MILFORD-Bill Crowley recorded 231 victories during his 16 years as head coach of the Milford boys basketball team, but when he was asked which games he remembers the most, one of the two most memorable was a loss.

The game was in 1997 when Milford met Candor in the Section Four Class D final at Binghamton High School. Candor boasted 6'6" Toby Foster, now playing Division One basketball for Niagara, while Milford entered the game 21-0 and had the senior trio of Ryan Seward, Jason Robinson and Steve Wolfe, as well as sophomore Seth Petronis.

Both Seward's and Petronis' jersey now hang in the Milford gymnasium as part of the 1,000-point club, and Crowley said his 1996-97 team ran the floor as well as any team he ever coached or coached against.

"That was just a tremendous game," Crowley said. "The feeling inside the gym was electric, and we played a hell of a ballgame and shot lights out, but still lost. That '96-97 team could do it all, but the only thing we lacked was a big man. If we had a Brian Bostwick or a Jeff Lifgren or a Matt Spurchise on that team, we could have gone to the state finals."

Crowley did lead Milford to the state quarterfinals two years later when his team defeated top-seed and undefeated Hunter-Tannersville, 53-50, in overtime. The game was well scripted from the start, as Petronis scored his 1,000th-point on a three-point shot in the opening minutes.

"The way we won that game is what is memorable to me," Crowley said. "Patrick Kelly (who also joined the 1,000-point club this year) was just a sophomore and was guarding their big man, and everyone contributed. That game was everything you could want out of a championship game."

Milford and Crowley have put together a run of seven straight Tri-Valley division titles, beginning in 1995, and have made it to the D final three of the past five seasons, including Crowley's final game Saturday against Downsville.

He credits solid man-to-man defense with much of his team's success, and said he was also blessed with a string of very good players over the years. Crowley played for another Milford coaching legend in the 1950's, Anton Remy, and started on the varsity as a freshman.

Crowley compiled a 231-119 overall record, won nine Tri-Valley division titles, five Tri-Valley Championship Games, a Section Four Class D-2 title in 1997 and the Section Four Class D title in 1999.