Noble cause

Richard A Ross
Posted 8/21/12

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — Every sports team has its share of adversaries. Battles are waged, games and titles are won or lost and in the immediacy of the moment, those quests seem so cathartic. But in …

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Noble cause

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LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — Every sports team has its share of adversaries. Battles are waged, games and titles are won or lost and in the immediacy of the moment, those quests seem so cathartic. But in truth those engagements pale by comparison to the struggle against a much more daunting adversary, indeed a common one, namely cancer, wherein lives, not seasons, literally hang in the balance. No other disease brings more dread than this seemingly omnipresent scourge, which strikes young and old, and people from all walks of life. Given its universal impact, the urgency to find new ways to combat this disease or better yet, to prevent it are preeminent.

And it is to that end that for the seventh consecutive year the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY), presided over by Monticello boys basketball coach Christopher Russo, staged its Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Basketball Tournament at Sullivan County Community College on February 7-8. This year’s event was dedicated to a pair of stalwart warriors battling cancer. They are Chris Krummack of Woodbourne, NY and Glen McGinnis, who has been involved in coaching at Cornwall for 50 years. To learn more about them and the tournament, read “Survivors’ Manifesto VII” on www.sportsinsightsny.com. A record-high sum of over $4,000 dollars was accrued for the Catskill Regional Medical Center’s Oncology Unit.

Fans came out in droves despite winter’s unrelenting grip to cheer on 12 high school and four college hoops teams that took to the hardwood. In honor of the cause, many of the athletes were adorned in pink shirts or accessories. For them, of course, the agenda of showing their basketball prowess and securing much-needed wins was equally pressing. The Eldred Lady Yellowjackets (10-3) kicked off the tournament on February 7 with a dominating 62-13 victory over Roscoe (0-13). Jenna Burns and Jordan Lepes each posted 13 points, while Destiny Arnold added 10. This past week Eldred defeated Fallsburg 50-30. That victory over the 12th-ranked Class B team in the state added to wins over Class C unbeaten Chester and Tri-Valley. Sullivan West (7-5) played against powerful Class A Port Jervis without the services of Bulldog standout senior Ronj Padu, who was still nursing a sore ankle from a win over Livingston Manor. Port’s Arty Gray scored a career-high 26 points in the 70-41 win. Port Jervis improved to 11-4. Jiron Kevii led the Dawgs with 12 points. After Liberty’s junior varsity come-from-behind win over Monticello, the crowd was stoked for the varsity clash between the two schools that have enjoyed a rich rivalry over the years. Monticello (11-3) won its seventh consecutive game as the Panthers downed Liberty 56-38. Dante Smalls led the way with 20 points. Devin Williams posted 16 and Sha-Shawn Drayton netted 10, including a couple of crowd-pleasing dunks. Liberty’s Stephen Johnson led the Indians with 14 points. Morris Schrader had 10. Liberty sits atop of Division IV and will be heading back to sectionals for the first time in several years.

On February 8, The Tri-Valley Bears (9-6) clinched a playoff berth with a 90-41 non-league thumping of Roscoe. Zach Nilsen (18 points), Shane Rennison (16) and Justin Swarthout (13) paced the Bears. In the last high school game of the weekend, the Tri-Valley Lady Bears 6-4 (3-0 OCIAA), currently atop Division V tied with Chester, downed Sullivan West 4-9 (0-5 OCIAA) 31-12. Sandra Alemany led T-V with nine points, while Carly Grishaber paced Sullivan West with six. Earlier this week the Lady Bulldogs nearly pulled off an upset over Chester. They led by one with 3:48 to go but got outscored, mostly at the free throw line before losing 49-36.

In college action, the SCCC Lady Generals scored a season-high tally as they downed Borough of Manhattan CC 103-45. The nation’s fifth-ranked Generals came up just shy of the fourth-ranked Borough of Manhattan 93-91.In the season’s final Alpine Skiing meet before sectionals held at Holiday Mountain, the results were as follows: Girls Team scores: 1. Monticello (Mont) 4:03.07; 2. Rondout Valley-Kingston-Roosevelt-Coleman Catholic (RKRC) 4:13.35; 3. Fallsburg-Tri-Valley (F/TV) 4:29.48; 4. Onteora (Ont) 4:33.07; 5. Liberty (L) 4:51.43; 6. Sullivan West DNF. Girls individual results: 1. Shiau-T Ciecierska (RKRC) 27.94; 2. Riley Lindholm (Mont) 28.73; 3. Taylor Pavese (Fall-TV) 28.93; 4. Miranda Davenport (RKRC) 29.35; 5. Mackenzie Mitchell (Mont) 29.35; 6. Olivia Racette (L) 29.41; 7. Kamry Conboy (L) 30.06; 8. Devon Anderson (Ont) 30.50; 9. Chloe Dumas (RKRC) 30.68; 10. Jenna Hogue (Mont) 31.01; 11. Kelly Manley (RKRC) 31.50; 12. Morgan Mitchell (Mont) 31.82; 13. Christiana Poli (Mont) 31.95; 14. Megan Porter (Fall-TV) 32.53; 15. Natalie Rubin (Ont) 32.56. Boys results were unavailable as of this writing. Sectionals were scheduled for Hunter Mountain on February 10 subject to weather conditions. For an album of photos from skiing and the BCANY Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, visit www.sportsiny.com.

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