Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY - Kyle Coffin poured in 55 points as Newark Valley battled past Dryden, 84-82, in IAC crossover action here Tuesday. He was just eight points shy of the Section IV record, set during the 1952-53 season by Binghamton Central's Charles Rolles.
Coffin cranked out 25, including five 3-pointers, as the Cardinals raced out to a 34-15 first-quarter advantage.
"The game started fast-paced with everyone getting involved, but especially Kyle, who scored from all over the floor," NV head coach Scott Stratton said. "(The) guys knew right away that he as feeling it early and they were looking to get him the ball. But Dryden also had to know where Donavin (Beebe) was on the floor, because in the first quarter he dropped in a couple of dump downs and finished an offensive rebound.
"When Kyle started the game with five 3-pointers in the first quarter, and the team was playing intense defense and creating turnovers, I saw him get that look in his face. It's the look that says ‘I'm not about to let anyone get in my way tonight.
The Purple Lions would chip away at the lead as Keegan Gesin, who was limited to four points in the opening period, scored 11 of his team's 22 as Dryden cut the lead to 51-37 at the half.
"Dryden sorted some things out in the second and third quarters and our pressure was less effective," Stratton said. "They started going to their big guy (Gesin), who is really tough inside. And with Donavin on the bench with some foul trouble, it was tough to stop Keegan. He did a nice job collecting offensive rebounds and putting the ball in the basket for them tonight.
Gesin would score just three points in the third and Coffin, who had 35 at the break, was limited to six and the Lions would trim the margin to three, 61-58, with a 22-10 run. Michael Yuz'vak and Brandon Madigan scored six points each to lead the rally.
In the final frame, Gesin would put up 10 points while Yuz'vak and Patrick Murphy chipped in with six apiece, but the Lions could only pick up one more point on NV. Coffin would step it up again in the fourth, scoring 14 more points while canning his eighth trey of the night. Andrew Obregon and Ethan Bigelow added one three apiece, and Riley Malone added a pair of free throws.
Obregon drained a key trey with 1:17 remaining, giving NV a 4-point lead. A Gesin basket cut the lead in half, but a loose-ball foul sent Malone to the stripe and he locked in on a pair of free throw attempts to push the lead back to four. An offensive rebound and putback by Dryden made it a one possession game with about 12 seconds left. However, Coffin, who went 9-for-11 at the line, sank a pair of free throws to ice the win.
"I've got to give Dryden a lot of credit for working their way back into the game tonight," Stratton said. "The battled and battled, in the middle quarters, especially, to cut the deficit."
Beebe and Obregon contributed eight points apiece to the win, Malone had six, Jason Graham four and Bigelow three. The Cardinals ended the night with 11 keys while connecting on 79 percent of their free attempts (15-for-19).
Gesin led the Lions with 28 points, and Yuz'vak and Murphy hit for 18 apiece.
Newark Valley visits Whitney Point Friday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Newark Valley's Jason Graham. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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