By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — January 21, 2003 – The Sullivan County Community College Generals earned a huge win Saturday afternoon at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.
SCCC knocked fellow Region XV squad Suffolk County Community College from the ranks of the unbeaten with a dramatic 76-73 win.
Coming into the game, Suffolk sported an unblemished 14-0 record and was ranked fourth in the NJCAA Division III poll released on January 14. SCCC was ninth in that poll.
With the support of the home crowd, the Generals battled back from double-digit deficits in the first half to take a 74-71 lead with 52 seconds left in the game.
Suffolk’s Russell Brereton stepped to the line with 39 seconds left and made a pair of free throws to cut the SCCC lead to a single digit, 74-73.
After neither team could score on its next possession, SCCC freshman Glenn Davis stole a pass with nine seconds left and was immediately fouled.
Davis then calmly made both of his foul shots to make it a 76-73 game.
Following the victory, Davis said he was a bit nervous in the pressure-filled situation. But his teammates had some good advice for him.
“They told me to concentrate and take a little walk to think about it,” Davis explained. “This was a big win for us. It was a learning experience and we executed very well at the end of the game.”
Davis’ sentiments were echoed by Coach Chad Beeten and Assistant Coach Chris DePew. Both men noted that because SCCC (11-3, 8-0 Region XV) and Suffolk (14-1, 8-1) are in different divisions of Region XV, the Generals now theoretically have a two-game edge on the Clippers in terms of the Region XV overall standings.
“This was a big, big win,” Beeten said. “Our kids played with a lot of heart today. They were down by 12 in the first half, down eight at halftime and down by 10 early in the first half.”
Beeten noted that team defense was a key to the victory as the Generals held Suffolk to only 28 points in the second half. And he praised the work of sophomore guard Wygene McCants, who defended Clipper guard Tamien Trent.
Trent led Suffolk with 19 points, but he scored only five points in the second half.
“Tamien Trent is a heck of a player and Wygene did a great job of drawing fouls on him,” Beeten said.
McCants drew a charge on Trent with 4:16 left in the contest. Since that was Trent’s fifth foul, he had to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
Five Generals scored in double figures in the contest. Gary Jones led the way with 14 points and Darren Sykes netted 13. Davis and Haron Hargrave each scored a dozen and Mikail Malik added 11.
“It was a great, great game and both teams played hard,” Suffolk Coach Richard Wrase said.
Note: The Generals were scheduled to host Suffolk County Community College-West – a separate team not to be confused with Suffolk County CC – last night at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.