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IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: INJURY HELPS SPOIL NEWARK VALLEY'S UPSET BID (23 PHOTOS) (2020-01-16)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — Newark Valley was cruising along with upset on its mind, then an untimely injury stole the Cardinals' mojo in a 54-38 IAC Large School crossover loss to Whitney Point here Thursday night.

NV overcame a shaky start to grab a 26-20 halftime advantage over the Large School North division leaders, but Donavin Beebe, who went into the break with the hot hand, suffered an injury early in the third quarter.

Beebe would miss more than six minutes of playing time, but the injury to his ankle limited his effectiveness for almost the entire second half.

Newark Valley has had its struggles all season and they haunted the team early — at least a half-dozen turnovers in the first quarter alone. The Golden Eagles weren't able to take full advantage of those miscues, allowing NV to stay close, trailing just 12-8 heading into the second period.

"During that first quarter we had a number of turnovers," NV coach Scott Stratton said. "One of the things we've been working on, one of our talking points on a daily basis is let's get a possession where we can get a good shot, because if you can't get a good shot off then you can't score points."

The Cardinals corrected their offensive mistakes and shored up their defense, which enable the home team to outscore the Point by 10 and grab a 26-20 halftime advantage.

Beebe, who had six of NV's points in the opening stanza, chalked up six more in the second stanza. Ethan Bigelow added six as well, including a 3-pointer, and Jaden Short put up a couple of buckets.

Bigelow's trey cut the lead to a point, 12-11, in the first minute of the period and the score would be tied three times before NV went ahead.

With the Cardinals behind, 18-16, Beebe hit a pair of field goals around a basket by Short to give NV a 22-18 lead.

The Eagles would trim the margin to 22-20, but Beebe and Short would score a basket apiece in the final minute of the half.

Beebe would injure his ankle early in the second half, but attempted to stay on the court. He finally headed to the trainer's table with just over three minutes remaining in the period.

"We rode that wave in the second quarter on Donavin Beebe's back and he played like a monster," Stratton said. "It's the potential release that we've been waiting for and it seemed really unfortunate that just when it seemed like things were going well for us, he goes and rolls his ankle just when he's feeling hot. It kind of deflated us, because we were riding his shoulders there for a little bit."

Meanwhile, Whitney Point made some halftime adjustments and used a turnover and a Hunter James trey to cut the lead to 26-25.

Beebe hit a free throw with 5:21 left in the stanza, but it would be his final point of the night.

Tanner Kallfelz made a pair of free throws with four minutes left in the period, tying the game 29, then Brent Isaacs stole an inbound pass put the Eagles up to stay, 31-29, at 3:18.

Beebe went out shortly afterward and WP completed a 10-0 run to end the quarter. James and Kallfelz combined for 15 of the Eagles' 17 points in the period.

"We couldn't put the ball in the basket in the second half," Stratton said. "They made some defensive adjustments that baffled us just a little bit. We just went really stale.

James drained a three in the opening minute of the final frame and Levi Burns added two buckets, extending the lead to 44-34 as the clock ticked down under five minutes — and just moments before Beebe returned to the court. With a visible limp, there was little the junior forward could do to help his team and Whitney Point pulled away, scoring 10 of the game's final 14 points.

James finished with a game-high 18 points and Kallfelz added 15 more. Burns and Isaacs combined to contribute a dozen more for WP (6-4).

Beebe would end up with 13 points on the night. Bigelow and Short scored six apiece, Jake Armstrong and Raidyn Ford added four each, Caden Bennett had three and Brenton Rosenberg added two.

Despite the team's 2-8 start, Stratton likes what he sees in the players' attitudes and work ethic.

"I like this team. They've got a lot of potential. They've got a lot of grit," he said. "Our defenses are really coming along. We work at them every single day. This is a team that doesn't quit. I know they're struggling right now, but we come back day in and day out and take care of business in practice."

NV heads to Trumansburg (1-6) Jan. 24.

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IN PHOTO 1: NV's Donavin Beebe (11). ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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