ELLENVILLE – Liberty, Fallsburg, Tri-Valley and Webutuck descended upon Ellenville Central School this weekend for their annual Rumble in the Valley tournament. The Blue Devils swept both the boys and girls championships with four big wins, but the Liberty and Fallsburg matchups in the first round brought the intensity for an early season contest.

Friday night began with Webutuck vs Ellenville and Fallsburg vs Liberty girls at 5 p.m. The Lady Blue Devils easily handled Webutuck, winning 51-21.

On the other court, Liberty and Fallsburg were engrossed in a battle that needed two overtimes to decide a winner. 

Fallsburg jumped out to an early 10-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, but by halftime Fallsburg only led 14-9. 

In the second half, Liberty was able to take the lead and hold it until the fourth quarter. Trailing 22-25, Fallsburg quickly scored twice to take a 26-25 lead. With the seconds winding down, Destiny Loyce drew a foul for the Indians and went to the line. After missing her first five free throw attempts in the quarter, she managed to sink the final one and tie up the score at the end of regulation.

Both teams scored four points in the first overtime period and a second was needed to decide a winner.

While the Fallsburg and Liberty boys teams looked on, waiting for the girls game to end for their warmups to begin, Tri-Valley and Ellenville boys were already almost at halftime.

In the second overtime, Liberty clung to a 1-point lead as time was winding down, but a late steal and score by Angelica Rothberg sealed the win for Liberty.

Following the intensity of the girls’ game was going to be tough, but the Comets and Indians did not disappoint.

Fallsburg opened the game on a 15-3 run, but Liberty had no intention of going quietly into the night. They answered with a 6-0 run, and by the end of the first quarter, Fallsburg had regained their momentum and finished with a 20-12 lead.

In the second quarter, Liberty went on an 11-4 run to bring the score within three, but Fallsburg extended the lead to ten before the half. At the break, Fallsburg led 35-27 after a late bucket by Liberty.

The tension was mounting in the second half, as Liberty would go on a run to make it a one-possession game before Fallsburg scored a few times to extend their lead.

By the end of the third quarter, Fallsburg’s lead was 49-40 courtesy of a 6-0 run to end the quarter.

In the fourth, Liberty got the score within three again, but Fallsburg did a good job of keeping their opponents at bay. With 40 seconds left, Liberty had possession and trailed by 5, but they were unable to close the gap, and Fallsburg won 63-54.

Meanwhile, on the high school court, Tri-Valley had their hands full with Ellenville. The Bears lost the lead early and were never able to recover, ultimately losing 67-40 to the eventual tournament Champions.

In the Championship rounds, the Ellenville boys defeated Fallsburg 80-40, and the Ellenville girls defeated Liberty 69-25 for a clean sweep of their home tournament.