Amsterdam boys' basketball tops Gloversville to extend win streak to seven

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Gloversville's Leo Perez tries to grab the ball next to Amsterdam's Jhai Vellon and Alec Bartone Friday, January 27, 2023.

GLOVERSVILLE — In their first meeting this season, the Amsterdam boys’ basketball team outlasted a shorthanded Gloversville squad at home, 69-58, on Jan. 3.

The rematch followed a similar script, with the Rams posting a 69-62 victory over the Dragons in a Foothills Council contest at Gloversville High School.

“We did what we had to do tonight. The heart that we showed tonight was fantastic,” Amsterdam coach Tim Jones said.

The Rams had three players hit double figures Friday, led by JaShean Vann’s 21-point effort.

“JeSean has just got the biggest heart,” Jones said. “He played well tonight. He does a lot of things for us.”

Jhai Vellon (17 points) and Ceasar Thompson (11) also finished in double figures for Amsterdam, which notched its seventh straight victory.

“We were worried about them getting hot from 3-point range before the game, but they didn’t need to shoot 3-pointers tonight,” Gloversville coach Ed Collar said. “They killed us with layups.”

Gloversville had its full roster available for this meeting, including leading scorer James Collar, who missed the first meeting.

The senior guard netted a season-high 39 points for the Dragons, but no other Gloversville player scored more than six points.

“We relied a lot on James tonight, but we have to have other guys score for us to be successful,” coach Collar said.

Rocco Insonia and Mariano DiCaterino each had six points for Gloversville, which had its four-game win streak snapped.

“We had 17 turnovers through three quarters tonight,” coach Collar said. “You’re not going to beat many teams like that, and you’re certainly not going beat a good team like Amsterdam like that.”

The teams battled back-and-forth in the first quarter as James Collar scored nine points in the first eight minutes for the Dragons, who led 15-13 after the opening frame.

Amsterdam opened up its lead behind Vann in the second quarter, outscoring Gloversville 25-15 to take a 38-30 halftime lead. Vann scored 13 points in the quarter for the Rams, while Victor Dueno hit a pair of 3-pointers for Amsterdam.

“We haven’t been a good defensive team all year and we certainly weren’t tonight,” coach Collar said. “We couldn’t string two stops together all night.”

The Rams extended their advantage after the break by outscoring Gloversville 17-10 to lead 55-40 after four quarters.

“If we’re going to make a run at the end of the season, we’ve got to step up our defense,” coach Collar said. “We’ve been playing better lately, but we’re not where we need to be defensively.”

In the final quarter, James Collar led the Dragons’ comeback bid with 16 points in the frame.

“James [Collar] had a great game for them,” Jones said.

However, the Rams were able to hang on for the 69-62 win despite being outscored 22-14 in the final eight minutes.

“If we’re going to make a run in the Class A tournament, [Gloversville] is going to be one of the teams we’re going to see along the way,” Jones said. “We’ve got to clean some stuff up and play better.”

Amsterdam (14-1 overall, 10-0 Foothills) is scheduled to host Scotia-Glenville on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Gloversville (9-6 overall, 7-3 Foothills) is slated to host Johnstown on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Amsterdam 69, Gloversville 62
Amsterdam 13 25 17 14 – 69
Gloversville 15 15 10 22 – 62
Amsterdam scoring: Vann 10-1-21, Dueno 3-0-8, Thompson 4-2-11, Vellon 7-3-17, Bartone 3-0-6, Miller 3-0-6. Gloversville scoring: Ja. Collar 14-7-39, Dorman 1-0-3, Perez -0-2, DiCaterino 1-4-6, Porter 1-0-2, Halloran 2-0-4, Insonia 2-2-6. Team totals: Amsterdam 30-6-69. Gloversville 22-13-62.