VC boys fall short against M-W

By Mike Zummo
Posted 2/9/22

The Valley Central boys’ basketball team was two points away from tying.

However, Rubin Sims’ shot didn’t fall, and the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders outscored the Vikings by six …

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VC boys fall short against M-W

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The Valley Central boys’ basketball team was two points away from tying.

However, Rubin Sims’ shot didn’t fall, and the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders outscored the Vikings by six points in the fourth quarter on their way to a 65-53 victory over the Vikings on Thursday night at Valley Central High School.

The two teams last met on Jan. 25 in Central Valley, a game the Crusaders won, 75-35.

“We played hard,” Valley Central coach Frank Nutt said. “We lost to them in Monroe by 40 points and we came back here and it’s a two-point game with four minutes left in the game. I don’t think you can be anything other than happy with the way we came out and the way we pressured the ball.”

After falling behind 20-6 in the first quarter, the Vikings fought to within six points at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, Sims started showing his strength on the boards scoring four points off rebounds to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 49-47.

Sims scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter.

“Rubin Sims played really well for us tonight,” Nutt said. “When Rubin is right, he can be very good for us.”

However, after the Vikings closed the lead to two points, Monroe-Woodbury’s Jeremiah Arne hit two free throws to break the Vikings’ momentum, but Sims hit another layup to bring it to two points again.

The Crusaders then caught fire and went on a 14-5 run to end the game.

“We made them uncomfortable,” Nutt said. “When we played them at Monroe, they did whatever they wanted, and while they still got some easy looks tonight, we made it much more difficult. We told them we wanted to keep them somewhere between 55 and 60 and we’d have a chance.”

Jerrell Taylor led the Vikings with a team-high 17 points and Henri Pothier hit a pair of key 3-pointers on his way to 12 points.

Tyler Sibley had a big second quarter, fueling the Vikings’ comeback with a eight of his 10 points in the second.

“I thought he did really well for us,” Nutt said. “He played a bunch of minutes last year on varsity, and he’s played a ton this year, but when he can control the basketball, we’re a better team because Jerrell can play off the ball. When he struggles, it puts Jerrell in a position where he’s got to do everything. Tyler did a great job of taking some pressure off Jerrell and allowing Jerrell to catch and rip, instead of having to initiate offense.”

At first, it looked early on as though Thursday would be a repeat of the previous meeting as the Crusaders had their way with the Vikings in the first quarter, building a 20-6 lead.

But the Vikings turned up the defense and outscored the Crusaders 19-11 to pull to within six points at halftime.

“I thought we were pressuring using a zone press in the first quarter, and it was fine,” Nutt said. “They didn’t hurt us too badly on that, but it really hurt us on the weak side rebounding, and they got a bunch of second-chance opportunities. Then we went full-court man and it turned them up a little bit. They missed a few shots; we got a few rebounds, and it turned the tide for us.”

Wins, however, have been scarce for the Vikings (2-11, 0-4 OCIAA-II), who have only posted a pair of non-league victories.

They were scheduled to host Chester on Tuesday and have games against Middletown, Minisink Valley and Kingston to close out the season.

“We’ve had a lot of turnover, so we’re really just getting guys ready for next year,” Nutt said. “But also improving every day with the guys who have been here from the start.”