MONTICELLO—“It was a very gutsy win by us tonight, it was big, said Head Coach of SW Ronj Padu after the Bulldogs defeated the Panthers on their home court. We needed to win some games. We haven’t beaten Monticello in a long time, so this feels good.”

  Aggressive play kept the score tight in the opening minutes. Both teams had scored less than 10 points by the end of the first quarter. The score was 17-12, Panthers going into the break. After the half would prove which team would come out and take control of the game.

  The Bulldogs came out with a bite going on a 12-0 run to open the third quarter forcing the home team to call a time out to regroup their offensive strategy. The Bulldogs had taken a 24-17 lead over the Panthers. After fierce correction the Panthers would come back into the game and make a 7-0 run to tie the game at 24 with just under two minutes left in the 3rd. Sullivan West put pressure on the Panthers, intercepting passes down in the paint to their big men.     

  The Bulldogs easily converted those steals into baskets on several fast breaks, but their over anxiousness would keep the Panthers at the line to pull the game within five again. In the final quarter the Panthers found themselves down by nine with just under two minutes left.

  Panther guard, Jayxander Vera Soto’s steal on an inbound pass saw a Sullivan West foul that sent him to the line. Soto sank both foul shots making it a two-possession game with the bulldogs up by five. It was crunch time at the 1-minute mark. Both squads vied for possession and control of the ball while the clock ran down. The consistent play of Sullivan West’s Evan Ebert and Matt Debois was instrumental in driving this win for the Bulldogs. Teammates Seamus Johnston and Adam Ernst added 10 pts. 

  Monticello’s Quenten Liciaga led all scorers with 16 points and Jayxander Vera Soto added 8. With this win the Bulldogs improve to 5-6 on the season and the Panthers drop to 1-10.

  After this loss Panthers Coach Chris Russo said, “Sullivan West had a great 2nd half and really took advantage of our mistakes. Congratulations to Coach Padu and their players.

We need to do a better job in our preparation and then translate what we do in practice to what we do in games.  We have an inexperienced team who is still learning how to win games; each game and practice is an opportunity to learn and grow.”