By Daniel M. O'Brien
JEFFERSONVILLE — January 29, 2002 – A tip-in by Sullivan West forward Alex Van-Loon gave the Bulldogs a dramatic, 54-53 win Friday night over visiting S.S. Seward.
With about five seconds to go, Sullivan West had the ball and made the most of the opportunity. Fans of each team were yelling loudly as Bulldog guard Evan Kraack put up a shot. He missed, but Van Loon grabbed the rebound and quickly put the ball back up and in as the buzzer sounded.
Sullivan West’s Mike Ahnstrom scored a game-high 22 points and in the first period all attention was on the rivalry between the 6’ 7” senior center and the Seward players defending him. He played well and at times seemed completely dominant at both ends of the floor.
The win boosted the Sullivan West record to 9-2 overall and 1-1 in OCIAA Division IV. Seward dropped to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in OCIAA Division IV.
Justin Pinkel added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
For Seward, Mike Hoyt netted 17 points and Hamza Sahmanovic chipped in 11 points.
While he was obviously happy to win the game in such dramatic fashion, Sullivan West Co-Coach Rick Ellison noted that there is always room for improvement.
“We need to practice this weekend,” he said.