GLENS FALLS u It’s rare when a basketball game actually lives up to the buzz it generated beforehand, but Friday’s Class B final between Hudson and Glens Falls delivered.
Playing before a standing-room-only crowd at the Civic Center, Hudson made clutch shots from the field and foul line in the fourth quarter to top the Indians 82-78 in the Section II Boys Basketball Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Bluehawks (24-0) won their first sectional boys basketball title since 1974 and will play the Section VII champion in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Saratoga Springs. Second-seeded Glens Falls, which earned its ninth sectional runner-up finish, finished its incredible season with a 20-4 record.
“It’s crazy, I can’t even explain it in words,” Hudson coach Shawn Briscoe said. “Having went to Hudson, grown up in Hudson, now being able to coach here, it means a lot to bring this back to the city.”
People are also reading…
A Joseph Girard III drive put Glens Falls up 78-75 with 1:10 left. A little later, Daniel Folds then stole the ball and went in for a layup to give Hudson a 79-78 lead with 39 seconds left. Center Kimedrick Murphy made one of two foul shots with 20 seconds left to make it 80-78.
Following a Glens Falls miss with 8 seconds left, Folds knocked down two foul shots with 5.1 seconds to go for the final margin.
Hudson’s Zhachary Hedgepeth (20 points) was named the tournament’s most valuable player, and teammate Mike Alert (18 points) was on the all-tournament team. For Glens Falls, Girard led the way with a game-high 39 points and six assists. He was named to the all-tournament team along with Tony Green (13 points, seven rebounds).
“We felt that our seeding wasn’t, you know, we should’ve had a better seeding than we did,” Hedgepeth said. “But we didn’t, so we just went out and played ball. Proved it.”
Girard had seven 3-pointers for the game, giving him 122 for the season, which is third on the all-time Section II list and three more than his father had his junior year for St. Mary’s (Glens Falls) in 1988-89.
“He may be a one-man show, but we have a team full of savages,” Alert said. “You shut one of us down, the next savage is ready to perform. That’s what we did tonight.”
Absent from the all-tournament team but a huge factor in the second half was 6-foot-7 and wide-bodied center Kimedrick Murphy. He had 14 of his 16 points in the second half.
“I thought they exposed us a little underneath with the Murphy kid,” Glens Falls coach Rob Girard said. “They went in there five or six straight times and we kept matching them. Every time they’d score, we’d come back and hit one.
“I was waiting for them to go to the two big kids, and it hurt us, but it was only for a short stretch,” Rob Girard added. “It’s a terrible matchup for us. Our kid, you’re giving up 100 pounds and 12 inches. He did as much as he could, but in the end, (Murphy) was too much.”
Briscoe said that Hedgepeth’s four 3-pointers in the second half enabled the Bluehawks to go inside to Murphy.
“Without the complements of an inside-outside game, it really doesn’t work,” Briscoe said.
After Girard went 8 for 8 from the foul line in the first half, Hudson tried to keep him off the line in the second half, and did so. Still, he earned Briscoe’s respect.
“Our game plan was to stop him, and he still had (39),” Briscoe said. “He’s a great player and we’re going to see some great things from him the next few years, but feels great to come away with this win.”
Glens Falls also got strong games from Connor Schliff (10 points, six rebounds) and Dylan Balcom, who had two three-point plays in the third quarter.
“It didn’t work for us, but I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Rob Girard said. “They just scrapped the whole year. Even Aaron Sampson, he might’ve had two points, but it was a huge two points with a shot late. All year long we’ve had contributors.”
Class B Final
Glens Falls (19-4){/&hspag4}
2P 3P FT TP
Justin Holness 0 0 0 0
Dylan Balcom 2 0 3 7
Aaron Sampson 1 0 0 2
Joseph Girard 5 7 8 39
Andrew Stamatel 1 0 0 2
Greyson Brady 1 0 0 2
Tony Green 5 1 0 13
Marcus Owens 1 0 1 3
Connor Schliff 2 2 0 10
Totals 18 10 12 78
Hudson (24-0)
2P 3P FT TP
Dante Garrido 0 0 0 0
Tyler Dellavechia 1 1 2 7
Shamar Daniels 0 0 2 2
Mike Alert 2 3 5 18
Zhachary Hedgepeth 3 4 2 20
Willie Walker 1 0 0 2
Justin Oliveras 2 0 3 7
Daniel Folds 4 0 2 10
Kimedrick Murphy 5 0 6 16
Totals 18 8 22 82
Glens Falls 21 17 19 21 — 78
Hudson 22 9 25 26 — 82
Other stats: Green (GF) 7 rebounds. Girard (GF) 6 assists. Murphy (Hudson) 9 rebounds.
Class B Final
Glens Falls (19-4){/&hspag4}
2P 3P FT TP
Justin Holness 0 0 0 0
Dylan Balcom 2 0 3 7
Aaron Sampson 1 0 0 2
Joseph Girard 5 7 8 39
Andrew Stamatel 1 0 0 2
Greyson Brady 1 0 0 2
Tony Green 5 1 0 13
Marcus Owens 1 0 1 3
Connor Schliff 2 2 0 10
Totals 18 10 12 78
Hudson (24-0)
2P 3P FT TP
Dante Garrido 0 0 0 0
Tyler Dellavechia 1 1 2 7
Shamar Daniels 0 0 2 2
Mike Alert 2 3 5 18
Zhachary Hedgepeth 3 4 2 20
Willie Walker 1 0 0 2
Justin Oliveras 2 0 3 7
Daniel Folds 4 0 2 10
Kimedrick Murphy 5 0 6 16
Totals 18 8 22 82
Glens Falls 21 17 19 21 — 78
Hudson 22 9 25 26 — 82
Other stats: Green (GF) 7 rebounds. Girard (GF) 6 assists. Murphy (Hudson) 9 rebounds.