The Catskill Chronicle

Elevator Going Up! Liberty’s Brandon Tompkins soars to the rim as Monti’s Jesse Kapito defends the glass.

Story and photos by Ted Waddell

LOCH SHELDRAKE – The 2nd Annual Sullivan County Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was held Tuesday night, January 19 at Sullivan County Community College’s Paul Gerry Field House.

Sullivan County’s “Coaches vs. Cancer”; Jason Semo of Liberty and Monticello’s Chris Russo.

The fundraiser featured a repeat battle between two local teams who competed against each other last year, the Indians of Liberty High and the Monti High Panthers.

Last year, Liberty defeated their rivals 61-55, and in the 2nd Annual Classic the Indians squeaked by Monti 66-59.

For those sports fans with a statistical mindset, the Indians won by 6 points in 2009 and a year later edged their competition by 7 points at the buzzer.

The game was big deal in the county, as it attracted several hundred basketball fans who showed up to watch a war on the boards and pay a small admission fee that was donated to the American Cancer Society’s “lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a life-threatening disease.”

After a couple of coaches each pledged $100.00, the final tally was $1,060.

Former Panther’s coach Dick O’Neill provided some play-by-play commentary by Cable 6 Sports.

The game was well covered by the local media and included Dick O’Neill who coached boy’s varsity hoops at Monti for 25 years. O’Neill, back from retirement, was on hand to provide play-by-play analysis and commentary for Cable 6.

“The coach’s association statewide supports this,” said O’Neill. “We’re trying to do the right thing for mankind, and in these times every little bit helps.”

Asked what it’s like to be on the bench, he replied, “Wonderful, I don’t miss it for one second…39 years is enough!”

O’Neill started coaching basketball at Burke in 1973, and retired from the Home of the Panthers two years ago.

“It’s not all just about basketball, it’s about life’s values, things like self-discipline and commitment,” he said of the game of painted lanes and distant glass. “It’s kind of like a family thing, it’s been a great trip for me.”

Coaches vs. Cancer derives from an idea promoted by Norm Stewart, former head coach of the University of Missouri’s men’s basketball program, member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and a cancer survivor.

To get the ball rolling for what evolved into a nationwide program, Stewart challenged fans to pledge a dollar amount for every three points posted by his team during the kickoff season.

Since 1993, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised more than $50 million through the efforts of over 2,000 Division I-III college coaches and more than 100 high school coaches around the country.

Liberty’s Chris Soto reaches for the ball.

“This is something Jason Semo (Indians coach and Liberty’s athletic director), Chris Russo (Panthers coach), Doug Murphy (Monticello’s AD) and I had been talking about for a couple of years,” said Chris DePew, Sullivan’s AD and former head coach of the Generals.

“We’re really excited about having two of our local teams here at the college, it’s an important thing for all of us,” he added.

And now for the backstory.

The 2nd Annual Sullivan County Coaches vs. Cancer Classis was dedicated
to Jack Semo, father of the Indians coach, a man who is fighting for his life against cancer.

“This means the world to me and my father,” said Liberty’s coach, who added that the Indians dedicated the game to one of their players. “We played 32 minutes for Calvin Henry,” said Semo. “He doesn’t see a lot of time, but he’s there every day at practice.”

As a 2nd grader, Henry “battled through cancer and overcame it, and every day lives with the challenges of staying on top of it.”

Liberty’s Herman Drayton in the paint.

Midway through the first frame, Monticello’s Kenny Sanders, Jr, tied it up 8-8 at the free throw line, but seconds later Liberty went ahead to gain the lead, an advantage they never yielded although throughout the remaining minutes the Panthers kept fighting back.

At the close of the opening period Liberty’s Chris Soto fired off a ‘three’ after picking off a last ditch effort by the opposition to keep the ball from going out of bounds, in a play in which the Panthers hoopster sent the ball over his shoulder backwards into Soto’s eager hands.

At the half, Liberty was up by seven points (37-30).

Early on in the third period, the Panthers (4-8) had battled back to within three points (39-36), but half way through the frame the Indians were back up by 10 points.

Liberty (4-8) drew the curtain on the third frame with a ’three’ from outside the arch, while at 7:15 in the fourth Monti’s Jesse Kapito sank a ‘three’, followed up with a ‘three’ by Liberty’s Juan Pena.

The Indians outpaced Monti in the game’s first frame 28-14, while in the second period the Panthers outgunned Liberty 16-9.

Sandwiched between Monti’s Matt Strong and Frank Small, Liberty’s workforce Brandon Tompkins retains possession.

In the third period, Liberty edged Monti 19-13, and in the final frame the Panthers out scored the Indians 16-10.

Liberty’s leading scorers: Eddie Byrd (14 points), Chris Soto (13 points including three ‘3’s’), and although not attaining double digits, Eddie Soto posted a ‘3’ and Dontrae McLauren picked up a pair of ‘3’s’.

Monticello: Jesse Kapito (13 points including a ‘3’), Juan Pena (10 points including a ‘3’), and Kenny Sanders, Jr. posted 10 points.

Stats from the free throw line: LCS 7/14 (50%), MCS 12/30 (40%)

“We battled back, I’m really proud of our guys, said Chris Russo, coach of the Panthers. “They could have called it an early night, but really battled hard and
made a game of it.”

Monti’s Matt Strong fends off Liberty’s Brandon Tompkins.

“Jason’s guys did a great job…we just couldn’t match them,” added Russo.

As a coach who’s own life has been touched by the specter of cancer affecting his dad, Semo said of the game, “It’s all about the battle, and these teams signified what he battle is all about.”

To view more photos or to purchase prints from Battling Cancer on the Basketball Court visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.