GLOVERSVILLE – Shortly after aiding the Gloversville Dragons’ comeback, Glens Falls’ Jake Dailey gained a little bit of redemption.
He committed a personal foul and was whistled for a technical on one play when he fouled Gloversville’s Kevin Johnston as he scored on a putback with the Indians leading by five. Johnston failed to convert the three-point play, but he knocked down both free throws on the technical, then the Dragons got the ball back.
Zech Brown tied the game with a 3-pointer and Asa Barnhill gave the Dragons the lead of the day with a 3 of his own with 1:45 to go.
However, Dailey redeemed himself, knocking down a 3-pointer with 58 second remaining in Friday night’s Foothills Council boys basketball game, lifting Glens Falls to a 65-64 win.
“That was a big shot that he made,” Glens Falls coach Tony Hammel said. “He does that a lot. He doesn’t play a lot, but he made a couple of big shots already this year, and that was a big one right there.”
The fouls against Dailey helped the Dragons gain some momentum in the fourth quarter as they rallied from an 18-point deficit at the end of the second quarter and pulled within nine points with 5:05 remaining after Hunter Goodwin, who finished with 13 points, knocked down a pair of free throws.
“I wanted to let them know that Gloversville basketball is built on a lot of pride and a lot of emotion and hard work and intensity,” Gloversville coach Mark LeFever said. “We lacked that in the first half. I let some of the guys say a few things and we came out in the third quarter with a little energy and it was a great second half. I’m proud of the way the kids played.”
With 4:06 remaining in the game, Barnhill hit a 3-pointer to pull the Dragons to within seven points, 56-49, but the Dragons had trouble pulling closer until the two fouls called on Dailey.
“That definitely aided in our comeback,” LeFever said.
So did the Dragons’ shooting. After managing only 15 points in the first two quarters, the Dragons exploded for 49 points in the second half. Barnhill scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
“Asa’s a player,” LeFever said. “We look to Asa to score and we look to Asa to do things during crunch times, but everybody that’s on the floor contributed to our comeback.”
The Indians kept Brown off the board in the first half, but he stepped behind the 3-point line and knocked down four jump shots for 12 points, helping the Dragons (5-7 overall, 4-5 Foothills Council) close the gap, his biggest coming with 3:08 to go when he tied the game at 58-58.
But after Barnhill gave the Dragons’ the lead for the first time since leading 1-0 in the first quarter, Sam Sax pulled the Indians (7-4 overall, 7-2 Foothills Council) to within a point, 61-00 with a layup as Hammel called timeout.
“I told them to settle down,” he said. “We had played well up to that point. We had to make sure the next two times down the floor and we got stops.”
And they did.
Dailey grabbed a defensive rebound, setting up his own game-winning 3-pointer and Cam Girard followed by knocking down a pair of free throws, giving the Indians a 65-61 lead with 37 seconds to go.
But the Dragons weren’t done as Barnhill hit a 3-pointer to pull them within one with 6 seconds remaining.
Then with 5 seconds left, Dailey missed both free throws and the Dragons had a chance to recover the rebound, but the Keyshawn Arnold couldn’t get a handle on the ball and it bounced off his fingertips, giving the ball back to the Indians with 4 seconds left.
“In the end to have the lead and lose, that’s a tough one,” LeFever said. “The kids are taking it hard.”
Before the Dragons’ comeback, the Indians were looking to make the game into a rout as they knocked down seven three-pointers on their way to a 33-15 halftime lead. The Indians had 10 3s in the game
Cam Girard hit four and finished with 20 points to lead the Indians. Jordan Green had three 3s and 15 points, while Lee Girard had two treys and 10 points.
“We dug a hole too deep in the first half to come back,” LeFever said. “They shot the ball extremely well tonight. I thought some of those were contested very good. Glens Falls has got some pretty good shooters on their team.”
The Dragons will play closer to home as they pay a visit to the Johnstown Sir Bills on Monday night, and after Friday night’s game, LeFever had one message for his team.
“Let’s build from the second half,” he said. “If you’re going to compete like that for four quarters, we’re going to be a tough out come sectionals, but that’s the challenge to our team: to play four quarters like that. We’re close.”
Glens Falls 65, Gloversville 64
Glens Falls19 14 17 15 – 65
Gloversville11 4 21 28 – 64
Glens Falls
Dailey 1-0-3, LaNoir 3-0-8, L. Girard 4-0-10, C. Girard 6-4-20, Green 6-0-15, SAx 4-1-9. Totals: 24-5-65.
Gloversville
Brown 4-0-12, Barnhill 8-2-21, Dukes 0-2-2, Johnston 2-2-7, Goodwin 3-7-13, Arnold 4-0-9. Totals: 21-13-64.
3-point goals: Glens Falls 12 (Dailey, LaNoir 2, L. Girard 2, C. Girard 4, Green 3); Gloversville 8 (Brown 4, Barnhill 2, Johnston, Arnold).
