By Rob Potter
FALLSBURG — January 7, 2005 – The Sullivan West boys’ basketball team got off to a quick start on Tuesday night.
Led by senior guard Joe Meyer, who connected on a trio of 3-point shots, the SW Bulldogs opened up a 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter of their non-league contest versus the host Fallsburg Comets.
SW (8-1) then gradually built upon that 13-point advantage over the next three periods to record a 64-35 victory.
Meyer connected on another 3-pointer later in the contest and finished the evening with a game-high 19 points. Two other Bulldogs, sophomore center Derek Hahn and senior guard Sean Kelly, finished in double figures in the scoring column. Hahn netted 12 points and Kelly registered 10 points.
Brett Youmans added eight points for SW. He scored four of his points within a two-minute span late in the second quarter.
The baskets by Youmans and his teammates in that second period helped SW transform its 23-10 lead into a 38-17 advantage heading into halftime.
“He has been struggling a little bit with his shot lately,” SW Coach Rick Ellison said of Meyer. “But he was on tonight. His teammates were really looking for him and I was happy to see that.”
Ellison was also pleased with the balanced scoring attack the Bulldogs displayed.
“The last four or five games we have had three or four guys score in double figures,” he said. “That makes it more difficult to defend us, because if one of our top scorers is off in a particular game, there are a couple of other guys who can pick him up.”
Fallsburg (0-7) was led by senior guard Daniel Frasier, who scored 13 points. David Anthony and Chris Gates each netted seven points for the Comets.
“We did OK in the first quarter,” Fallsburg Coach Paul Marsden said. “But in the second and third quarters they were able to beat our man-to-man defense.
“They are a very good team,” Marsden added. “They have great players and great coaches. I think they are the best Section IX Class B team.”
Marsden noted that he has a very young team this season. Frasier is the only senior among the Comets’ five starters. Anthony, Gates and Harris Seletsky are all juniors, while Darius Buckner is a freshman.
“I hope that we can be a different team by the end of the season,” the veteran coach said. “I’m looking for improvement and seeing it.”
Ellison is confident that the Comets will keep getting better and better.
“I believe they will be a force in a year or two,” he commented.
Notes: Fallsburg will look to post its first win of the 2004-2005 season when it hosts the Tri-Valley Bears tonight. The game, which is an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V contest, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The next game for SW is slated for Monday night. At 7 p.m. that evening, the Bulldogs will visit John S. Burke Catholic School for a OCIAA Division IV contest.