Sullivan defeats Lakers 64-52

Shakamak guard Tyler Richardson drives past Sullivan's Dreyson Boyd (3) during a high school boys basketball game Saturday night in Sullivan County. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

SULLIVAN -- For the first time in three years, Sullivan got the better of Shakamak. The host Golden Arrows ran their record to 3-0 with a 64-52 victory over the Lakers here Saturday night in a non-conference high school boys basketball game.

The Golden Arrows shot 48 percent, 35 percent from 3-point range, 73 percent from the foul line and had just three turnovers, 11 fewer than the Lakers. With David Bedwell dishing out seven, Sullivan had 18 assists on its 23 field goals.

"We did a really nice job of making the extra pass for the most part tonight," said Sullivan coach Jeff Moore. "The kids really played hard on both ends.

"This was a great win for us."

Shakamak coach Steve Brett, whose Lakers slipped to 1-1, said they did not show a lot of resolve on the road.

"This was not a very good defensive effort on our part," said Brett. "We did not have very good mental toughness on our part. We talked about that coming over here.

"As an experienced basketball team going into a hostile environment, you've got to be mentally tough to handle anything that happens and we weren't mentally tough enough tonight."

Shakamak's last lead came at 9-7 midway in the first quarter after a basket by Jarred VanHorn. The Arrows closed the quarter on a 10-5 run to take a 17-14 advantage, a lead they never relinquished.

A 3-pointer by Laker senior Tyler Sparks, his only scoring, trimmed the deficit to 29-25 at the half.

"I though that Tyler and Brock (Dowell) both did a decent job off the bench," said Brett. "I probably should have had (Justin) Crody in there. That was my mistake. It's one I won't make that mistake again."

Caleb Turner, one of four Arrows to score in double figures with 10 points, and James Lisman (11 points) each buried a 3-pointer to open the half as the hosts led 35-25 with six minutes and 25 seconds to play in the third quarter. The Arrows finished 6 of 17 from long distance compared to 4 of 17 for the Lakers.

"We gave up some easy baskets and stuff," said Brett. "But we missed some shots quite honestly I think most of the time we could make or would make.

"But it all boils down to mental toughness for us."

The Lakers got as close at 46-43 after a free throw by VanHorn with 5:12 remaining. Shakamak finished 2 of 9 at the foul line compared to 8-for-13 for the Arrows, who were 7 of 10 over the final eight minutes.

"We did not take advantage of our size," said Brett. "We weren't patient enough to do that.

"When we did get it down there, we did not take it up strong. We did not execute on offense very well and we did not make our free throws."

Shakamak senior Billy Newton, who paced the Lakers with 17 points and 12 rebounds, scored nine points in the fourth quarter, but Sullivan used a 18-9 run to close out the victory.

"We did what we set out to do during the course of the game," said Moore. "We tried to slow down Newton a little bit. For the most part, we were able to frustrate him at times.

"He got a lot of baskets near the end of the game, but he is a good player. Tonight they just did not have anybody else step up."

Jordan Langford finished with 11 points and four rebounds. VanHorn had eight points and seven rebounds. The Lakers won the battle of the boards 29-18.

"We did not do to bad of a job in rebounding," Brett said as the only positive from the game. "We made some improvement there."

Sullivan sophomore Rhett Smith had 15 points and five rebounds. He made 7 of 8 free throws, including 5 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Kaleb Pirtle also reached double digits for the Arrows with 11 points.

Shakamak won the junior varsity contest 39-27 as Crody had 16 points. Brodie Crowe scored eight, Brock Dowell five and Patrick Green and Jeb Batchelor four each. Kyle Schubla, Braden Cox, Lennart Schultz, Billy Blackburn and Raven Martin played but did not score for coach Brent Anderson, who was whistled for a technical foul in the second half.

Both teams will play Union next weekend. The Arrows host the Bulldogs Friday and the Lakers entertain them Saturday in a Tri-River Conference game.

SHAKAMAK (52) -- Billy Newton 8-13 1-4 17, Jordan Langford 5-8 1-3 11, Jarred VanHorn 4-8 0-2 8, Tyler Richardson 3-8 0-0 7, John Smith 2-4 0-0 6, Brock Dowell 0-4 0-0 0, Tyler Sparks 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 23-47 2-9 52.

SULLIVAN (64) -- James Lisman 4-8 1-3 10, Caleb Turner 4-7 0-0 10, Rhett Smith 4-6 8-9 16, Dreyson Boyd 4-13 0-0 8, David Bedwell 3-7 3-5 9, Kaleb Pirtle 4-6 0-0 11, Lance Ellett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 8-11 64.

Shakamak 14 11 12 15 --52

Sullivan 17 12 15 20 -- 64

3-point shooing -- Shakamak (4-17 ) J. Smith 2-4, Sparks 1-2, Richardson 1-6, Newton 0-1, Dowell 0-4), Sullivan 6-17 (Pirtle 3-4, Turner 2-4, Lisman 1-1, Ellett 0-1, Boyd 0-7). Fouls -- Shakamak 17, Sullivan 17. Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- Shakamak 29 (Newton 12), Sullivan 19 (R.Smith 6). Assists -- Shakamak 15 (J. Smith 5), Sullivan 18 (Bedwell 7). Steals -- Shakamak 0, Sullivan 11 (Turner 5). Turnovers -- Shakamak 14 (Richardson 5), Sullivan 3 (Bedwell 2). Blocks -- Shakamak 4 (Richardson, Langford, Dowell, VanHorn), Sullivan 2 (R. Smith, Ellett).