Sullivan Rally Falls Short Against St. James

From the opening tip Friday (Feb. 9), Sullivan never seemed to find a rhythm against St. James.

The Tigers never let Sullivan get on an extended run, had an answer for every crucial basket and survived Sullivan’s comeback down the stretch.

With his team trailing 56-51, Austin Lewis swished a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining. Sullivan forced a St. James turnover just seconds later, but missed a chance to tie or take the lead.

Instead, the Tigers looked to Bailey Terrill. The senior forward scored with 45 seconds left and helped St. James win 60-54, spoiling Homecoming for Sullivan.

Cody McKinney led Sullivan with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists.

Lewis tallied 13 points, while Caleb Todd had 11, including three 3-pointers. Josh Wiese added eight points, Austin Frye scored four and Jacob Rohrer had two. Landon Hoffman scored one.

The Eagles (11-10) fell behind early and were never able to recover. St. James went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter. After the Eagles pulled to 10-7 on a 3-pointer by Todd, the Tigers finished the period on a 6-0 run.

St. James extended their lead to double digits on a 3-pointer by Ty Uffman with 6:05 to go in the second quarter. Sullivan cut the deficit to seven on a 3-pointer by Lewis. St. James responded with another 3-pointer by Uffman and a jumper from Tyler Recker. The Tigers led 31-19 at the break.

Sullivan could never closer than eight in the third quarter. McKinney twice hit 3’s that brought Sullivan within single digits. Wiese had a 3-pointer that made it 39-31 with 2:37 left, only for St. James to respond with the next four points. Recker’s jumper with 36 seconds gave St. James a 46-33 lead. Todd heaved up a 3-pointer at the buzzer, leaving the Eagles down 10. In the fourth quarter, Wiese and Todd had 3-pointers to cut the deficit.Harlan hit back with a 3-pointer on St. James’ next trip down.

Sullivan came within five again on a 3-pointer by Lewis with 2:56 to play, but Recker came back with a jumper. After a third chance putback by McKinney, St. James turned the ball over on a travel by Ivan Fuhring. Sullivan took possession and that’s when Lewis stepped up with a 3-pointer, making it 56-54.

The Tigers turned the ball over again on their next possession. Sullivan was unable to get any points and Terrill scored to give St. James a two-possession lead.