Coop Hoops Host Annual Tournament
COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown hosted the 40th annual Dick White Holiday Basketball Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday, December 27 and 28. The Cooperstown JV boys defeated Richfield Springs/Owen D. Young 48-21 on Wednesday, then fell 39-35 to Delaware Academy in the finals. JV girls fell 37-17 to Hamilton in the opening round and lost the consolation game to Unatego, 39-25.
Charlie Lambert continued a stunning senior season with a personal record of 40 points in the opening round of the varsity tournament on Wednesday. The boys’ varsity squad rolled past RS/ODY 68-39, powered by a 27-3 first quarter. It was Lambert’s second time breaking his single-game scoring record in two weeks; he also sank five three-pointers and made four steals. Senior Conrad Erway made 15 rebounds. Freshman Brody Murdock scored seven points.
The boys went on to lose the title game to Delaware Academy 63-42 on Thursday. Lambert led the Hawkeyes again with 14 points, but the Bulldogs swamped Cooperstown with a 20-10 second quarter. Lambert was named to the All-Tournament team. Junior Cooper Bradley made 12 rebounds; Murdock and sophomore Jackson Crisman each scored eight points. Senior Conrad Erway won the tournament Sportsmanship Award. The boys moved to 6-4 for the season and 3-1 in their division.
The Cooperstown girls put up a strong comeback attempt after a rough first half, but dropped their opening-round game to Hamilton, 57-50. Senior Rory Nelen and junior Brenna Seamon each put away 19 points in the loss. Nelen also made 11 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in the Center State Conference Division II contest. Seamon, who beat her previous personal record for single-game scoring by six points, also added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Junior Mia Kaltenbach contributed seven points and six rebounds.
The Hawkeyes came back from a first-quarter deficit to defeat Unatego 44-35, in the consolation game on Thursday. Nelen achieved her second double-double in two days, blazing her way to 14 points and 13 rebounds, as well as three blocks, two assists, and two steals. She was named to the All-Tournament team. Kaltenbach scored 10 points and made six rebounds. Senior Tori France had five points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior Olivia Murdock scored six points.
