Two titles cap Girard’s legacy
Basketball star led Glens Falls to state, Federation crowns
Greek philosopher Epicurus once said, “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.” That quotation perfectly summarizes the month of March in the life of Glens Falls basketball standout Joseph Girard III.
The senior scoring sensation already had cemented an incredible athletic legacy, one that landed him loads of accolades and a scholarship
to Syracuse University. Girard wanted to obtain the same level of team achievement he twice helped engineer as the quarterback on the school’s football team. The senior not only led the Indians to a Class B state basketball championship with an unforgettable 75-74 overtime triumph over Lowville, but he and
his teammates also added a Federation Tournament of Champions title a week later at Cool Insuring Arena.
“Going to Binghamton, the motivation was to win a state title,” Girard said. “I think a bigger motivation than winning a state title was so we could go home and play in Glens Falls.”
Girard finally achieved the team success in basketball he desired throughout his five-year varsity career. For his efforts, Girard has been selected as the Times Union’s Male Athlete of the Month for March.
Girard, who also earned Athlete of the Month honors in February, played his final four games battling a left ankle injury he kept quiet.
The Indians finished up at 29-1 overall, featuring seven playoff victories in March. The first of those contests came March 1 when Glens Falls avenged a 2018 Class B semifinal loss against Schalmont by producing a 77-56 victory in the sectional final. After scoring only three points in the first quarter, Girard finished the game with 52 points.
“There is a whole other switch you have to got to flip on come playoff time,” Girard said. “I think we did that in both sports. When the playoffs began with eight of us 11 players being seniors, we understood this would be our last time that we would play basketball together — and for most of us, the last time we would play (competitive) basketball. We wanted to make sure we went out on top and were champions this year.”
Glens Falls recorded state regional wins against Plattsburgh (77-57) and Ogdensburg Free Academy (84-76) to earn a trip to the state final in Binghamton. Girard suffered his ankle injury in the Indians’ 83-63 semifinal win over top-ranked Olean.
In the final, Glens Falls trailed by four with 15 seconds left in overtime. Girard capped a 50-point performance by hitting a game-winning drive at the buzzer for the program’s first state basketball championship.
“That game was hectic,” Girard said. “It was probably nerve-racking to watch, but for us it was something special and something fun . ... You have these moments within a game when you know you have to step it up. We started off slow and it may sound cliche, but it is all about how you finish. We finished out games this year pretty well.”
Girard capped his scholastic career by scoring 43 points in an 88-79 victory over Cardinal O’hara in the Federation final. The 6-foot-2 standout finished
his senior season with 1,457 points, pushing his career total to 4,763. Most importantly, the senior achieved the ultimate team glory on the hardwood he had sought all along.