The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Ted Waddell

The Family School’s J.T. Helmke cuts the corner for a bucket .

DOWNSVILLE – There aren’t a lot of chances to keep your hoops skills sharp over the holidays, but for 22 years and counting, the Downsville Central School athletic department has hosted their Annual DCS Holiday Tournament.

In the opening round on Monday, December 28, the Falcons of the Family Foundation School (1-6) squared off against the Schenevus Dragons (2-4), and at the final buzzer the Dragons walked off the floor with 58-38 victory, after the Falcons offense collapsed in the second half.

Michael Miner of the Dragons gets a two-point leaper from inside the paint.

Schenevus is an interesting high school sports story, as they posted a 0-18 record in 2008-09, and just ten days before the holiday tourney snapped a whopping 60-game losing streak by defeating GMU by a single bucket (39-37).

Both teams took the court with minimal numbers on the bench, as the Dragons only had three player waiting in the wings, and the Falcons had two hoopsters in reverse, as a couple of their primary weapons, starters pointer getter Isacc Moore and top rebounder Mark Smith were out of action due to home visits.

At the end of the first half, the Falcons were up 21-19, in the aftermath of outpacing the Dragons 8-7 and 13-12 in the first two periods.

In the second half, Schenevus made some adjustments, in a little “coach’s locker room talk” that paid off, as the Dragons dominated the second half, out-scoring the Family School 39 to 17 points in the final couple of frames (20-8 and 19-9).

Stats from the freed throw line: SHS 7/17 (41%), FFS 3/6 (50%). The Dragons top guns: Derek Oberacker (14 points including two 3’s), Andrew Beams (13 points), Evan Dulkis (12 points including two 3’s) and Michael Miner posted a ‘three’. The Family School’s 5’9” senior hustler J.T. Helmke racked up 16 points including a ‘three’ from outside the paint.

“We were ahead in the first half and then my center (Jens Jensen Reinke, a 6’2” senior) picked up a quick foul so we had to take him out, and that really hurt us,” said Ted Towsley, coach of the Falcons.

“He was dominating the boards, but not playing him for the third period really hurt…they took us out of our offense and we weren’t able to take the shots we wanted to.”

Jens Jensen Reinke, the Family School’s center, goes up for two points.

As a coach always ready to give his opponents their due, Towsley said of the Dragons, “Hats off to them, they made their shots and were more hungry than we were tonight.”

Schenevus’s coach Tony Dilello, reflected on the Dragons breaking their 60-game losing streak, “I’m real happy for my kids.”

His take on the 20-point win over the Falcons?

“It was hard played, but we were real sloppy in the first half. We made a few adjustments, and took care of business in the second half. All year we’ve preached finishing, and tonight we finished.”

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