02/24/05
Cooperstown boys edge Herkimer, 63-62
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL — SECTION THREE CLASS C-1 CHAMPIONSHIP
By P.J. Harmer
Staff Writer
ROME — Dave Pikarsky couldn’t have asked for a bigger lane.
Pikarsky scored the winning basket on a wide-open layup with 11.8 seconds remaining to give top-seeded Cooperstown a 63-62 victory over second-seeded Herkimer in the Section Three Class C-1 championship in front of about 1,200 fans at Rome Free Academy on Wednesday.
"I just wanted to take it up strong and not worry about contact," said Pikarsky, who finished with a game-high 23 points. "I wanted the ball at the end. It’s lucky it worked out how it did."
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Cooperstown’s Eddie Bauer helped open the lane by setting a screen underneath. The result was a lane Pikarsky could have seemingly driven an 18-wheeler through.
"I couldn’t believe he was that open," said Cooperstown coach Dave Bertram. "It was amazing. A lot of luck and we got it finally."
Cooperstown (20-3) advanced to the Section Three Class C championship opposite the state’s top-ranked team, Faith Heritage, at 3:45 p.m. Sunday at Syracuse University’s Manley Field House.
"We watched Faith Heritage play Onondaga and Onondaga had them beat," said Bertram, whose team reached the Class C state final two seasons ago. "Anything can happen."
Herkimer (18-5) had a final chance Wednesday, getting to midcourt before calling a timeout with 4.9 seconds remaining.
The Magicians, who had success driving on Cooperstown much of the game, inbounded to Karl List. He drove baseline and let go a final shot that bounced twice off the rim and away.
"It was pretty crazy," said Cooperstown’s Chris Bush, who finished with 18 points. "Both times we played them it went back-and-forth."
The Redskins won the first meeting between the two teams, 62-51, on Dec. 5. Herkimer won the second, 62-60, on Jan. 28.
The Magicians, who controlled the tempo for much of the game, snapped a 57-57 tie with 2:43 to play on a basket from Luke Schrader (13 points). Josh Leone hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 60-57 with 1:45 left.
Bush and Bauer then each hit one free throw to sandwich Herkimer’s List going 2-for-2 to make it 62-59 with 59.6 remaining.
After Schrader missed two free throws, Bauer grabbed the rebound and passed to Bush, who drove the length of the court for an uncontested layup with 20 seconds left.
"That was what he was supposed to do," Bertram said. "He went right up. From there, it was a race against time."
Bauer’s aggressive play helped set up the winner. Herkimer’s inbound pass was tipped away and Bauer sprawled out on the floor to control it. Bertram was right there to call timeout.
"I was thinking, ’Just get the ball,’" Bauer said. "Do everything you can do to get the ball. All I was thinking about was getting my hands on the ball. Everything else was just happening."
After the timeout, Cooperstown inbounded and moved the ball around the key. Pikarsky ended up with on the right side and drove, untouched for the winner.
Cooperstown battled to stay in the game all night, but every time the Redskins tied the score or took a small lead, Herkimer answered with a run to take control. The Magicians led by as many as seven, 40-33, with 4:11 to play in the third quarter.
An 8-3 run — the final four points by Pikarsky — helped Cooperstown close within 43-41 with 1:24 left in the third. Herkimer led, 46-45, going into the fourth.
"They had an answer for everything," Pikarsky said. "We just had to keep fighting."
Jon Adamson had 21 points and Leone 11 for Herkimer.
Zack Sittler had seven points for Cooperstown, including the first four of the second half to allow the Redskins to erase a 31-27 halftime deficit.
COOPERSTOWN 63, HERKIMER 62
2-HERKIMER (18-5): Corban Caliuguire 0 1-2 1, Jude Alberts 2 0-0 5, Luke Schrader 6 0-2 13, Kyle Crandall 0 1-2 1, Karl List 3 2-3 8, Jon Adamson 9 3-4 21, Tom Reid 1 0-0 2, Josh Leone 3 5-7 11. TOTALS: 24 12-20 62.
1-COOPERSTOWN (20-3): Dave Pikarsky 9 4-4 23, Chris Bush 5 8-10 18, Jake Smith 0 0-0 0, Zack Sittler 3 0-0 7, Eddie Bauer 1 1-2 3, Derek Busse 2 2-2 6, Luke Banner 1 3-4 5. TOTALS: 21 18-22 63.
Three-point field goals: Herkimer 2 (Alberts, Schrader); Cooperstown 3 (Bush, Sittler, Banner).
