On Tuesday night, Dec. 16, the gym at Stissing Mountain High School filled with the sounds of sneakers on hardwood, the bounce of the ball, and voices not heard there in years.
The first Pine Plains alumni basketball game brought together graduates from more than three decades, spanning the Class of 1990 to the Class of 2025. Divided into two teams, the players included Rich Tamburino ’03, Zach Strang ’22, Rob Lamont ’12, Andrew Randall ’06, Trevor Roush ’08, Shane Odell ’05, Dan Lewis ’06, Patrick McMahon ’25 and Chris Hurley ’22 on one side. The opposing team featured Brendan LoBrutto ’99, Damon Haire ’90, John Blackburn ’99, Tyler Olay ’05, Nick Rooney ’08, Evan Proper ’19, Preston Porter ’08, Thomas Westphal ’23 and Calab McCaul ’20.
Wesley Chase and Chris Forsure kept a close eye on their former classmates, serving as referees.
The game ended in a close 50–48 finish. The pace shifted throughout the evening, with brief stretches of intensity giving way to pauses marked by conversation and recognition between plays.
Some of the players had been teammates; others had never shared the court at all. What connected them was the common experience of having passed through Stissing Mountain High School at different moments in time.
No matter the direction their lives took after graduation, on this night the players were together in sport, connected by a shared identity shaped by the school named for the mountain that rises above Pine Plains just beyond the gymnasium doors.
