The stage is set.  The two unbeaten leaders in Foothills Council boys basketball will battle Friday night when Glens Falls invades Gloversville.

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Both teams are 7-0 in league play and this game has all the ingredients to live up to the hype.

On Tuesday, Glens Falls (9-2 overall) handled neighbor South Glens Falls, 60-40, using balanced scoring. Devin Zurlo connected for 16 points, Jake Martin had 15 and Cam Girard 14.

Gloversville (8-3 overall) took care of rival, Johnstown, 48-41, as Jake McCloskey and Cody Jacobson each scored 13 points to set up this classic showdown.

Queensbury is right behind the co-leaders with a 5-2 league mark and 8-3 against all competition.

Glens Falls head coach Tony Hammel plans to start 5-10 junior Cam Girard, 6-0 junior Lee Girard, 6-3 senior Devin Zurlo, 6-8 senior Jake Martin and 6-2 junior Mike LaNoir.

The Girard's are scoring at 13.1 points per game, followed by Zurlo 12.8 and Martin 10.5.

"I expect a hard-fought game. We will have to execute against their man-to-man and we will have get a hand up on all shooters. They love to shoot the long ball so we have to be concerned on getting out to the shooter. That will also be a big key in the game. Other than that we just need to get mentally ready for an intense game," said Hammel.

Gloversville is expected to start guards 5-6 McCloskey, 5-8 Jacobson, 5-8 Lucas Beekman, and forwards 6-2 Cody Webber and 6-0 Alex Lopez.

"My guards are extremely small. We have a good mix offensively. We try to be fundamentally sound. Our team is predicated on defense. Jake (McCloskey) makes us go. He runs the show. He can score and gets the ball to players," said head coach Mark LeFever. "We're battle-tested. We play very well at home. It's a great atmosphere."

McCloskey leads the Dragons' scoring with a 14.2 mark while Jacobson is next at 12.6.

LeFever feels Glens Falls brings a potent offense to the table and his Dragons must do their best to get out on the perimeter players.

"We have to stop the guards. Our kids are confident. I don't think we're ever out of it. We can score a lot of points in a short period of time. I really like the way we defend. The kids work hard. I think it's going down to the wire," he said.

Article by Mike Collar

 

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