Margin of victory

Richard A Ross
Posted 8/21/12

SULLIVAN COUNTY NY — The difference between winning and losing can often be a razor’s edge, the narrowest margin of points or time. And indeed, the most compelling stories from the annals of …

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Margin of victory

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SULLIVAN COUNTY NY — The difference between winning and losing can often be a razor’s edge, the narrowest margin of points or time. And indeed, the most compelling stories from the annals of athletics are often about those down-to-the-wire games, matches and races wherein that elusive victory was won or lost in a nanosecond, a buzzer-beating shot on the hardwood or an 11th-hour score in some miraculous reversal of fortune. Drama and catharsis: in sports and in life itself, these are the very things that evoke our strongest emotions and at times our indescribable capacity to give that extra effort that defies logic or belief.

For the Sullivan West boys basketball team 6-3 (1-3 OCIAA), losing a league game to powerful S.S. Seward 8-4 (3-0 OCIAA) by the score of 61-59 was a voyage onto that knife’s edge wherein the chance for a historic victory hung in the balance. Down 40-30 in the third quarter, the Dawgs fought back to secure a 47-45 lead with under a minute to go in the stanza. Seward would come back to lead by two heading into the final period and stave off another great run by the Dawgs near the end, securing a one-basket victory in a fray that evinced 11 lead changes during its dramatic ebb and flow. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs proved that they could play with the best. In that dramatic third quarter, Noah Bauer’s back-to-back three-pointers were key in the resurgence, as was the tying trey fired in by Ronj Padu. Jiron Kevii’s hot hand figured in strongly as well. Bauer had five treys and now leads Section IX with 32 long-range missiles. He posted 17 points in the game. Padu had 19 and blocked six shots, to the delight of the rabid Dawg Pound onlookers. Kevii ended up with 15. Now at the midpoint of their season, the Dawgs need just three more wins to secure a sectional berth, and this game proved they are capable of making some serious noise therein.

On the ski slopes, it is the stopwatch that serves as the arbiter of victory as racers rocket down the slopes vying against the clock. This past week in their first competitive giant slalom run at Belleayre Mountain, it was Monticello’s D.J. Oldfield who out-paced the rest of the Division I skiers with a time of 41.80. Liberty’s Carl McGuire was second in 42.68, while Fallsburg/Tri-Valley’s Zak Steingart garnered fourth place in 43.06.

In the girls’ race Rondout/Valley/Kingston/FDR/John A. Coleman Catholic’s Shiau-Tau-Ciecierska posted the fastest time on the slopes besting all the boys with a blistering time of 41:06. Sullivan County top finishers included Monticello’s Mackenzie Mitchell (43.95) in third place and Liberty’s Olivia Racette (44.41 in fourth place). In addition to all the aforementioned close contests, this past week evinced progress for local teams. In girls basketball, Eldred (8-2) pulled off an impressive 49-24 win over Chester. Tri-Valley (5-5) battered Roscoe 55-18. Sullivan West (3-7) downed Chapel Field 41-30 and Fallsburg (10-2) bested Monticello 47-34. In boys basketball, Monticello 9-3, (3-0 OCIAA) remained on top of Division III with a 77-52 win over Goshen. Tri-Valley (8-3) marshaled a 63-56 win over Eldred and then went on to beat Chapel Field. The Bears need just one more win to qualify for sectionals. Sullivan West had two wins prior to losing to Seward. They beat Pine Plains 72-46 and downed Roscoe 67-40. Eldred (3-8) lost to Port Jervis 51-38. For albums of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com.

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