-53.
With the victory, the Indians (3-1) advance to Thurdsay’s championship round, where they will face the Sullivan West/J-Y Trojans, who defeated Roscoe by a 67-48 margin in round one. In the consolation game, Chapel Field (0-2) will square off against Roscoe.
Despite taking a one point (16-15) lead in the first period, Chapel Field was outscored 18-8 in the following frame, allowing the Indians to take a 33-24 halftime lead into the lockerroom. In the third period, Narrowsburg continued its march to the championship round, as the Indians outgunned the Lions by three points (16-13) and in the final frame outscored their opponents 22-16.
Narrowsburg’s top gun Bruce Nober – who averages 30 points per game – was sidelined with a sprained ankle, but teammates Chad Powell (26 points) and Evan Kraack (24 points) stepped into the breach and racked up a combined total of 50 points, which represented 70 percent of the Indians’ scoring on the night.
The Lions’ Dorian Mullings wasn’t far behind with 22 pts., and he proved a force to reckon with under the glass. “He can really handle the boards,” said Indians coach Cliff Kelly.
“I thought Narrowsburg shot well,” said Bill Spanjer, Jr., coach of the Chapel Field Lions. “I don’t think we came to play . . .we didn’t have the energy.”
In praising the play of Mullings, Spanjer said, “He gave it a good, hard effort.”
Looking at the unfolding hoops season, Spanjer said, “If we come out and play, and the four veterans in our starting lineup do what they know they can do, we’ll be all right.
Kelly liked the outcome of the opening round of the annual tip-off, despite some jitters over Nober’s absence.
“I was a little worried and wondered where it was going to come from, but a couple of the kids picked it up,” he said of the efforts of Kraack and Powell.
“It was a total team effort, and we wanted them to have ‘one and done’ . . .one shot and that was it,” he added.
What about the 2000-2001 season?
“We’re on a roll early on, and that’s good,” said Kelly. “We’re strong and I think we can play with anybody.”
Powell and Kraack were the only double digit scorers for Narrowsburg. Dorian Mullings and Jared Siglin, who netted 10 points were the only Chapel Field players who racked up 10 or more points.
At the free throw line: Narrowsburg was 10/20 (50 percent) while Chapel Field went 9/11 (82 percent).