Boys basketball: Blue Devils Tournament Championship Game

Family zones its way back to Blue Devils Tourney title

Gould’s three pointer sends game into overtime

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ROSCOE, NY — It may have been the first week of the season for Roscoe and The Family School, but it was championship level basketball in a classic battle for the Blue Devils Tournament title on December 7.

In a game that featured two well-matched teams, savvy strategy and key shots, the Family School rebounded from a 16-point deficit early in the second quarter to make it a game that fans will long remember.

Late February is a long way down the line, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine these two teams in a decisive sectional game at Sullivan County Community College. Both showed talent in this first match-up as Class D division rivals.

Family controlled the tip but started out cold. The team’s size advantage inside gave it rebounds, but early shots wouldn’t drop. It was Roscoe’s Lance Brookins who scored first with a three-pointer.

Family’s Will Gahan, a Falcon that would ultimately decide this game in overtime, answered back with a basket. Jason Peck’s free throws gave Family its first lead, but Roscoe’s Dan DeVantier was out to make up for his foul-induced absence the night before. DeVantier went baseline to score and added a free throw to give Roscoe the lead back.

Andrew Van Riper tied it at eight and the fans settled in for a spectacular game of basketball. Cheerleaders from both schools started amping it up. By the end of the fourth quarter, they had the joint rocking.

Roscoe’s Troy Kirchner and Gahan traded baskets, but it was Blue Devil Jayson Harris that broke the deadlock with his patented three. Using an unorthodox shooting style, the sophomore guard has a nice touch.

Roscoe led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Roscoe continued to show its stuff. A quick basket by Cody DeRosia and a DeVantier steal and subsequent layup had the Blue Devils rolling. Expecting to see a zone defense from Family, Roscoe delighted in the man defense they were facing instead.

Meanwhile, their own help-man defense proved effective and kept the Falcons from patiently working through sets. Roscoe’s John Clancy hit a three and Family turned it over. Harris hit another trey and Kirchner worked out a steal. Family was unraveling and the Devils’ fans were feeling fine.

Clancy scored on a transition bucket to double up Family at 32-16. Falcons’ coach Ted Towsley took a time out to talk it over.

The Falcons came out in a two-three zone and Roscoe just couldn’t adjust. Chris Berra scored, and Tom Gould hit a three. Meanwhile, in a reversal of polarity, it was Roscoe that was turning it over. Peck’s two free throws cut the deficit to five at the half. Roscoe went into the locker room having barely survived a 13-2 Family run.

The previous evening, Family came out against Livingston Manor and ran off a 7-0 run to start the second half. This time, they got six straight points, beginning with a three-pointer by point guard Shervin Nassi. Roscoe’s turnover woes continued as Gahan scored inside and then again on a nifty back-cut, fed by a highlight reel over-the-shoulder pass from Nassi.

Roscoe coach Fred Ahart gathered his troops to strategize ways to beat the zone. DeVantier found one solution. He hit a long three. Clancy did the same. Family dropped back into man defense and Roscoe got penetration. The Blue Devils retook the lead and held on 50-46 as the teams entered the fourth quarter.

Roscoe inbounded the ball, but Gahan waltzed down the lane after a DeVantier turnover and the lead was down to two. Clancy scored from the baseline, and a punch-counterpunch battle developed.

Both teams missed key shots, but Peck tied it at 52-all. Tyler Schmidt’s put back got the Devils in front, but Gould hit a floater down the lane and it was knotted again.

Family instituted a zone press and Roscoe struggled to get the ball up the floor. Free throws by DeVantier and Gahan had the teams trade leads again. Roscoe beat the zone press the next time up, but couldn’t convert. Family was called for three seconds and one began to wonder which team would make the fewest errors down the stretch.

As the quarter began to wind down, Kirchner hit an arcing shot off the glass, and after Van Riper traveled, DeVantier hit what appeared to be the game-clinching three pointer to give Roscoe a four-point lead at 62-58 with 1:10 left.

Towsley schemed and Family worked a catch-and-shoot to Ben Laufer to cut it to one. Roscoe inbounded the ball with 29 seconds left, and Gould fouled Kirchner. Kirchner hit both to give the Devils a 64-61 lead, but the fireworks show was far from over.

With 22 seconds left, Laufer was fouled and hit both to allow Family to pull within one. DeVantier missed his free throws, but Kirchner was fouled on the rebound. He hit both and Roscoe held a three-point lead at 66-63 with 8.9 seconds left.

Family inbounded the ball and Gould got off a three pointer over Schmidt to miraculously tie the game with 2.9 seconds left. A long pass up the floor by Clancy glanced off a Family defender but the .4 seconds weren’t enough for the Devils to get off a shot and the game went into overtime.

One full minute of the four-minute overtime elapsed before Chris Berra hit a three. Gould stole the ball and dribbled out of heavy traffic. DeVantier and Van Riper each missed shots before Gahan hit another. Kirchner got one to go down to cut the lead to three, at 71-68. Gahan hit one free throw to make it four-point margin, but DeVantier wasn’t going to take it lying down. A basket by the talented senior cut it to two. Gahan hit a pair of free throws, and then stole a ball and put in the final basket to give the Falcons a 76-70 lead. Gahan had scored six of his game-high 22 points in the crucial overtime frame. Gould had 16, Berra had 13 and Peck had 11 in the Family’s balanced attack.

DeVantier led the Blue Devils with 22, including four threes. Kirchner finished with 15 and Clancy had 13, including a pair of treys.

Asked about the crucial game-tying three, Gould said, “I just wanted to get the ball up the floor to my range as quick as I could. I was nervous but I knew I could make it.”

Towsley indicated that he had subbed in Berra for Peck, and told his squad that anyone had permission to shoot the three. Asked about his team’s comeback, Towsley said, “We went out of our man and into a zone defense, and it got them out of their rhythm. We went on a 13-2 run at the end of the second quarter and that was key. This is a fantastic win. Fred is a great coach and Roscoe played a terrific game. Actually, we played two good teams in this tournament, so to leave at 2-0 against division rivals really propels us.”

Ahart said, “Naturally, we would have liked to pull it out. We played well and it was a well-played game. Give The Family School credit. Tom Gould had to make that shot and we had to try and prevent it. We put our best defender, Tyler Schmidt, on him and he made it anyway. Still in overtime, we had our opportunities.”

Asked about Family’s zone, Ahart concurred that it caused a disruption. “We prepared for their zone and when they came out in man we were very successful. When they went back to the zone, we just couldn’t adjust. The real key was that we had a big lead and they found a way to undo it,” Ahart said.

All in all, it was high school basketball at its best.

DeVantier and Kirchner received the tournament runner-up plaque, while Gould and Gahan accepted the first-place plaque for the Family School.