By Rob Potter
DOWNSVILLE — December 30, 2003 – The first quarter of Saturday night’s Downsville Tournament opening round game between the host Eagles and the Roscoe Blue Devils was a study in contrast.
Downsville (7-0) came out red hot in those opening eight minutes of play. The Eagles made just about every shot they took, no matter whether it was right under the backboard, beyond the three-point arc, or somewhere in between.
However, Roscoe (1-4) was ice cold. The Blue Devils missed several shots in the first period and their only points came on two baskets by Vinnie Carpinone midway through the quarter.
After that first period, Downsville held a commanding 21-4 lead. The Eagles continued their stellar performance on the offensive end of the floor over the next three quarters to post an 83-41 win.
The Blue Devils played the host team a little closer in the second quarter, as Downsville outscored Roscoe by only a 13-9 margin.
But the Eagles took charge in the third quarter, scoring 24 points to the Blue Devils’ 12.
Leading the way for Downsville, which is the three-time defending Section IV Class D champion and is ranked third among state Class D boys’ basketball teams in the latest New York State Sportswriters’ Association (NYSSA) poll, were Shane Bussiere and Danny Haynes. Bussiere scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Haynes netted 19 points.
Roscoe’s Justin Bowers recorded a team-high 18 points and Carpinone finished with 14 points. Dan DeVantier added seven points for the Blue Devils.
“The guys on this team are so interchangeable,” Downsville Coach Jeff Baier said. “Bussiere is our five man [center], but he can play the two, three and four spots [shooting guard, small forward, power forward] as well. He can even play point guard. [Brett] Reed is the four, but can play the other positions and Bryan Hoyt is the two, but can play the three or even point guard.”
Baier noted that Hoyt “played a great game tonight.”
“We have a great group of kids,” he added. “They all play well in our offensive system.”
Roscoe Coach Fred Ahart noted that his team did not perform well in two key areas of the game.
“Poor shooting in the first quarter certainly hurt us,” he said. “The only way to improve that is to keep on shooting and eventually the shots will go in. We were able to get some shots to fall later in the game, but by then Downsville had momentum and a big lead.
“We need to work on rebounding,” Ahart added. “We don’t have a big team, so we need to have to get good defensive position [under the basket]. We didn’t get good position tonight.”
Ahart noted that while his team needs to make some improvements, the game’s outcome was largely due to the Eagles’ performance.
“Downsville has a fine team,” he said. “They have two very fine players in Danny Haynes and Shane Bussiere and are very well-coached.”

Family School Beats Hancock
In the tournament’s other opening round game Saturday night, The Family School Falcons defeated the Hancock Wildcats, 55-45.
Leading the Falcons to the win were Mike O’Brien and Miles Farkas. O’Brien scored a game-high 23 points, while Farkas netted 22 points.
Nunzio Lombardo paced the Wildcats with 12 points. Teammate Erik Schror added eight.
Hancock will meet Roscoe at 6 p.m. tonight in the tournament’s consolation game. The Family School will play Downsville at 7:30 p.m in the championship game.