Jim Boeheim's Section V finals loss still 'heartbreaking' 62 years later

With Jim Boeheim Day approaching Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, the former Orange bench boss of 47 years fondly looked back on his high school years at Lyons Central.

Nearly 62 years removed from his final varsity game, Boeheim's memory of losing the 1962 Section V Class AA championship game was still vivid Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta, where he traveled to call the Clemson vs. Georgia Tech men's basketball game for the ACC Network.

Boeheim's buzzer-beater that extended the game is one of many moments the Lyons native remembered the famous War Memorial game like it happened yesterday, as the Class AA final became an instant classic.

It took double overtime, but East Rochester coach Johnny Baynes' Bombers shockingly defeated Lyons coach Dick Blackwell's heavily favored Lions 58-57 on Saturday, March 24, 1962, in Rochester. About 1,200 of the 11,000 spectators arrived after the arena's doors were kicked down once the crowd reached capacity.

"Heartbreaking game," Boeheim said Wednesday afternoon. "Both really good teams. It was a great game and crushing defeat. All these years later it still hangs in the ranks as one of those great high school basketball games in that area."

1962 Section V Class AA final was 'disappointing to lose'

Boeheim's buzzer beater that extended the game into double overtime might have been the most memorable play, even in a losing effort.

Lyons led most of the game but trailed East Rochester 51-49 late in the first overtime. Boeheim missed a game-tying shot with 22 seconds left. Lyons won an ensuing jump ball, but a scramble for the ball occurred as they missed a flurry of shots. A teammate tipped the ball toward Boeheim, who grabbed it with two seconds left and made the layup as the buzzer sounded.

East Rochester's Todd Hahn made the key play of the second overtime, though, when he stole the ball from Boeheim and drew a foul. Hahn split his free throws to give the Bombers a three-point edge they'd never relinquish. Lyons' Dave Fratangelo scored as the final buzzer sounded to make it a one-point final.

"It was disappointing to lose. But it was a memorable game. I'll never forget it," said Boeheim, who scored 18 points. "It was a great thing for a town of 5,000 people to come to Rochester and play in that tournament."

The popularity of the 1962 Class AA final created underground betting lines. Lyons was the clear favorite, and looked the part after leading 13-2 through one, 21-5 midway through the second, and 25-13 at halftime. John Burns Baynes, son of ER coach Johnny Baynes, was 8 years old and watching the game from a War Memorial staircase. An East Rochester bettor told the young Baynes, "Your father just cost me a week's pay!" during a halftime cigarette break.

The smoker spoke too soon. Lyons' lead shrunk to 34-28 thanks to strong rebounding from ER's Dave Schake and three timely outside shots from Ken Rice to start the third quarter. "That Rice, he got a taste of blood and he liked it," Blackwell said to the Democrat and Chronicle at the time.

Boeheim assisted on Don Oakleaf's basket that sent the game into the first overtime tied at 45. Gerry Ballone, who led East Rochester with 15 points, missed a 35-footer at the end of regulation. After Boeheim's buzzer beater sent the game into a second overtime, Ballone's big shot gave the Bombers a late two possession lead at 58-55.

"They were good. They kept working away. It was a game you think you could win, but it got away from us," Boeheim said.

Coach Baynes said East Rochester was a "helluva" third-quarter team throughout the season. He praised Rice, Schake and others as his East Rochester locker room celebrated loudly for completing a perfect 21-0 season. Apparently, the Bombers' switch to zone defense helped them come back in the second half.

"Strategy in the second half? It was (a) real good strategy. It goes like (this), 'Hail Mary ...'" coach Baynes said in jest to the Democrat and Chronicle at the time.

Blackwell allowed coach Baynes to speak to his somber Lyons players following the game. Baynes and Blackwell are both World War II veterans.

"I'm proud of them. An ordinary club would have folded under all that pressure, the way this game developed," Blackwell told the Democrat and Chronicle in 1962. "They died hard. They didn't fall flat on their backs. Right now I guess I'm in a state of shock — like the kids."

How good was Jim Boeheim?

Boeheim was modest about his contributions to that 20-1 Lyons team.

The 1,012 points Boeheim scored in 57 games was an uncommon milestone back then. Standing at 6-foot-3, Boeheim averaged over 19 points as a junior, then improved that to almost 25 points as a senior, scoring 519 points in 21 games. In 2003, Boeheim was inducted into the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Blackwell and coach Baynes.

Democrat and Chronicle reporters held Boeheim in high regard. They wrote he was "the finest all-around basketball player coached by Dick Blackwell," that he plays with the "finesse of a pro" and was a "playmaker par excellence." Boeheim considered Cornell, Colgate and the University of Rochester for college before walking on at Syracuse, playing for a freshman team that beat varsity three times in four tries.

"Don't let Jim Boeheim tell you he wasn't a great basketball player. He was one of the great players in the history of Section V, for sure. It made the ER victory a matter of pride here that we beat that team," John Burns Baynes said.

If you ask Boeheim, Lyons was good because of his chemistry between teammates Fratangelo, Oakleaf, Joe Holly and Gary Tunnison. Blackwell was such a good coach, his Lyons teams were truly Class B-sized programs that played in the highest classification for postseason play. East Rochester also played up for sectionals.

"Coach Blackwell is as good a coach I've seen then or since," Boeheim said. "He's organized, methodical, understood game of basketball. I learned a lot about basketball from him."

'Magical' season for East Rochester

John Burns Baynes would watch tape of the East Rochester-Lyons final with his father, coach Johnny Baynes, in the years following the title game.

They'd eventually lose track of the tape, but the significance of that 1962 East Rochester team beating Boeheim's Lyons never wandered.

"Over the years, my father came to realize what a magical season it was," John Burns Baynes said. "He had so much success as a player (Aquinas, University of Rochester), but a lot was the magic of ER. It wasn't my father, a tactical genius who was tough to play for, especially for me. We just had something special going on in this town. The same was true in Lyons."

Coach Baynes won his first two Section V titles at Clyde (1952, 1955) before winning with East Rochester in 1959, 1962 and 1963 — when Dave Gross' 35-foot bomb beat the buzzer in ER's 42-40 win over East for the program's 42nd straight win. Coach Baynes took over the ER program from college teammate Dick Baroody, who stepped down to junior varsity after becoming school principal.

Coach Baynes' Bombers actually met Boeheim twice. In the 1961 Section V Class AA quarterfinals, Boeheim made two free throws to send the game into overtime, helping the Lions beat East Rochester 39-35 at East High School. Lyons then fell to Trenton Jackson's Franklin team in the semifinals.

Blackwell guided Lyons to Section V titles in 1952 and 1954 — both were wins over East Rochester. Lyons' 1962 team with Boeheim is still considered one of the area's best teams ever. Boeheim had a fine playing and coaching career at Syracuse, winning over 1,000 games with five Final Fours and a 2003 NCAA Championship with Carmelo Anthony. That championship game loss to East Rochester 62 years ago, though, remains a soft spot for Boeheim.

"(Boeheim) always said repeatedly that it was his most devastating loss," John Burns Baynes said. "I love his honesty about that, and how he treasures being from a small town and dreaming the dream.

"They had every reason to believe they were going to win that game."

— Marquel Slaughter is a journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in high school sports. He has been reporter for 14 years. Follow him @MarquelSports on X or on Instagram. You can contact him at mslaughter1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Jim Boeheim Day: Syracuse basketball coach recalls high school battle