Friday, Jan. 8, 2016: Buzzer 3-pointer lifts Brewster girls in OT

   Leading off today: This, my friends, is what you call making the most of the opportunity, even when the odds aren't in your favor:

VIDEO: @BrewGirlsBBall knocks off @lohudsports-ranked Somers with OT buzzer-beater. #NYSPHSAA @NYSSWA pic.twitter.com/8nRMaX255Z

— Mike Zacchio (@Zacchio_LoHud) January 8, 2016

   Dayja Medina made a desperation 3-pointer from the baseline in overtime, lifting Brewster past Somers 42-41 in girls basketball action Thursday.

   Medina finished with 15 points and four steals, and Frannie Merkel added eight points and 15 rebounds for the Bears.

   Abrupt Avoca change: It's been nothing less than a chaotic week for Avoca. The state's 15th-ranked boys Class D basketball team saw its 8-0 start to the season tarnished by back-to-back losses, and then word came Friday in reporter John Anderson's tweets that coach Gerard Conyers had been fired.

Avoca basketball coach Gerard Conyers fired as coach and sixth-grade teacher last night. Team is #15 in state. #SectionV @nysswa

— John Anderson (@23Johnanderson) January 8, 2016

   The still-reeling team lost at home earlier tonight to Prattsburgh 75-59 under an interim coach.

   Another Anderson tweet said Avoca School Board President Brian Patterson stated Conyers removal was "for the betterment of our school and the students."

   Back in the win column: Four years after New Lebanon last won a boys basketball game, the Tigers snapped their losing streak Wednesday by overcoming a tough first half and beating Hawthorne Valley.

   New Lebanon trailed 20-8 at halftime and 29-26 after three quarters.

   Freshmen Clayton Erickson (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Brandon Napoli (eight points, 14 rebounds) led the way in the win.

   Into the books: In terms of raw numbers the accomplishment wasn't spectacular when stacked up against the career scoring marks for a number of other schools. But what made Mike Almonacy's achievement noteworthy is the name he erased.

   Almonacy's 3-pointer with 5:44 left in the first quarter of Thursday's 104-48 victory over visiting William Floyd made the fifth-year varsity player Brentwood's all-time scoring leader with 1,381 points.    He surpassed former NBA player, 1976 Olympian and current Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who scored 1,380 points for the Indians from 1969-72.

   "It's a great accomplishment for Mike. I'm surprised it took this long (for the record to be broken) with all the great players at Brentwood," Kupchak told Newsday. "The fact that I'm getting mentioned when he breaks the record makes me feel good."

   Kupchak has stayed in touch with the program since graduating. He posed for photos with Almonacy on Nov. 6 at the school's Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

   Said Almonacy: "To beat Mitch's record that stood for 44 years means a lot. He's a great guy who is very proud that he's from Brentwood. He's a great role model. I would love to follow in his footsteps."