UNION SPRINGS - Nobody likes a hypocrite.

So when Union Springs boys basketball coach Tim Darnell tells his players to dive on the floor for loose balls, it would be expected that he would do the same in a similar situation. Of course, his players aren't battling against 300-pound offensive lineman.

Darnell headlined the Cayuga County All-Stars, a team compiled of 10 Cayuga County coaches, in a charity basketball game against Syracuse University football players Friday night. Proceeds from the event are to benefit Southern Springs football.

While the Cayuga County All-Stars edged Syracuse 59-58 in a tight contest, the mood was light and the laughs were aplenty.

“We just want to keep it fun,” Harris said. “It's good for the kids, they love it. It's always fun taking on these coaches.”

The Syracuse players included running back Damien Rhodes, safety Anthony Smith, offensive tackle Quinn Ojinnaka, offensive guard Steve Franklin, linebacker Tommie Harris, linebacker Kellen Pruitt, defensive end James Wyche and cornerback DeAndre LaCaille.

Darnell got undersized Cayuga County off to a hot start, drilling two 3s in the game's opening minutes. He even got the crowd into it, pumping his fist and pointing into the stands after a long triple.

Darnell wasn't smiling, though, when he dove onto the hardwood to battle 292-pound Ojinnaka for a jump ball.

“That was pretty dumb,” Darnell said able to smile about it after the game. “I've got to be a good example, though. I tell my kids to do that in games, so I've got to do it myself. It's fun, but I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow.”

The atmosphere was carefree for much of the evening until the game's final minutes. Trailing by eight with 10 minutes remaining, the coaches started taking things more seriously.

Auburn's Dan Cerro, who scored a game-high 21 points, weaved his way through the big bodies and single-handedly brought the coaches back into the game.

With just less than 10 seconds remaining and Cayuga County trailing by one, 58-57, Cerro went up for a shot and was swarmed by the Syracuse players. Cerro drew contact and hit the floor hard.

“I can't believe (the officials) made that call,” Pruitt said jokingly after the game. “We got robbed.”

A roughing the passer penalty may have been warranted, but Cerro took the foul call, stepped to the free throw line, and drained both shots to give Cayuga County the win.

“I'm just glad it wasn't a blowout,” Cerro said. “We just try to have a good time and not kill each other out there. The Syracuse guys were having a good time and that's why we do this. Everybody was having a good time. We've got to thank them for coming out.”

Although the outing was an exhibition, the play got more competitive as time ticked off the clock.

“We're athletes; we can't stop being competitive,” Franklin said. “Who wants to lose? We want to keep it fun, but man, if we were playing girl scouts we'd be competitive.”

While Smith and Pruitt kept the boisterous crowd enthused for much of the night by draining long 3s, the biggest ovation may have been for Franklin.

Late in the game, Franklin got into a mock argument with an official and both stood nose-to-nose, yelling at each other for about 30 seconds. The official played along, tossing Franklin from the game and the 319-pound senior left the court to a standing ovation.

“The support we get is just tremendous,” Franklin said of the crowd. “We're going through some hard times right now, but the fans are always great. They know how to stick by their team. Hopefully we can break through next year and give them some more things to cheer about.”

To nobody's surprise, there was a lot of contact during the contest, but the coaches never once backed down from the physical play.

The football players may have been the superior athletes, but as Darnell points out, “We've got all coaches, we've got to know something about basketball.”