By Lori Brown
GRAHAMSVILLE — February 5, 2010 — The Tri-Valley Bears hosted the Tuxedo Tornadoes on Wednesday night in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V basketball game.
Since it was T-V’s last home game of the regular season, the senior players and cheerleaders were recognized. The senior players honored were Logan Ackerley, Mike Alvarez, Bobby Beale, Ross Bonnell, Khristian Newkirk and Dean Winters. The cheerleaders honored were Ariel Mortenson, Christina Neist, Marissa Ricco and Katie Sicina. All of the seniors presented loved ones with roses.
The game was fairly even until the last three minutes, when Tuxedo went on an 18-5 scoring run on its way to a 65-52 victory.
T-V (6-8, 1-5 Div. V) made eight free throws to take a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Tuxedo (8-6, 3-2 Div. V) didn’t let the Bears keep the advantage. Tuxedo’s Vinny Addinisio landed three 3-point shots in the period, including two in the final 1:30.
With less than a minute to go, Alvarez scored to give T-V a 31-28 lead. But Tuxedo’s Dan Greenfield landed his second 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds on the clock to even the game at halftime.
The Tornadoes outscored T-V 12-10 in the third quarter by making a few steals and converting them into layups.
Newkirk made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 41-41 with only 19.9 seconds remaining in the quarter. But Tuxedo’s Ryan Buckley swished a shot with just one second left to give his team a two-point lead going into the fourth period.
The teams exchanged baskets until late in the quarter. Bonnell tied the score at 47-47 with 3:21 remaining.
After that shot, however, there was no stopping the Tornadoes as they pulled away for a 13-point victory. Tuxedo made 8 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal its win.
Tuxedo’s Joe Perez netted a game-high 18 points. Also scoring in double digits for the Tornadoes were Addinisio (14 points), Peter Prall (12 points) and Greenfield (11 points).
Beale led the Bears with 15 points, while Bonnell and Newkirk each scored 10 points.
“My team showed great resolve, as we were down early,” Tuxedo Coach Marco Margotta said. “We hit big 3’s and that got us back in the game.
“Joe Perez is one of the shortest players on the team but plays like a big player, he hustles and sets the tone, and he’s fearless,” Margotta added.
Margotta noted that his team changed its defense in the second quarter, therefore “having a different look.”
“It took a lot for us to stay composed in this loud gymnasium,” he said. “It is hard to play here, but we stayed focused.”
Tuxedo will return to the court tonight to visit the Fallsburg Comets in a Div. V game.
“We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter,” T-V Coach Brian Tingley said. “Tuxedo shot extremely well in the first half. In the second half, we gave up some defensive rebounds, too, and made some turnovers.”
Tingley noted that “the score looked worse than it was; it was a close game.
“My boys played hard and never gave up,” he said. “Ross Bonnell developed a lot as a basketball player and became a factor. Coach Margotta also commented that Ross came a long way from the last time they played us. Jarryd Killian and Steven McInerney helped fill in tonight and did a great job.”
The Bears will visit the James I. O’Neill Raiders tonight for a non-league game.