Cooperstown Crier

January 8, 2004
by Eric Ahlqvist

'It was a Classic'

Ten years ago today, on Jan. 8, 1994, Cooperstown's Bursey gymnasium played host to possibly the most-anticipated sporting event in school history.

The boys basketball game between Cooperstown and Hamilton featured arguably the two best opposing players to ever play in Center State Conference competition. Cooperstown was led by Seth Schaeffer, the highest scoring player in Cooperstown history; while on the opposing side was Hamilton's 6'10" center Adonal Foyle, currently an NBA center.

The game didn't disappoint and featured almost everything the standing room only crowd could have wanted: a close game that was not decided until the final seconds; big performances from both of the stars; and a controversial ending.

But before the game could begin, there was the hype beforehand. For the first time, tickets to the game were sold in advance, and plans were made for the game to be shown on closed circuit television to the school's cafeteria, where fans who could not pack into the gym could watch the action.

"They wanted to move the game from our gym to Hartwick College to accommodate more people," recalled Dick White, Cooperstown's head coach at the time who was nearing the end of a 500 victory career. "I didn't want to give up our home court advantage so we didn't do that. Then, we had a big snowstorm the night before the game and as we started to take the court the roof began to leak, which delayed the start about a half hour."

But White said the strangest, and perhaps most annoying aspect of the standing room only crowd, occurred on his own bench.

"We stood up for introductions and when the players went to sit back down there was no room because people had jumped into the spots along the bench," he said. "I tried to push the line back so we had somewhere to sit, then I stood up during the game and when I went to sit down, sure enough, there was someone in my seat. It was absurd."

When the game finally began, the Redskins started off slowly and trailed by 12 points at halftime, managing just 15 points to Hamilton's 27. But the second half was a different story, as Cooperstown began a comeback behind Schaeffer and Reid Nagelschmidt, Cooperstown's 6' 7" junior center.

Nagelschmidt, while having the unenviable task of guarding Foyle, scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Cooperstown outscored Hamilton 23-13 in the third period to pull within two points and set up a fantastic finish no one in attendance is likely to forget.

"I remember getting dunked on a couple of times," said Nagelschmidt, who lives in Cooperstown. "It was easily the biggest crowd we ever played in front of, and Seth hit a couple of three-pointers in the third quarter that really got us going."

"For both teams to have centers that big and athletic was very unusual for Class C teams in our area," Schaeffer said Tuesday from New York City, where he is currently in his final year of law school at Fordham University. "A 12-point deficit in a high school game against a very good team is not easy to overcome, but I remember we played with a lot of courage. We had 5'8" guys going to the basket on Foyle, and taking it right at him."

Nagelschmidt and Schaeffer led a fourth quarter surge that put Cooperstown ahead by four points with just over two minutes remaining in the game. The score stayed that way until Foyle converted an old-fashioned three-point play to pull Hamilton to within one at 53-52 with less than a minute remaining.

Foyle, currently a back-up center with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, then stole a halfcourt pass and was fouled while attempting a dunk. He made both free throws to put Hamilton up one, 54-53. Schaeffer, who scored a team-high 21 points, then made two free throws to make the score 55-54 Cooperstown.

With 11 seconds remaining, Foyle scored the final two of his game-high 31 points, banking in an eight-footer, to give Hamilton back the lead.

"I can still remember the exact spot he took that shot from," said White, now retired and living in Florida. "We wanted to have a defender in front of Foyle and another behind him but the one in front got there just a little too late."

White chose not to call a time-out, and Schaeffer brought the ball up court and appeared to be fouled, and as time ran out he had the ball stripped from his hands while looking expectantly at the referee for the whistle that never came. Hamilton had won, 56-55.

"It was like time stopped," White said. "Everybody was waiting for a call but it never came. To this day, when I hear an announcer on television say that was a great non-call it annoys me."

Hamilton did not lose again the rest of the season, going on to win a state championship, while Cooperstown was upset in the first round of sectionals by CBA.

Schaeffer, who got married in August, said although he would have liked to win, he wouldn't change a thing about the game.

"It was a classic," he said. "The referee could have made the call at the end of the game, but you can't always look at the last play as the biggest play. There could have been something that happened in the first quarter that was just as important. I think we just ran out of gas after coming all the way back and taking the lead. We had nothing left. I would have loved the opportunity to shoot those foul shots though."

Foyle finished with 31 points, 19 rebounds, seven blocked shots and a steal. Schaeffer had 21 points, including four three-point shots, eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.

After their respective high school careers ended that season, both Schaeffer, who is still Cooperstown's all-time leading scorer with 1,719 points, and Foyle attended Colgate University. In their first two seasons together, the duo helped lead the Raiders to the Patriot League title and a subsequent bid to the NCAA Division One Tournament. Colgate gave both its first round opponents, number one seeded Kansas and Connecticut, all it could handle before losing both years.

Foyle was born in the Canouan, Grenadines, before moving to Hamilton to live with his foster parents. He declared for the NBA draft after his junior season, and was drafted by the Warriors, where he has played ever since.

"I think Seth decided to go to Colgate because Adonal was going there, and they ended up being great friends," White said. "It's funny how much has changed in 10 years, but when you think back on that game it feels like it was just yesterday."

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