Saturday’s Triple OT Braces

Hawkeyes For Sunday Win

By LIBBY CUDMORE • The Freeman’s Journal & Hometown Oneonta

COOPERSTOWN – Longtime CCS basketball fan Fred Lemister knows a championship team when he sees one.

“I have seen remarkable teams and remarkable talent on that floor,” he said. “But I have never seen the cohesion, the camaRAderie that I saw in this team.”

The Cooperstown varsity basketball team took home its  first Class C Championship ever – as Hawkeyes or Redskins – in a 71-61 win over the Middle Early College Kats of Buffalo on Sunday, March 17.

“I was confident going into the season, knowing the kids I had and the kind of leadership involved,” said Head Coach John Lambert. “I’ve had them in my grasp since third and fourth grade, and they’re a special group.”

Lambert, in his first year of coaching, is the second line in a family legacy that now includes his son, senior Jack Lambert. His father, Paul, also coached CCS basketball, and Lambert himself was on the ‘85 and ‘86 sectional championship team.

“I know there’s a coach up in heaven who’s super proud right now,” he said. “I may be the guy who brought the plaque home first, but there were a lot of great players and coaches before us.”

Saturday’s semi against the Greenport Porters at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton stretched into triple overtime before the Hawkeyes were able to break out for a 10-point lead, ending the game at 108-98 achieving another first: most points scored in a Class C Final Four game.

“That game was the best boys’ basketball game I have ever seen,” said Jack Vineyard, the former baseball coach who has followed the team since moving to Cooperstown in the 1970s. “Jack Lambert is smooth on the court and his shots are so beautiful. John Kennedy has improved so much this year, and Noah Lifgren is in the game every minute he’s on that court.”

Just over 24 hours later, the boys were back on the court noon Sunday before a full stand of cheering fans, and handily defeated the Kats, who lagged 10 points behind for the majority of the game, closing the gap to eight points in the third quarter but never getting any closer.

“I thought it would be tougher,” said Kennedy, the 6-foot-8 former wrestler who joined the team this year as a guard. “But I think that us winning yesterday carried over into today.”

On Sunday, the team’s fancy footwork helped propel them to the lead early on, with Jesse Furnari scoring the first basket.

“We have to be strong with the ball and trust that he’ll be there when you pass,” said Jack. “It’s all about trust.”

“We run passing drills every practice,” said his father. “Some teams don’t.”

Those practices paid off on Sunday. “Jesse passed to Ryan Lansing, who passed to Noah, who passed to Jack, who carried for three points,” said the coach. “You just saw the wind go out of their sails.”

With 20 seconds to go, the crowd began singing the Alma Mater, and jumped to their feet with a deafening roar when the buzzer went off.

“To say you expect to be here is arrogant,” said Lambert. “But if you believe you won’t, you will never make it.”

But the season wasn’t without its low points.

In early February, with Lifgren out with the flu and other players under the weather, the boys lost to Holland Patent on a Friday, and on Monday lost a second game to Utica Academy of Science.

“They gave it everything they had, but in 72 hours, we lost two games,” said Lambert. “But it was a blessing in disguise, and it helped them refocus on the rest of the season.”

The Hawkeyes faced Utica Academy of Science again in the sectional championship on Sunday, March 3, at the Carrier Done in Syracuse, and trailed until the fourth quarter, when they managed to rally and defeat the Atoms 61-57.

Following Sunday’s Championship win, the Hawkeyes arrived back in Cooperstown to a fire truck parade, and tributes are sure to follow.

For instance, state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, said he’s planning to honor the team with a resolution on the Senate floor and a pizza party at the Capitol.

“What a team, what a season and what an honor not only for Cooperstown, but for my entire region, to see them bring home a state title,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having them in the galley as all of New York State applauds their achievement.”

Though eight of his seniors graduate at the end of this year, Kennedy, Lansing and Spencer Lewis will remain, and Lambert says he has several JV players anxious to join the varsity team, and he will continue coaching.

“We wouldn’t have won without him,” said son Jack.