Glens Falls shows rust in opener

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Joseph Girard III of Glens Falls scored 34 points Friday night.

GLENS FALLS — A few words from Rob Girard summed up the state of Glens Falls basketball Friday night after its season debut.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” the Indians head coach said after a 92-57 win against visiting Broadalbin-Perth. “The first quarter was what it should have been. The second half, we were better in spurts.”

Glens Falls’ 12-player roster includes eight young men who helped their school claim the state Class B football championship a week ago at the Carrier Dome. Of the eight, five of them started.

“I was talking with [Broadalbin-Perth coach] Tucker [Gifford] and they scrimmaged five times,” Girard said. “That was our scrimmage.”

Glens Falls and Broadalbin-Perth played to a 15-15 first-quarter tie in the Foothills Council matchup before the Indians turned up their defensive intensity. They scored 14 unanswered points to begin the second quarter to all, but secure the victory, but it wasn’t a pretty one.

“We had four real practices,” said Glens Falls senior guard Trent Girard after scoring 10 points and collecting three of his team’s 10 steals. “You could tell in the beginning. It was definitely tough, but we progressed some.”

State career basketball scoring leader Joseph Girard III scored 34 points to pace Glens Falls, less than a week after quarterbacking his football team to its second state Class B title in three years with a 55-32 win over Batavia when he ran for two touchdowns, threw for two, and had a momentum-changing interception.

Girard III averaged 50 points last season when he moved to the top of the state scoring list, and never scored fewer than 41 when he was selected the New York Gatorade Player of the Year among numerous awards.

With Friday’s effort, his varsity points total rose to 3,340.

“You could tell we were football players out there today,” the Syracuse University-bound Girard III said after finishing with seven assists, a trio of steals and five rebounds. “We couldn’t give our fans a show yet, but we’ll get better.”

Girard III scored five points in the opening quarter, nine in the second frame and 16 in the third, including his only 3-point baskets in the closing moments. Girard III has made at least one 3-pointer in every varsity game he has played.

“We all know when Joe is struggling,” Rob Girard said. “I told him, ‘Get to the basket when you can. Find guys underneath.’ He got a couple of threes at the end of the third, and I’m sure that made him feel better.”

Girard III couldn’t shake the first quarter, through, which included a missed free throw early on, and soon after, he was called for a charge and was picked off hard which set up an open look for the Patriots.

Girard III dropped in his first basket, a driving layup, with 2:02 left in that opening quarter.

“I’ll probably remember it [first quarter] as a reminder that I’ve got to work harder,” said Girard III, who scored 46 and 59 points in a pair of wins over Broadalbin-Perth last season.

Rob Girard gave credit to Trent Girard for providing a spark in the second quarter.

“Trent did a great job of getting in his kids’ face, and all of the other guys joined in,” Rob Girard said.

Glens Falls not only opened the second quarter with a 14-0 surge, but rattled off 10 straight points later on to go up 39-18.

“We felt we were a little more athletic than them, and they had some young kids handling the ball,” Trent Girard said. “We thought we could pressure them. In the second quarter we started getting some turnovers and transition points.”

“In the second quarter and the beginning of the third, we ramped up our energy,” Girard III said.

Glens Falls showed some fine ball movement in those middle quarters, when it outscored the Patriots 27-3 and 33-22. Junior center Nick Danahy scored nine of his 17 points in the third quarter.

“We just talked about passing the ball,” Rob Girard said of his postgame team chat with last year’s Section II semifinalists. “That’s when we are really good, when we move the ball.”

Jackson Sassanella scored 16 points for Broadalbin-Perth, Matt Perry had 11 and Dante Calderone finished with 10 despite foul trouble.

BROADALBIN-PERTH

Goodemote 1-0-2, Perry 5-1-11, Sassanella 7-1-16, Buyce 1-0-2, DiCaterino 1-6-8, Christopher 0-1-1, Calderone 3-4-10, Geren 2-0-4, Palmer. Totals: 21-14-57.

GLENS FALLS

Jackson 1-0-3, Barclay 3-2-8, Bren 2-0-5, J. Girard III 12-8-34, T. Girard 4-0-10, C. Girard 0-2-2, McClements 1-2-4, Danahy 7-3-17, Quirk 2-3-7, Vachon 1-0-2. Totals: 33-20-92.

B-P 15 3 22 17 — 57

Glens Falls 15 27 33 17 — 92

Reach Gazette Sportswriter Jim Schiltz at 518-395-3143, [email protected] or @jim_schiltz on Twitter.