By Ted Waddell
DOWNSVILLE — December 30, 2005 – In sports, there are two kinds of endings.
One makes you smile in victory, and the other leaves you wondering what went wrong.
And then there are endings that give the director of athletic events fits, wondering if it is all worth it.
In Wednesday night’s Downsville Holiday Basketball Tournament championship game, the Family Foundation School Falcons (7-0) soared over the Blue Devils of Roscoe, 83-35.
But the tone of the game was marred as the referees ousted a Roscoe fan, a player and the assistant coach for disputing calls.
Although the Blue Devils had occasional bursts of activity, their runs to the glass were short-lived and the Falcons dominated the floor, bedeviling, bedazzling and befuddling the Roscoe players up and down the court.
In the first quarter, the Family School outpaced Roscoe (2-3) by a 21-6 margin.
The Falcons outscored the Blue Devils the remaining periods: 12-12, 18-10 and 21-7, respectively.
Double-digit scorers for The Family School included Andrew Van Riper (22), Chris Berra (11), Shervin Nassi (11) and Will Gahan (10).
Roscoe’s Jayson Harris ended the game with a team-high 10 points.
Stats from the free throw line: Family School went 16-of-25 (64 percent); Roscoe was 3-of-6 (50 percent).
Gahan was named the tournament’s MVP. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Falcon teammates Ben Laufer and Van Riper. Also named to the all-tournament team were Roscoe’s Dan DeVantier and Downsville’s Dusty Haynes.
Downsville Athletic Director and Coach Jeff Baier said he was “appalled and embarrassed” by the unsportsmanlike conduct displayed by supporters during the event’s jayvee and varsity championship games, during which a total of six people were ejected from the gym.
Speaking from the perspective of 19 years in coaching, Baier said, “Something’s got to be done with this; it’s high school athletics, not the NBA.
“We teach sportsmanship all the time, but these fans are out of control,” he added. “A lot of folks feel that if they pay $1.50 to get in, that gives them the license to do anything… it’s not just here, it’s epidemic.”
Baier said he’s seriously considering pulling the plug on future tourneys or putting out the welcome mat to a different mix of schools.
“It’s just a game for the kids… I’m embarrassed at what’s going on,” he said.
Fred Ahart, Roscoe’s veteran hoops coach, said of the incidents, “I’d rather not comment on that.”
“The Family School has an outstanding team,” Ahart added. “I give them a lot of credit, they play hard and are well-coached.”
Guiding the Falcons this season are Coach Ted Towsley and Assistant Coach Joe Rogalavich.
“I thought it was a good game, and we played very, very well,” Towsley said.
On the way to racking up a 26- point lead at the half (44-18), the Falcons played with intensity during the entire game, instead of their usual pattern of pouring on the gas in the final couple of frames.
Towsley said the Falcons took to the floor expecting a tough battle as The Family School defeated Roscoe on December 7 in overtime in the championship game of the Roscoe Central School Blue Devils’ Basketball Tournament. Towsley figured that the Blue Devils were looking for some payback.
“They really came out tonight and gave us everything they had,” he said of the Blue Devils.