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DVCS Wins First stops Sugar Loaf

Phil Kaplan
Posted 12/21/20

Published December 21, 1984

CALLICOON - Junior Todd Rubino scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter as Delaware Valley captured their first victory of the season, a 43-40 triumph over …

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DVCS Wins First stops Sugar Loaf

Posted

Published December 21, 1984

CALLICOON - Junior Todd Rubino scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter as Delaware Valley captured their first victory of the season, a 43-40 triumph over highly regarded Sugar Loaf.

“We needed a win”, said Delaware Valley coach Ron Bernhardt after his Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak. “I'm not happy with the way we played, we could have played better. Maybe the kids will start believing in themselves and play to win rather than to lose.”

Sugar Loaf came into the contest as an honorable mention selection in the most recent basketball poll by the New York State Sports Writers Association. In their only previous game, Sugar Loaf knocked off Jeff-Youngsville 51-43 as Fred Covington led the way with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Covington, due to an illness, was unable to play in the Tuesday night encounter with the Eagles.

After Sugar Loaf ran off six straight points to break a 4-4 tie, Delaware Valley countered with some offense of their own. Craig Smith's jumper and a Bill Von Ahnen pump and fake for a basket, cut the deficit to 10-8 with 1:30 left in the first quarter. Sugar Loaf's Vinnie Brown concluded the scoring for the quarter with a fast break layup for a 12-8 advantage.

The Eagles played very tentatively in the first quarter against their taller opponents, who came out and applied defensive pressure on the DVCS's set offense.

“We played a perimeter game in the first quarter and we changed the style when we fell behind in the second quarter,” said Bernhardt. “We began to play more aggressive. We didn't necessarily make any changes on the boards, just knew we needed to.” Sugar Loaf outrebounded the Eagles 33-25, but it was not that apparent from late in the second quarter to the final buzzer.

After Sugar Loaf opened a seven point lead (15-8), all coming on free throws, Delaware Valley began to play some inspired roundball to take a lead they did not lose.

Von Ahnen and Rubino canned back-to-back baskets to cut the score to 16-14 with 6:05 left before intermission. After Wayne Smallwood put Sugar Loaf up by four points, the Eagles rallied back with ten unanswered points, six of the points by Rubino.

A Rubino jumper had tied the game at 18-all and then Smith came down court after a missed shot for a driving layup and a 20-18 lead with 4:25 left in the quarter. Rubino canned his eighth and tenth point of the quarter. Von Ahnen from long range gave the Eagles back the six-point cushion, which DVCS seemed happy to have as they went into their “Arkansas Delay” for the final 1:30 after retaining the ball.

In the third period, the Eagles built up their biggest lead of the game, a ten-point advantage on a Von Ahnen jumper and a Rubino steal that he converted into a layup. Von Ahnen, a transfer who started for Jeff-Youngsville last season, kept the Eagles up by the same margin with a jumper with 1:38 left in the quarter. Smallwood came back to cut it back to eight (36-28) as the quarter came to a close.

With Delaware Valley ahead 40-32 and in possession of the ball, the Eagles again went into their stall with 5:53 left in the game. Sugar Loaf was able to force a turnover but failed to capitalize when they threw the ball away. The Eagles again went into a delay attack, but once again were forced into turning the ball over. Sugar Loaf's Winfield took advantage by canning from the top of the key to trail 40-34.

With the “Arkansas Delay” more harm than good, the Eagles dropped the delay and looked for a shot. Craig Smith gave Delaware Valley a 42-34 lead.

The Eagles were able to hold off Sugar Loaf in the waning minutes of the contest, stopping them on three tires at the hoop with three minutes to go. Sugar Loaf closed the gap to six points after a blocked shot, but Vinnie Brown missed two important key foul shots as Israel popped one from inside the paint after both teams were starting to play a little out of control.

The basket with 52 seconds cut the score to 42-38. After a timeout, Bernhardt set his team in a four corners attack to kill the clock or to force a foul. Smallwood fouled Rubino with 19 seconds, but the junior missed the one-and-one opportunity at the line. After a jump ball call, Von Ahnen gained possession and was promptly fouled with four ticks left on the clock. Making the first, he gave the Eagles a five point lead (43-38) which stood up after Smallwood took the rebound off the missed second shot and put up a desperation heave just over the mid-court line that sailed true as the final buzzer went off.

Von Ahnen led all scores with 15 points to go along with his team-high eight rebounds. Smith added 12 points.

Fallsburg 85, Rondout Valley 65

Fallsburg outscored Rondout Valley 55-31 in the second half to wipe out a four-point halftime deficit to capture their final MHAL victory, 1 85-65 shackling.

Clarence Smalls led the attack, scoring 23 of his game-high 29 points in the comeback half. Andy Evans also added damage by canning 12 of his 18 points in the second half.

The Comets, 1-0 league, 3-1 overall continue to raise the eyebrows of their opponents. Rondout was an honorable mention selection among small schools in the most recent poll by the New York State Sports Writers Association.

Eldred 70, Sussex Vocational Tech (N.J.) 39

Eleven Eldred players got into the scoring column as the Yellowjackets opened their regular season on a healthy note, a 70-39 thrashing of Sussex Vocational Tech of New Jersey, 70-39 in a non-league encounter.

Senior Joe O'Connor paced the scoring barrage with 15 points, seven coming in the third quarter. Eldred put the contest away at that point, outscoring Sussex 24-2 in that stanza.

Todd Wilkerson, Marc Anthony and Scott Vaka all poured in ten points for the winners.

Honesdale 66, Forest City 62

Honesdale used a strong fourth period showing to defeat Forest City 66-62 in a non-league contest. The win keeps the Hornets undefeated with a spotless record of 3-0.

Trailing 29-28 at the half and 48-46 after three quarters, Honesdale bounced back to take the lead by scoring seven unanswered points. The come-from-behind victory was spurred by senior Win Light who netted a team-high 17 points.

Joe Gilhool and Lee Spoor added 14 and 10 points respectively for Honesdale.

Liberty 63, Ellenville 61

Craig Duffy's jump shot with seven seconds remaining in the game gave Liberty a 63-61 squeaker over Ellenville in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League (MHAL) match up.

With the score tied with just over a minute left on the clock, Liberty was able to go to the foul line after a technical foul was called against Ellenville for not coming out of their zone defense. The Indians had pulled out in order to hold the ball for a last second shot.

Although they failed to make the technical, the Indians kept possession of the ball and iced the game later on Duffy's 10-footer.

Roy Moore has a team-high 22 points to go along with his 13 rebounds, with Earl Pugh adding 16 points and 12 caroons for the 2-2 Indians, 1-1 in MHAL play.

Mt. View 68, Narrowsburg 52

Mt. View's front line proved to be too much for Narrowsburg, as the Indians lost on the road Tuesday night 68-52 in a non-league boys' basketball contest.

Mt. View, which competes in the Susquehanna League in Pennsylvania, led 32-21 at halftime. The starting front alone had three players over six foot three.

“The height and being on a bigger court took us awhile to get adjusted,” said Narrowsburg coach Bob Elco. The Indians play on a much smaller court at the confines of Narrowsburg.

Junior V.R. Scheuren led Narrowsburg (1-1) with 18 points. Doug Krauss and Eric Luben had 11 and 10 points respectively.

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