By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — August 5, 2003 – The Sullivan Generals Summer Basketball League concluded its 2003 schedule last Thursday night at the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse on the SCCC campus.
In the boys’ division championship game, Downsville edged the Sullivan Bearcats, 51-50. In the girls’ division final, Sullivan West defeated Ellenville, 42-26.
The outcome of the boys’ final wasn’t decided until the final minute as Downsville edged the Sullivan Bearcats, a team consisting of players from the Monticello and Tri-Valley school districts. With 1:05 left in the contest, Sullivan’s T.J. Walker swished a three-point shot to tie the score at 49-49. Twenty seconds later, Walker made one of two foul shots to put Sullivan up by a point.
But with 28 seconds remaining, Downsville’s Lucas Shaw was fouled. He calmly made both of the subsequent free throws to give Downsville a 51-50 lead.
Sullivan had a final shot in the last three seconds, but the ball bounced off the rim.
“It’s a good feeling to win, especially against a good team like that,” Downsville Coach Jeff Baier said. “We definitely faced great competition in this league. Playing in the league gives us a chance to get better and it’s something to build on for the regular season.”
Baier, whose team has won the Section IV Class D boys’ basketball title the past three seasons, was very impressed with the Sullivan Bearcats.
“They’re probably a better team than any of the teams we’ll face this season,” he said.
Sullivan fell behind by as many as nine points in the first half before rallying to knot the score at 24-24 at halftime. The Bearcats also overcame a nine-point deficit midway through the second half.
“It was a really good game,” Sullivan Coach Jason Semo said. “I’m happy with the way the guys played. All of the kids played in the game and they all played hard. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Semo added that he was happy when he found out that his team would be facing Downsville in the championship game because he knew that it would be a “hard-fought, clean game.” The teams met twice in the summer league’s regular season – Downsville won the first game by a single point and Sullivan won the second game by nine.
“We want to congratulate Downsville, they played a great game,” Semo said.
In the girls’ championship game, Sullivan West built a 22-15 halftime lead and pulled away in the second half. SW lead by as many as 19 points en route to its 16-point victory over Ellenville.
Leading SW to the win was Nadine McCarthy, who scored 14 points. She netted the majority of her points inside the low post, either from good entry passes by her teammates or from offensive rebounds.
When asked about the key to victory, SW Coach Erica Haray-Butcher had a simple answer.
“Teamwork,” she said. “The girls made a real commitment to work together and they all gave it 110 percent out there.”
Haray-Butcher also noted that her team “became more confident both as a team and as individuals” during the summer league season.
“Ellenville played really well tonight,” Haray-Butcher said. “Last year, they beat us in the championship game. It was nice that the girls worked hard and played together so we could win tonight.”
Sullivan Generals Summer Basketball League Director Bryan Bury noted that the season was successful.
“It went well,” Bury said. “I think all of the teams had a good summer. It was a pretty competitive league and overall it was a success.”
Bury noted that one minor disappointment was that the league featured only 14 teams, which was down from 16 teams in 2002. He is hoping to have 18 or more teams playing in the league next summer.
Bury also expressed his gratitude to those people who were integral to the league’s success. In addition to the participating teams and coaches, he thanked Alan Jacovino and all of the other volunteers from Daytop in Swan Lake who ran the scoreboards and kept the scorebooks and Kyle Walter, who organized all of the game officials.