Michael Montgomery is a special needs student who plays on the Marcellus JV basketball team. 

When opponent Cato-Meridan player, Mason Crandall got the inbound ball, he did the unthinkable.

He passed it to Montgomery for the three.

"It brings a tear to my eyes," said Section 3 Athletic Excutive Director John Rathbun. "I'm just a big teddy bear anyways, so I love that kind of stuff. You know? I'm always like the first person to walk up to a student athlete at the end of the game and just say thanks. All of your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, so I appreciate you. I know the school district appreciates it and I would say the student appreciates it so both the student that's being treated fairly and the student that has helped out."

Good sportsmanship that is seen and taught throughout the year.

Just last week, sophomore state wrestling champion Marek Bush lied down and conceded the match, after his opponent was injured. And last fall, a Cazenovia runner stopped during a meet to help a legally blind runner from another school who had fallen. 

"I'm not surprised because this kind of stuff happens all the time. We always talk in Section III that athletics is an extension of the classroom, so we preach this kind of stuff all the time throughout the school year within Section III," said Rathbun.

But, mentors say the real lessons are off the court. 

"The education starts at home with their parents and families values that they have and then it continues throughout the school district," said Rathbun. "We talk about this a lot with our student athletes about how they're role models for everybody within the school and I think our students do a good job of accepting that responsibility." 

A responsibility rooted in integrity.