Spartans caught by O'Neill, 63-60

Florida - “Caught” may seem a little out of place, but it probably fits as the Seward Spartans were unable to hold off James I. O’Neill in the closing minutes, losing 63-60. The non-league game in Highland Falls last Wednesday found Florida playing one Division up. It didn’t seem to faze the Spartans in the early going as they stayed right with the Raiders and led by one, 31-30, at the half. In the third quarter, playing excellent defense, the Spartans took an eight-point lead, 48-40. Unfortunately for Spartan coach Rob Gravelle and his team, things turned a little sour in that last quarter. O’Neill scored the first eight points to tie the game at 48-48. Florida managed a spurt of their own and regained the lead. They still led with one minute and forty seconds left. Then some costly turnovers against O’Neill’s pressure defense, a few missed Spartan shots, and the host team was able to complete their almost miraculous comeback. “It was a good lesson for us,” Gravelle said later. “We have to learn to protect the ball better. We actually played thirty minutes of good basketball.” To their credit the Spartan players agreed with that ball control observation and vowed to work harder as the league season kicks in. Seward’s own version of the “Fearsome Foursome” played well and scored well. Brenden Myers led his team’s scoring with 18 points and eight rebounds. Saddam Sahmanovic tallied 15 and Bryan Folkl contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. Mickey Collins notched eleven. O’Neill, a Class B school, is ranked 13th in the state and now sports a 7-1 record. The Class C Spartans dropped to 5-4, all in non-league action. Two tough Division V games against Tri-Valley and Tuxedo are on tap for this week. The Spartans will need to go the full 32 minutes in those.