By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — December 10, 2010 — The Livingston Manor Wildcats earned a 47-33 victory over the visiting Sullivan West Bulldogs on Tuesday night in a non-league basketball game.
But the Wildcats had to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit in order to record the win.
With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, SW (0-2) held a 15-14 lead over the Wildcats. The Bulldogs then went on a 10-2 scoring run to close out the period. Alex Manzi swished a pair of 3-point shots during the run to help SW take a 25-16 advantage at the intermission.
However, SW’s lead didn’t last long as the Wildcats opened the third period with a 10-0 scoring run. With 3:10 to go, Manor’s Dharmet Khangura made two free throws to give his team a 26-25 advantage.
The Bulldogs were able to regain the lead at 31-30 as Manzi converted a pair of foul shots with 30.9 seconds remaining in the quarter.
At the 7:43 mark of the fourth period, E.J. Franskevicz swished two free throws to give SW a 33-31 lead.
But Manor’s Victor Roman knocked down a 3-point shot 40 seconds later to give the home team a 34-33 advantage.
The Wildcats then went on a 13-0 scoring run to close out the game.
Because of the combination of cold shooting and the Wildcats’ aggressive defense, the Bulldogs scored only eight points in the entire second half.
Junior guard Troy Correa and junior forward Kenny Fisk paced the Manor offense. Correa had a double-double by scoring a game-high 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Fisk netted 11 points.
Mike Mills and Lee Sharshakuv each added six points for the Wildcats.
“I am thankful we had a big game like this to start, especially playing against a bigger school,” Manor Coach Charlie Hicks said. “They’re a good team and well-coached, even though they’ve struggled for the last couple of years.”
Hicks noted that switching defenses from a 2-3 zone to a 3-2 zone helped his team slow down the Bulldogs’ offense.
“We played great defense tonight and I am happy to get a win,” he said. “Even if we had lost, I would have been happy because we played so well against a good Sullivan West team. But I am glad that we won the game, it’s always good to get a win.”
Hicks said Correa and Fisk “played very well tonight” and Mills “had a great game.”
The veteran coach was looking forward to the return of Brandon Smith, who was one of the Wildcats’ key players last season. Smith was a member of the Livingston Manor/Roscoe Devilcats football team this autumn and injured his knee when the team played Chester in the Section IX Class D championship game last month.
“We need Brandon Smith,” Hicks said. “He is our inside presence. He is a player who can give us about 12 points and 12 rebounds a game.”
Smith began practicing earlier this week and was expected to return to the Wildcats’ lineup last night for their non-league game against Eldred.
Manzi led SW with 10 points. Franskevicz and John Masten each added seven points for the Bulldogs.
SW Coach Cliff Kelly was puzzled by his team’s performance.
“We’re going through a rough time right now and I haven’t figured it out,” he said. “We got good looks [at the basket] and we should have been right in it, but you’ve got to put the ball in the basket.
Despite the loss, Kelly noted that his team “is working hard.”