Sullivan's loss tarnishes Warriors' win

PHILADELPHIA — A feel-good victory against a quality nonleague opponent suddenly turned almost insignificant for the Indian River Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

Now Indian River will likely play out the rest of the Frontier League and Section 3 season without one of its top and most experienced players.

Senior guard Alex Sullivan, who has developed into Indian River's floor leader and the team's second-leading scorer, reinjured a knee in a seemingly innocent collision with two Ogdensburg Free Academy players with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in a 60-49 victory. Sullivan, who had previously dislocated his kneecap during a physical education class last fall, went down in excruciating pain and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Afterward, Indian River coach Denny Seitz put his club's win in perspective.

"It (the injury) is crippling for us because Alex was finally starting to pick up his leadership and was improving game by game," Seitz said. "His floor game has been so solid, and he can score for us. We've got some other kids who can play, but Alex gives us another dimension."

Warrior junior guard Jarrod Mattingly, who led Indian River (11-2) with 23 points Saturday, said losing Sullivan "means everybody else must step up their games. Alex was playing great of late, doing a lot of things we need to do to succeed. I really feel sorry for him because he's been working so hard."

Last season, Indian River went without veteran point guard Terry Parham for a few weeks due to an injury. Seitz said Sullivan's expected absence is tough, "but we'll just go on from here and play with what we've got."

The Warriors, leading the "A" Division, finish their regular season schedule this week with games against General Brown (Monday), Lowville (Wednesday) and at Carthage (Friday) in a game that may determine the division champion.

"The thing about an injury like this to a senior is that he can't get the games back," Seitz said. "That's the saddest part."

As for the game, it was Indian River's second-half defensive performance that helped the Warriors outscore the Blue Devils 33-22 after a 27-27 halftime deadlock.

Indian River's 1-3-1 zone bottled up the OFA offense, leaving very few gaps. Junior Gene Bouyer, one of the top talents in the north country, led the Blue Devils (10-3) with 23 points, and sophomore Dave Crowder netted 17, but the rest of the team scored just nine points.

"Our defense has been getting better and better," Seitz said. "The offense was horrible Friday (in a two-point win over Watertown), but we're winning with defense."

Indian River also made eight 3-point baskets, with Mattingly hitting five. Sullivan finished with 13 points before his injury.

An 11-0 run midway through the third quarter helped Indian River pull away from a 33-33 tie. A Dukes lay-up capped off a 17-2 spurt that gave Indian River its biggest lead, 50-35, with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

Veteran OFA coach Bill Merna, who started three sophomores and a junior, said his young team has shown improvement. "Our sophomores have really grown up and we're playing pretty well together," he said. "We've still got some tough games left in our league, so playing a game like this will help even though we lost."

MASSENA 70, PERU 51

Matt Perry scored a team-high 25 points to lead the Red Raiders past the Indians in a nonleague game in Peru.

Cody Clary contributed 16 points for Massena (9-5). Rob Duquette led all scorers with 28 points for Peru. Kyle Carter added 12 points for the Indians.

SOUTH JEFFERSON 55, APW 22

The Spartans raced to a 12-0 first-quarter lead en route to a Frontier League "B" Division win at Parish.

Eric Pond scored 13 points, Spencer Parsons 11 and Jake Abrams 10 for South Jefferson (7-6, 5-5).

Zac Fisher's eight points led the Rebels (0-12, 0-10).

COPENHAGEN 77, ALEXANDRIA 60

Ramon Colone posted 19 points as 12 Golden Knights scored during a "D" Division game at Copenhagen.

The Golden Knights (6-8, 5-6) hit 22 free throws, and received 11 points from Trevor Morse. Blake LaBarge tacked on 10 points.

Vincent Hoover's 15 points fueled Alexandria's offense, which netted 29 fourth-quarter points. Delvon Bullock had 12 points, and Thomas Hayes scored 11.