By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — December 7, 2001 – The Sullivan County Community College Generals wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard in Tuesday evening’s game at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.
Four seconds after the opening tip, forward Davon Wilson put an offensive rebound back up and through the hoop for the 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the Dutchess Community College Falcons (3-5), that 2-0 deficit would be as close as the game would be over the next 39-plus minuts of action.
SCCC (6-1) grabbed a double-digit lead four minutes into the game and pushed its lead to 25 points at halftime. The Generals went on to record a 98-48 victory.
Eleven Generals scored at least two points and four of the five starters reached double figures in the lopsided win.
SCCC gained control of the game early in the first half, converting several Dutchess turnovers into easy baskets.
Several Generals’ steals also translated into layups for the home team. The Generals made eight steals in the game, with guard Shiron Brown leading the team with three.
SCCC Coach Chad Beeten noted that he had scouted Dutchess CC twice prior to Tuesday’s game and that they “were definitely not a team that I thought we would beat by 50 points.”
“I think we just overwhelmed them with defense,” Beeten said. “We did a good job of taking them out of their offensive flow. They were forced to do a lot from the outside.”
Although Dutchess guard Maurice Carlton – who swished a trio of three-pointers in the first half – and his teammates were able to hit some outside shots, they were not able to convert enough to counter the SCCC offense. In the first 20 minutes of the game, the Generals’ starters – Wilson, Shiron Brown, Tim Butler, Dana Holmes and Andre Simmons – had outscored the Falcons by a 39-25 margin.
“They were just too much for us defensively,” Dutchess Coach Joe Detz said. “And that forced us out of our offensive game plan.”
Detz also praised the Generals for their overall performance.
“They are a very talented team and very athletic,” he commented. “They play as well as some of the Sullivan teams I’ve seen in the past.”
Beeten stressed that his team is “not out here to embarass anybody.”
“That might be hard for some people to believe when they see a 98-48 score,” Beeten said. “But we’re just trying to get better and prepare ourselves for games down the road.”
The coach added that during his halftime talk with the Generals, he asked them to forget the fact that they were winning by 25 points.
“I told them that when we got back on the court, the score was 0-0,” he said. “We were able to play our game and get everybody into the game.”
Leading the scoring parade for SCCC were Brown and Butler. Brown netted a game-high 23 points, while Butler finished with 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Brown also snared 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Fellow starters Simmons, Wilson and Holmes added 12, 11 and six points, respectively. Holmes dished out seven assists, while Simmons grabbed 10 rebounds and Wilson had six rebounds and five assists.
Guard/forward Wygene McCants came off the bench to score 11 points and grab six rebounds for SCCC.
DCC was paced by Carlton, who scored 14 points, and forward Shelton Alston, who finished with 10.
Notes: SCCC is ranked third nationally in the latest NJCAA poll, which was released on Tuesday. The Generals also picked up one first place vote in the poll.
The Generals return to the court tomorrow afternoon, when they will host Westchester Community College. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.