SULLIVAN COUNTY – When the brackets were announced last Thursday night, nine county teams had earned a spot in their respective Section IX class tournaments. Tri-Valley boys and both Eldred teams were eliminated on Saturday afternoon, leaving six scheduled to play early in the week. The weather had other plans, and the snow cancellations moved nearly every playoff game to Wednesday night.

Both the Monticello boys and girls, the Livingston Manor girls, the Roscoe boys, Sullivan West girls and Tri-Valley girls were all in action last night, with many of the games being on the road out of the county.

Lady Wildcats upset in Section IX Class D Championship

Livingston Manor and Webutuck battled Wednesday afternoon for the Class D crown. An early lead for the Lady Wildcats was quickly overturned after foul trouble and cold shooting slowed the defending champs on both sides of the court.

Webutuck got off to a slow start, only amassing 13 points in the first half, but their stingy defense kept the game close, and Livingston Manor held just a two point advantage at the break.

In the second half, the Lady Wildcats were outscored 8-2, giving Webutuck a 21-17 lead heading into the final quarter. Foul trouble came back with a vengeance as two LM starters earned their fifth and had to come out of the game. Webutuck pressed the advantage and won the fourth quarter 12-6 to extend their lead to 10 and bring home the Class D Championship plaque with a 33-23 victory.

Mackenzie Carlson led the Lady Wildcats with 11 points in the loss.

“We didn’t play our best offensively,” Lady Wildcats coach Maggi Fitzpatrick said. “It’s unfortunate. Their style of play is usually one that we matchup well against, but we didn’t have it tonight. I’m still proud of the girls for getting this far and how they battled.”

Blue Devils and Lions compete for Championship

Unlike Webutuck and Livingston Manor, who squared off for the first time this season in the Championship, Roscoe and Chapel Field have seen plenty of each other this year. Chapel Field finished with an unblemished 6-0 record in the division, and earned some big wins outside of the division, earning them the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

In the first round of the playoffs, they took down Mount Academy in the RCS gymnasium, right before Roscoe and Eldred’s Sectional matchup.

With how often the Blue Devils have seen the Lions this year, they were ready to get creative with their game plan. And early on, it worked. The Blue Devils led 13-8 after the first quarter, and held that lead for most of the second, until the Lions’ Jonah McDuffie got hot.

Chapel Field finished on an 18-3 run in the second quarter to take a 30-21 lead at halftime and never looked back, winning 60-48.

McDuffie finished with 33 points in the game, including all eight of the Lions’ points in the first. In the third he only scored two points, but Noah Swart scored eight of his 19 in the third to keep the offense on pace for the win.

“Tonight was the best game we’ve played against them,” Roscoe coach Mike Hill said. “Their defense in the second half made the difference. They were aggressive and it put us on our heels. Too much McDuffie today. He’s a competitor and that’s what you want to face in a game like this.”

Monticello Boys and Girls fall in opening round

The boys A bracket is stacked this year, with heavy hitters like Goshen and New Paltz hosting games against FDR and Port Jervis.

For the No. 6 Panthers, who went on the road to face No. 3 Our Lady of Lourdes, an upset wasn’t in the cards. The Panthers put up 59 points, which was more than half of the other A teams scored, but their defense struggled to slow the Warriors.

Lourdes managed to win 74-59 and grab another home playoff game after No. 7 Port Jervis upset No. 2 New Paltz. The winner of that game will take on Goshen in the Class A Championship.

The Lady Panthers also entered the Sectional tournament as a 6-seed, meaning they were on the road against No. 3 Goshen. Monticello put forth a valiant effort, but ultimately lost 46-23 against Goshen’s tough defense.

Tri-Valley falls to Class C Powerhouse

The defending Class C Champions of New York are looking primed to make a repeat performance. Millbrook wasted no time showing why the are the top-seeded team in Class C with a massive 67-22 victory over the Lady Bears on Wednesday afternoon.

They will face Seward on Sunday as they look to repeat as Section IX Champs and move on to the State Championship tournament. 

Sullivan West falls to Seward in Rubber Match

After splitting the season series for the second year in a row, Seward and Sullivan West met in the playoffs. The two teams have matched up well against each other the past few years, but just like last year, Seward clinched the home playoff game and defeated the Lady Bulldogs in the playoffs.

Sullivan West battled throughout the night, but a strong defensive effort by the Spartans kept the Lady Bulldogs at bay as they won 41-26, a wire-to-wire victory that  marked the sixth and final team from Sullivan County to be eliminated on Wednesday night.