Somewhere, Ken Kiser must have been smiling.

The Cooperstown boys basketball team overcame a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to capture the championship of the 24th annual Cooperstown Holiday Tournament, 56-52, over IHC Watertown Thursday night.

The tournament was dedicated to Kiser, a Cooperstown resident who died unexpectedly in November. Kiser was a big sports fan, and was known for his sense of humor and ability to put a smile on people's faces.

Which is exactly what Cooperstown fans had when they left Bursey gym Thursday, after tournament Most Valuable Player Chris Bush capped Cooperstown's improbable comeback by converting a driving lay-up with 20 seconds remaining for a 54-52 Redskins' lead.

After a defensive stop, Bush calmly swished two free throws with eight seconds left to seal the victory.

"In the timeout with the scored tied, I looked at Chris like 'Do you want it' and he nodded his head yes," said Cooperstown boys basketball coach Dave Bertram. "So I said 'You're getting it."'

Bush finished with 19 points, and also hit a driving lay-up at the end of the first half to tie the score at 24-24.

But Watertown came out strong in the third quarter, scoring the first six points, including four from all-tournament selection Mike Lazore.

Cooperstown's Derek Busse converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 35-31, but the Cavaliers scored the next nine points, including six from 6'5" center Schuyler Lofberg, to push the lead to 13.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Bertram went to a four guard line-up, including Zack Sittler, Jason Conklin, Luke Banner and Chris Gentile.

"I told them we were going to have to press and trap the entire quarter," Bertram said. "The intensity we had was awesome, we really wanted to win this game."

The Redskins still trailed by nine points with just over two minutes remaining when Gentile hit a three-point shot from the right corner to make it 52-46. After a defensive stop, Sittler drove to the basket for a lay-up to trim the lead to four. After Busse hit a free throw, the Redskins stole the ball and this time Sittler found Gentile in the left-hand corner. The reserve guard hit another three to knot the score at 52 with just over a minute remaining, sending thye standing room only home crowd, which included 2002 state finalist team members Shane Connolly, Tyler Harris and Will Dennis, into a frenzy.

"Gentile's first three really gave us the momentum we needed," Bertram said. "We just took off after that."

When it was over, Cooperstown held a 17-6 advantage in the fourth quarter, and held Watertown to zero points over the final three minutes.

"That's the kind of effort we're going to need in the second half of the season," Bertram said. "We probably need to win all of our league games to have a shot at the league title, but the way we're playing now we can play with anyone."

Sittler, who scored 16 points in a opening round, 77-53 victory over Onondaga Wednesday night, and added another 12 Thursday, was named to the all-tournament team along with Busse, who had 17 points in the two games.

"Zack has been a lot more assertive with his offense which is what we need from him," Bertram said. "He's really taking on a leadership role."

Bush had 21 points in the opening round game for Cooperstown, 5-4 overall. The Redskins play at Sauquoit tonight in a Center State Conference game, and then host Canastota Saturday for a 5 p.m. varsity start.

Notes: The tournament title was the first for Cooperstown since 2002...Windsor defeated Cooperstown, 57-53, to win the junior varsity championship.