Youth basketball
Virginia Tech utilizes team effort to win seventh grade crown

Virginia Tech defeated Florida State, 31-29, in the finals of the Amherst Youth Basketball seventh grade boys division. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: Mark Pitman, David Berkun, Ryan Winkler; back row - Mike Kyarunts, Adam Panfil, Jake Griebner, Danny Schlein, Ben Perdziak, coach Doug Berkun; missing from photo - Andrew Poturalski.

Virginia Tech and Florida State fought to the finish in the finals of the seventh grade boys Amherst Youth Basketball division, with the score never being more than a few points apart but Virginia Tech would win 31-29.

Virginia Tech's total team effort was evident, led by the super quarterbacking skills of David Berkun and the high standards set by Ryan Winkler, who performed flawlessly under the net. Ben Perdziak provided constant coverage all over the court and Mark Pitman turned in a key pass in the second quarter to set up Berkun's connection for a three-pointer which transferred the momentum to Virginia Tech.

Mike Kyarunts' quietly aggressive play often caught Florida State off guard and led to numerous speedy takeaways. Danny Schlein was ready and willing to do whatever it took to get the job done both on offense and defense.

With the score tied at 28-28 and less than two minutes to play, Adam Panfil dropped in what would be the deciding basket. Jake Griebner capped off his game of scrappy rebounding and shooting by hitting the final free throw.

Standouts for Florida State were Pete Moran, who had a great game playing tough on the inside and was stellar at the free throw line, and Tommy Kline, whose nonstop play kept them in the game until the last second. The team was also centered by the talents of Nick Konotopskyj and Brett Butler.