Boys Basketball Comes Up Short To Indians On Courtwarming

Sullivan’s (4-21) rally to beat Pacific (7-16) on Courtwarming night fell short. They lost 47-43 in a barnburner with the Indians, dropping to a 2-4 conference record.

The Eagles led Pacific for the entire first half until their momentum slowed in the third quarter. The Indians caught up to steal the lead, and Sullivan could not overcome its deficit.

Chris Glaser led the Eagles with 16 points against Pacific. Landen Doza dropped eleven points, while Seth Valley and Peyton Malady drained five. Cooper Donner swished in four points, and Robert York hit two free throws.

Doza came in hot and soared the Eagles to the top. Glaser picked off an inbound pass and lobbed it to Doza for the opening score. 

The Indians retaliated with a three, but Doza retook Sullivan’s lead with a layup-and-one. 

Glaser then sailed in a shot from downtown and a free throw to push the Eagles ahead.

Doza continued firing on all cylinders, pulling up a jumper and later cutting off a Pacific pass for a bucket. 

Valley and Glaser capped off the first quarter with layups for a 17-10 lead.

The Indians began finding their momentum during the second period. Gavin Haddox trimmed Pacific’s deficit to four on two separate triples.

Valley and Glaser kept Sullivan afloat from the charity stripe while Brayden White forced turnovers on the Indians. But Pacific had inched closer by halftime, trailing only 22-19. 

Both teams struggled to reach the net after returning to the court. The defensive slugfest lasted three minutes until Doza broke the drought with a layup. 

Pacific fired back by stealing their first lead of the night at 26-24.

Donner came to the rescue with a putback basket. He rebounded Valley’s missed attempt to even the scoreboard.

Despite Sullivan’s efforts, the Indians continued to dominate from the arc. Pacific’s Seth Stack and Logan Hoffman drilled in threes, leaving the Eagles again on the ropes.

Sullivan managed to bounce back and cut their deficit to two. York drew a charge on the Indians, which allowed Donner to swish another layup. Glaser then came in clutch on the charity stripe with two buckets.

York knocked in two free throws to tip off the fourth quarter and tied it 32 apiece.

Pacific’s Gage Clark responded by going coast-to-coast for a layup-and-one. Malady then rallied the Eagles back with a jumper and a foul shot. 

The Indians continued driving down the court for baskets, but Sullivan struggled to catch up. With under four minutes to go, Pacific handed the Eagles their largest deficit of the night, 42-35.

However, despite being at the jaws of defeat, Sullivan refused to throw in the towel. Valley ignited his team’s comeback with a free throw. Glaser followed with a defensive rebound, then bolted to the top of the arc, firing a three-point dagger to the net.

Valley and Glaser continued to score, but the Eagles still struggled to shut down Pacific at the rim. Haddox drained another three, then Parker Linder and Spencer Bukowsky sent the knockout punches to Sullivan from the charity stripe.