By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — January 14, 2003 – The Fallsburg Comets certainly did not hesitate in last Thursday’s non-league boys’ basketball game at Livingston Manor.
The Comets grabbed an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of play and sprinted out to a 21-6 advantage after one quarter of play.
At the half, Fallsburg (6-1) held a 34-21 advantage.
In the third quarter, however, Manor outscored the Comets by an 18-14 margin.
Manor (2-5) cut the lead down to just seven points (48-41) when Jason Kean scored a basket 20 seconds into to the fourth quarter.
But that was as close as the Wildcats could get on the evening as the Comets responded with 15-5 run over the next three minutes of play. Fallsburg went on to record a 71-53 victory.
Keying that late Comets’ scoring run were seniors Jon Hinton and Brandon McKenny. Hinton, who made six 3-pointers in the contest, finished with 24 points on the evening and McKenny netted 16 points.
Hinton knocked down four 3-point shots in the fourth period.
“Those 3-pointers really hurt us,” Manor Coach Rich Robinson said.
Fellow senior Zaquan Hilliard added 11 points for Fallsburg.
“We have a very balanced team,” Fallsburg Coach Paul Marsden said. “We were able to get some of our younger kids into the game tonight, which was good.”
Marsden also praised the performance of the Wildcats.
“They deserve a lot of credit,” he said. “Manor came out to play. They played with a lot of heart.”
Kean and George Thomas were the only Wildcats to reach double figures in the scorebook. Kean finished with 21 points, while Thomas added 11.