Dominican Coach Soars; South Beats Spring Valley, 80-58

Coach Clinton stays cool, calm, collected

You can’t keep a good man—or coach—down.

“That’s life,” offers Joe Clinton of Pearl River, now in his 20th season on the sideline guiding the men’s basketball team at Dominican College in Orangeburg, reacting to the academic ineligibility of two key players.

Clinton, who earlier in the season lost a key big man, 6-foot-7 sophomore Nick Smith, to a torn ACL, is now faced with opening the second half of the campaign following the holiday break without junior Leon Porter of Laurel, MD, and freshman DaVonne Dunlop of Kingston.

“You can’t walk them to class, so they will be out a minimum of five games …” Clinton offered. “The other guys are going to have to step up. We might be in trouble, but when the big guy (Smith) was injured, (Cory) Quimby really stepped up big-time.”

Porter, a point guard, scored his 1,000th career point as Dominican closed out the first half of the season by turning back St. Thomas Aquinas College, 79-75, in Sparkill. Dunlop added 15 points.

“We just had exams, and it seems every time we come back from exams we struggle,” noted Clinton, discussing the tougher-than-expected challenge presented by the Spartans, who dropped their seventh straight game but only after a determined bid.

“It was back and forth and we didn’t pull it out until the end,” Clinton said.

Quimby, of Otisville, again stepped up big-time, this time against STAC as he led four Chargers in double figures with 27 points and a game-high 12 rebounds (on the season, he is averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds).

“It was a good game,” Clinton said. “Both schools were on break, so it wasn’t your typical Dominican-STAC crowd, but it was decent.”

The Chargers (6-3) resume practice on Dec. 27, and when play resumes it won’t be any easier for Coach Clinton and an undermanned squad.

“We’re going right into the fire,” “Clinton says, pointing to a game in Washington on Dec. 30 against the University of the District of Columbia.

“Their only loss was to Duquesne, a Division 1 school,” said Clinton.

Duquesne beat UDC, 97-81, but the Firebirds have won their nine other contests, including one in 72-60 fashion against STAC.

Game time in D.C. is set for 2 p.m.

Coach Dennis O’Donnell and the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans, who have dropped seven in a row after opening with two victories, also return to action on Dec. 30, visiting Pace University in Pleasantville at 3:30 p.m.

Nyack College, led by fourth-year coach Ted Quinn, hopes to finally end a 12-game slide on Dec. 30 when the Warriors visit Dowling in Oakdale at 7 p.m.

The area’s women’s teams are also back in action on Dec. 30, with Nyack hosting non-conference foe St. Anselm’s at 5 p.m. at Bowman Gymnasium, Dominican traveling to New Haven, CT, to meet Southern Connecticut State University at 6 p.m., and St. Thomas Aquinas College visiting Pace at the Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville at 1:30 p.m.

The Setters are 7-3, and feature senior guard Carol Johnson of New City, who is second on the team in scoring with 10 points per game. The Cardinal Spellman graduate is also averaging five rebounds and two-plus assists per game for Pace.

The Lady Spartans are 7-4 after their five-fame winning streak was snapped at 7-3 Holy Family University in Philadelphia, 59-36.

Nyack fell to 0-7 before the break, bowing 81-48 to a very-fine Philadelphia University team (8-3). Freshman forward Meghan Richards of Nanuet had seven rebounds, six points and three steals in the loss.

Dominican, helped by the stellar play of sophomore forward KC Jentzen of Pearl River—she shares the team lead in scoring at 10.8 points per game-- has split eight games.

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Yesterday’s Results:

Sport: Boys Basketball (Friday)

Game: Clarkstown South vs. Spring Valley

Score: Clarkstown South Wins 80-58

Highlights: Mike McCahey led the Vikings with 26 points while Clayton Roker scored 16 and Tyler Mager tacked on 11. Kai Mitchell had 18 points in the loss.

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