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St. Francis, L.I.U. Ready To Continue Local Rivalry
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
The 33rd annual Battle of Brooklyn, the basketball game between St. Francis College and Long Island University, is upon us.
So much so that we delved into the record books to review the rivalry that is named in memory of two of the finest gentlemen – Danny Lynch of St. Francis and William (Buck) Lai of L.I.U. – we have encountered in our career.
This season’s battle takes place Thursday, Feb. 21, at L.I.U., which holds an 18-14 lead in the series begun in the 1975-76 campaign and saw the Terriers prevail, 83-79.
The MVP in that contest was Jerome Williams who was the first of 15 Terriers to earn the award.
Through the seasons, the Blackbirds produced two consecutive winners – Mike Campbell in 1996-97 and 1997-98 and James Williams 2005-06 and again in 2006-07.
The MVPs receive the Lai-Lynch Trophy.
Not only were Buck, as Lai was nicknamed, and Danny coaches, they also served their schools as athletic directors.
While reviewing the records, we also discovered that the Terriers had a near-perfect record of 13-1 in their first season of 1901-02.
The only thing missing was the name of the coach, as UNKNOWN was the listing.
From 1902 to 1920 no information is available. That records are incomplete or lost is the information listed.
A Brother Philip posted a 14-3 record as coach for 1920-21. The late Joe Brennan bettered that with 16-2 in 1941-42, his first of seven seasons.
Lynch broke in with a 20-13 record and was 21-4 in 1955-56, his best mark ever.
Notre Dame, which won both games; Wyoming; Syracuse; N.Y.U.; Connecticut and Penn State were some of the opponents the Franciscan Brothers’ school faced.
Now in the Northeast Conference, St. Francis had its last 20-win season in 1998-99 when it went 20-8 under Ron Ganulin.
Prior to that it was 21-4, which included an 18-game win streak, with Lynch in 1955-56. In all, Danny accounted for five 20-victory seasons.
The most was 23 (against five defeats) in 1953-54.
In the 1949-50 season, St. Francis was the first team in the New York City area to have its game telecast.
The inaugural contest was a triumph over Seton Hall.
For years, Terrier games were televised from the II Corps Armory in Brooklyn with Curt Gowdy behind the microphone.
The 23-5 team of 1953-54 competed in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in school history.
St. Francis lost to Holy Cross in the quarter-finals.
The Brooklyn school participated in the Pre-Season NIT for the first time in 2003, losing to Massachusetts.
As for individuals, Darwin Purdie holds the all-time points record with 1,613.
Close behind as No. 2 is Dennis McDermott, with 1,578.
Dennis, after a career on Wall Street, is now the school’s director of alumni relations.
A perfect position for him what with his personality and ability to deal with people.
Generous Knights
The top 15 fundraisers from the senior class at Holy Cross H.S., Flushing, earned the right to compete against the faculty in the annual Christmas Classic basketball game. On Dec. 21, the faculty defeated the seniors, 28-25. The senior team included the starting five and top contributors: Manoli Sgouros, Thomas Lamb, Frantz Chauvet, Marko Krevatas and John Azzopardi. $5,262.70 was raised and will be distributed to a number of agencies and organizations that are served by Holy Cross students in the Service Learning Course. These include: St. John’s Bread and Life Program in Bedford-Stuyvesant; the Little Sisters of the Poor; VISIONS (serving the blind and visually impaired); St. Joseph School for the Deaf; and the US-Africa Children’s Fellowship and the Holy Cross Missions in Africa. Shown are, back row, from left: John Meyer, Ben Schiavi, Robert DiRe, Brandon Kubic, Rodney Robinson, Glen Barker, Billy Demos, Frantz Chauvet, John Azzopardi. Front row: Thomas Lamb, Captain, Manoli Sgouros, Markos Krevatas, Bryan Ashworth, Angelo Gurino, Charles Pierre, and Coach Kevin Kelly.
Queens vs. Japan
A youth basketball team was selected to represent New York against a Japanese all-star team of 12-14-years-olds. The games were set up by the Jr.NBA/Jr.WNBA and were held Jan. 5 at the New Jersey Nets’ Practice Facility in East Rutherford, N.J. The kids had a great experience and got to meet very talented young men from Japan. Each player handed his counterpart a team jersey from their respective country and all stood at attention for both countrys’ national anthems. The NY All-Stars represented five different parishes (St. Helen, Our Lady of Grace, both Howard Beach; Sacred Heart, East Glendale; St. Pancras, Glendale; and St Virgilius, Broad Channel). Known as “Queens Heat” and coached by Sean Roberts, from Our Lady of Grace, the team competes in an AAU program. Shown are, top row, from left: Nicky LoPrinzi, Nick Canepa, Jason Natland, Tyler Roberts; bottom, Matt Fox, Thomas Culhane, Daniel Mole, Anthony Cuomo, Bobby Perretti, and Osvaldo “Tito” Ovalle. Not pictured is Thomas Cani.
Victorious Tigers
The Bishop Kearney Tigers beat Morris Catholic to become the first New York basketball team to win the Hoop Starz Holiday Festival Championship in New Jersey. The Tigers defeated Passaic High and Bayonne to get to the final game against Morris Catholic. The Brooklyn girls were led by freshman Samantha Retas who was named the tourney’s MVP. She averaged 23 points per game. The Tigers’ three-pronged attack of Samantha Retas, Maureen O’Sullivan and Taylor Raccuglia proved too much for the Jersey team. Jaclyn Grasso was instrumental in running the offense and getting the ball to the right player at the right time, with Kaitlin Durney and Caroline Rooney coming off the bench to anchor the Kearney defense.
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