By Ted Waddell
LOCH SHELDRAKE — December 3, 2004 – It was ugly, but it was a blowout win.
On Tuesday night “Down in the Bunker” at Sullivan County Community College’s Paul Gerry Fieldhouse, the host Generals (5-0) clipped the wings of the Falcons of Dutchess Community College by a final score of 123-55. after jumping out to a 40-point lead (60-20) at the half.
Coming off a 10-day rest, the Generals looked lethargic at times.
But when they clicked, they rocked to a 68-point victory.
The SCCC spot on the scoreboard could have exceeded the 150-point mark, except that Coach Chris DePew pulled his first team in the opening minutes of the second half, sending in his second and third teams off the bench.
Later in the second half, a reverse dunk by freshman guard William Wilson electrified the crowd and so excited his teammates that Sullivan got charged with a technical foul as the refs reacted to the Generals’ celebrating like they had just won the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship.
It was apparently a case of too much exuberance a bit too soon.
At the buzzer, a 30-foot leaper “three” from outside the paint by Greg Primus sent fans spilling out onto the court.
In their romp over Dutchess CC (2-6), five Generals reached double digits. Greg Johnson netted a game-high 29 points to lead the way. Everage Richardson added 20 points, Ghiles Jackson recorded 19, Antione Williams registered 16 and Kelvin Nelson had 11.
Johnson hit four 3-point shots in the game and he and Williams each dished out three assists.
Nelson had five steals; Richardson was 6 for 7 at the free throw line (86 percent); Thepsenm Julien had six defensive rebounds; and Wilson was the team’s top dog in the category of offensive rebounds with five.
For Dutchess, Anthony Roberts finished the contest with a team-high 12 points.
At the foul line: SCCC was 19 for 33 (58 percent) and Dutchess CC was 12 for 23 (52 percent).
Going into the game, the Generals were ranked fourth in the nation by the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Division III poll released on November 23.
They started out the 2004-2005 season of hoops ranked seventh in the NJCAA preseason poll.
Dutchess must have been playing with their brakes on. Playing without their starting point guard – as they just managed to reach the “double nickel” at 55 points.
“Sullivan is the real deal,” Dutchess CC Coach Joe Detz said.
“They are very athletic, make the three’s and hit the boards,” he added. “They’ve got the whole package.”
SCCC helmsman DePew said he was glad that his team prevailed, but wasn’t “exactly thrilled with our effort.”
“We were sloppy, but fortunately the shots were falling and we executed,” he said.
SCCC will play at Westchester Community College on Tuesday, December 7 and at the Rockingham Community College tournament in Wentworth, North Carolina on Dec. 10 and 11.
The Generals’ next home game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18. SCCC will host Nassau Community College that afternoon at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.