JOHNSTOWN — The new season got off to a rough start for the Gloversville boys’ basketball team.
The Dragons trailed 26-21 at the half before the Tamarac Bengals broke the game open by outscoring them 43-27 in the second half on their was to a 69-48 victory in a Western Athletic Conference Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off Classic at Fulton-Montgomery Community College on Sunday.
Gloversville came into this season with high hopes after returning a core group of players after reaching the Section II Class A title game against Mekeel Christian Academy last season.
“It’s not what I expected for sure,” Gloversville coach Ed Collar said. “The biggest reason for our success last year was our half-court defense. You’ve got to be able to stop the ball and we didn’t contain the ball tonight.”
Joey Poulin led Tamarac with 26 points, while Mikey D’Agostino (15 points) and Dom Price (11) also hit double digits. Mariano DiCaterino scored 13 points to lead Gloversville.
The teams played to an 11-11 draw after eight minutes as there were eight lead changes or ties in the first quarter.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as the lead see-sawed back and forth before Tamarac closed out the first half with a 13-7 run to take a 26-21 lead at the half.
Poulin finished the first half with 11 points for the Bengals, while D’Agostino scored six points in the second quarter.
Things got worse quickly in the second half for the Dragons as Tamarac opened the third quarter with a 19-5 run to surge to a 45-26 lead.
“We like to get out and run, but we didn’t rebound well and we didn’t guard the ball,” Collar said. “You can’t run if you don’t do those things.”
Tamarac outscored Gloversville 22-8 in the third quarter to take a 48-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
The lead grew to as much as 28 in the final quarter as the Bengals opened the final frame with a 15-6 flurry.
“We started taking tougher shots and we just couldn’t get any momentum going,” Collar said.
Tamarac cruised from there on its way to a 69-48 victory.
“It’s early in the year. We’ve got to turn the page and move on from here,” said Collar. “We’ve still got a lot to play for and we still have our goals in front of us.”
Gloversville (0-1 overall) is scheduled to host Troy on Wednesday in a 7 p.m. non-league contest.
Tamarac (2-0 overall) is slated to host Saratoga Catholic in a Wasaren League contest on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
