GRAHAMSVILLE — Despite a loss to Liberty earlier in the week, Sullivan West’s extra game came in handy as they visited Tri-Valley, who had not played since before the holiday break, on Friday night. 

An early 8-0 run by Tri-Valley gave the Bears an early lead, but a strong second half by the Bulldogs earned them a 39-29 victory in the league matchup.

These two schools, both previously in Class C, have always had a tough rivalry when facing off, and Friday’s game was no different. 

Tri-Valley opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and an and-1 layup to take a quick 6-0 lead. The Bears followed it up with another two points to increase their lead to eight and force an early timeout by Sullivan West just 3:13 seconds into the game.

After the timeout, the Bulldogs rattled off a quick 5-0 run of their own, but the Bears ended the quarter with three points to take a 6-point lead into the second quarter.

Sullivan West quickly cut into the Tri-Valley lead, scoring seven straight points to take a 12-11 lead before Tri-Valley even netted a basket. Tri-Valley answered with a 4-0 run to retake the lead, but the Bulldogs scored the final two points before the half, heading into the break with the Bears clinging to a 15-14 lead.

To start the second half, the Bears increased their lead to five with an 8-4 run. The Bulldogs, down 23-18, made a quick adjustment and ended the third quarter on an 11-2 run. The burst of scoring to end the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 29-25 lead heading into the fourth.

With their largest lead of the night, the Bulldogs started the fourth quarter with the momentum to carry them to victory, immediately building on their lead with a 5-0 run to go up 34-25. That nine point lead was more than enough cushion as the Bears were unable to convert on shot attempts and the two teams closed out the game with a near evenly-matched 5-4 run.

The Bulldogs were able to hold on for the road win and set themselves up with a second division victory.

“It was our first game in three weeks,” Tri-Valley Coach Kevin Delaney said. “We started well but lost our offensive flame quickly. Not being able to score in the second half hurt us.”

“We know that they like to run a 1-2-2 zone, so getting the ball into the middle was important,” Sullivan West Coach Ronj Padu said. “It’s always a good game against Tri-Valley, but getting the win on the road and breaking our losing streak tonight was great. The team paid attention to details, talked and executed tonight.”

Evan Ebert led all scorers with 11 points for Sullivan West, and Jacob Hubert added ten of his own.

Misha Khodakovski led the Bears with nine points in the loss.