LAKE HUNTINGTON – The game was on the line, the free throw line that is.

When all was said and done, the non-league game between the visiting Roscoe Blue Devils and the host Sullivan West Bulldogs, a back and forth, hard-fought tilt, came down to Roscoe’s ability to make free throws coupled with Sullivan West’s inability to do the same, particularly in the critical fourth quarter. 

The Dawgs had their chances to ice the game late from the stripe, but a woeful 2-for-10 in the fourth quarter quashed that possibility. Overall, they were 5-for-12 (42%) while Roscoe went 11-for-18 (61%). 

At the outset, it looked like the Bulldogs would run Roscoe right out of the gym by jumping out to an early 12-0 lead. But Roscoe showed their resiliency by going on a 7-0 run to close the opening stanza. 

A late trey by Aidan Johnston changed the tenor of the game. According to Coach Mike Hill, it showed the Blue Devils they could compete. 

Both teams played tough defense but that also led to a bevy of fouls creating a total of a combined 30 attempts from the line. 

Sullivan West only scored six points in the second quarter; Roscoe marshaled eight in the frame. The Bulldogs led 18-15 at the half. The teams exchanged leads during the third quarter but played nearly even with the Dawgs carrying a 29-27 lead into the fourth quarter which saw Roscoe outscore Sullivan West 14-10. 

Those missed free throws from Sullivan West afforded Roscoe multiple chances to hang around. With Roscoe leading 39-38 the Dawgs managed only one of three from the stripe to tie it at 39. A timely bucket by Russ Hodge gave the Blue Devils the lead. 

A last-minute shot by SW’s Andrew Hubert missed the mark and Roscoe got the rebound as the clock ran out. 

Roscoe’s Anthony Teipelke led all scorers with 14. Aidan Johnston posted 13. Brendan Haas poured in ten for the Dawgs and Jacob Hubert scored nine. 

Roscoe improved to 8-8 and SW fell to 5-8 by virtue of this non-league fray. 

Roscoe coach Mike Hill talked about his team’s resiliency. 

“We’ve been here before. We’ve been down by as much as 20 four years ago early in the first half against Sullivan West. They were shooting like gangbusters, but we just clawed back. We had a big run to get really close just before halftime and then we exploded. They had their chances, but we held on. This is a huge win for us.”

Hill gave props to Teipelke and Johnston for their leadership and toughness. “I told the team this was going to be a game where toughness would win out and clearly it did.” 

Sullivan West coach John Meyer. “We jumped out and were playing well but they came back by making more shots than we did. They outhustled us at times and got beat at the boards. We have stretches where we look really good, but we have trouble putting a whole quarter together. 

“That was a good old-fashioned game,” he concluded. 

It was senior night for Sullivan West cheerleaders Becca Brewer, Serena Harting, Bella Wagner and Kaylee Feller, along with basketball players Andrew Hubert and Jaymes Buddenhagen.