LAKE HUNTINGTON – The Sullivan West Bulldogs 5-14 (2-8) finished up their season on Wednesday, February 14 as they hosted the Fallsburg Comets 12-8 (5-5) in a Class B matchup. The game was tightly contested throughout, but Fallsburg pulled away for a 62-53 victory in their penultimate regular season game before the playoffs. 

The Comets led 35-27 at halftime and would extend that lead to an even larger 48-35 lead early in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs kept fighting like they have done all season. Sullivan West has been in nearly every game they have played this season, they just weren’t able to find themselves on the right side of the outcomes more often than not. 

“We fought in most of our games,” Sullivan West Coach Ronj Padu said. “We had a big, close game against Chester here, Fallsburg and I thought we played Burke pretty well. We played good teams well, just didn’t close it out.”

The Bulldogs fought back and got to within 55-53 with 1:48 remaining in the game. But they weren’t able to close the gap fully as the Comets went on a 7-0 run to end the game and win, 62-53. The backbreaker for the Bulldogs, when they still had a slight heartbeat, was when Matt DuBois was called for an intentional foul with 30 seconds left. That sent Daryl McPherson to the charity stripe and gave the Comets possession of the ball. 

The leading scorer for Sullivan West was DuBois, who had 14 points including 10 in the first half. Also scoring double digits for the Bulldogs was Jacob Hubert with 13 points, Evan Ebert with 12 points and Brandon Haass with 10 points. 

“They fought, it was a slow start but they finished hard,” said Coach Padu. “They brought the energy and the fight that I was asking for. Just came up short.”

Coach Padu reflected on the season and looked forward to next season, in which the Bulldogs will back three of their five starters.

“They improved from what they were at the beginning of the season,” Coach Padu said. “They got better as a team and were taking coaching well. We bring back a lot [next season]. I’m excited for the JV guys that are coming up, that’s a very bright spot. We’ve got some length coming. I am looking forward to next year, we’ll have a solid team overall.”

When asked how he would describe the season in one word, Coach Padu said, “Surprising. Surprising, because we didn’t have many expectations coming in. Didn’t know what type of team we would have. Every game, someone surprised me.”

Leading Fallsburg in scoring was Isaiah Young, as he scored half the Comets’ points with 31 as their shooting star. Young scored 16 points in the first half and 15 in the second half. 

“Isaiah has had a really strong season,” Fallsburg Asst. Coach Will Young said. “He’s been juggling a lot, but he’s been able to lock in and focus when he has to. His leadership is definitely appreciated on the team. With a team full of a ton of juniors, in those crucial moments, he’s that settling voice and also that voice that kind of motivates them to push it forward.”

Donavan Hart also scored double digits with 10 points. 

“The boys are starting to gel at the right time,” Coach Young said. “Clinching Sectionals the other night was a big win for us. We’re just hoping to continue to build on that one and hopefully make our run.”

Fallsburg also won their regular season finale on Thursday, February 15, 58-50 over S.S. Seward. 

“We are very, very athletic,” Asst. Coach Young said. “If we can capitalize on our athleticism, shoot the ball well and tighten up on defense we have a good shot [in Sectionals]. I think that we’re dangerous. We’re that team that, when you watch us on film, we make some mistakes that you think you can capitalize on. But we have speed, we obviously have [Isaiah], we have athleticism and we have great shooters. So we’re pretty well-rounded.”