FEATURE: Storybook Ending for Longtime Friends and Champions - Alfred's Dom LeMorta and Scotty Stopera

3/8/2019 8:02:54 AM

Feature courtesy of Daily Gazette, Written by Jim Schiltz

Dom LeMorta and Scotty Stopera ended their playing careers at Scotia-Glenville High School several years ago as decorated basketball champions. They recently finished up at Alfred University the same way.

"It was a repeat of high school almost. It was crazy," LeMorta said. "As the season unfolded, me and Scotty had a sense that this feels familiar."

LeMorta, a 6-foot-5 swingman, and Stopera, a 5-foot-10 point guard, helped lead the Saxons to their first Empire 8 regular-season and tournament championships this season, and to their first NCAA Division III tournament appearance since the 1996-97 season, and a win there over Ramapo.

"It was a great four years, especially this year," Stopera said. "It was pretty special being first-time Empire 8 champions. It was big for the school."

At Scotia-Glenville, when LeMorta was a senior and Stopera was a junior, they won a state championship together in 2014 on a team that went undefeated. Stopera played a key role when the Tartans claimed another New York title the following season.

"We never won the Empire 8 here. We hadn't been to the NCAA in 20 years," LeMorta said. "Our thought was, 'Why can't we do it here?' We had a lot of guys who could do things."

LeMorta did a special thing when he poured in 45 points — one shy of the Alfred record — in a first-round 92-76 NCAA win over Ramapo. His eight 3-point baskets were also one off the school record, while Alfred tied a program mark with its 14th straight win that night.

"I was feeling it, that's for sure, but I had no idea," said the 22-year-old, who is majoring in business administration with a marketing minor. "One of the assistants said, 'You have 45,' and I'm like, 'Are you serious?'"

"He was unbelievable. He was amazing," Stopera said of LeMorta's scoring outburst. "I was so happy for him. I played pretty well, but when a guy scores 45, you go under the radar a little bit."

Stopera's contribution that night was 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

"He did his thing," LeMorta said of his lifelong friend. "That's Scotty, doing all of the little things."

The Empire 8 all-conference honorable mention selection did some big things, too, for an Alfred (24-5) edition that came within one win of tying the program record.

"His assist-to-turnover ratio was ridiculous," LeMorta said. "He took six charges in one game. He scored 24 points in a game. He had eight rebounds in a game."

The 21-year-old Stopera, who is majoring in finance, was named the HEROSports Division III Assist Master of the Year after averaging 5.5 assists as well as 10 points this season. LeMorta, an all-conference first-team choice, averaged 20.4 points and knocked down 88 3-point baskets.

"We've always had the same belief," Stopera said. "Whatever we did, we wanted to win. Stats didn't matter. It always all about winning. That's the main thing."

LeMorta and Stopera progressed though the Scotia-Glenville youth league, AAU and high school basketball chain together. They reunited at Alfred in the 2015-16 school year after LeMorta divided the previous year between Cortland and Hudson Valley Community College.

"I couldn't ask for a better person to play with," LeMorta said of Stopera. "It was an awesome, awesome ride. Probably in 20 years, we'll be playing in a men's league somewhere."

Stopera recommended LeMorta to Alfred coach Russell Phillips. By their junior seasons, they were both starting, and this season they served as team captains.

"I dropped his name to coach. I told him he's what we needed." Stopera said. "I told him I played with Dom and no one works harder."

LeMorta scored 35 points and Stopera had 10 points and seven assists when Alfred beat Nazareth in a game that decided the Empire 8 regular-season title 94-83. Nazareth had beaten Alfred last season in the E8 tournament semifinals 73-72.

"The three returning starters [including Sage Brown] took that loss to heart. We wanted to get back to that level and see what we could do," Stopera said. "That reminded us of when [Scotia] lost to Bishop Ludden [in the 2013 regionals] and missed out on the state final four, and then beat Ludden the next year and got to the final four."

Alfred beat St. John Fisher in this seasons E8 title game 90-78 when LeMorta, the tournament most valuable player, scored 31 points and Stopera came away with eight points, 10 assists and four rebounds. After the Ramapo win in the NCAAs, Alfred lost to Christopher Newport 88-53 when Stopera had 12 points and LeMorta netted 28 to boost his career total to 1,018 for the No. 20 spot in program history.

"I lot of work went into it. For four years, I worked my tail off," LeMorta said. "I got that work ethic in high school."

LeMorta is making plans to play professionally in Italy, and Stopera intends to serve as a graduate assistant coach at Alfred next season while pursuing his master's degree there in business administration.

ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com and https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ