Nadler awakens Black Bears
Senior scores his 21 in the second half to spur Glens Falls
GLENS FALLS — Thanks to the lone senior on its roster, Glens Falls is getting the rematch it wanted in the Section II boys’ basketball playoffs.
Cooper Nadler scored all 21 of his points in the second half Wednesday night as the second-seeded Black Bears overcame a halftime deficit and eliminated No. 3 Lansingburgh 60-54 in a Class A semifinal at the Cool Insuring Arena.
Glens Falls (22-0), ranked fourth in the state, will take on Catholic Central (21-1), a 72-36 winner over Schalmont in the second semifinal, for the sectional championship at 12:45 p.m. Saturday in Glens Falls. Catholic Central won last year’s final when both teams played in Class B, 73-59.
“Last year was tough,” said Nadler, referring to the sectional final. “We weren’t really ready. We were young. We’ve been with each other every day (since then), going hard and just staying together. We’re best friends off and on the court, and you see it on the court.”
In the fourth quarter alone, Nadler who couldn’t be stopped. He converted three second-chance opportunities and had 12 points in those final eight minutes.
“Cooper played probably the best half of his career,” Glens Falls coach Rob Girard said. “He decided that he was going to be the man out there and get every rebound and put everything in the basket.”
Lansingburgh (15-7), which got 30 points from senior Markous Green Jr., led 24-21 at halftime. Kellen Driscoll, who scored 19, completed a threepoint play with 5:09 to play in the third quarter to give Glens Falls the lead for good, part of a 10-0 run for a 36-28 Black Bears advantage.
“Maturity, for sure,” Girard said when asked the biggest difference in this year’s team. “We had three sophomores and a junior starting, and this year we’ve got four juniors and a senior.”
Glens Falls took a while to get going against Lansingburgh, which turned around an early five-point deficit with an 14-8 advantage in the second quarter.
Girard switched to a 2-3 zone defense in the second half, and the Black Bears caught fire offensively.
“Especially with a slow half the first half, I knew I had to come out and help the team,” Nadler said. “Being down, it was tough. We haven’t been in that spot too many times where we’re down at halftime. I knew I had to pick it up. I saw a couple of openings, and I had to get some rebounds. That’s been my game most of the year, getting a lot of offensive rebounds, garbage buckets. Once I started scoring, I got my mojo up, and the whole team played well.”
In the other semifinal, Catholic Central, ranked No. 1 in the state, opened on an 11-0 run and was never threatened by the fourth-seeded Sabres (1111). The Crusaders have won 21 straight since dropping their opener to Class
AAA top seed Colonie.
Seton Hall commit Darien Moore, a 6-3 sophomore, had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Catholic Central, which held a 38-18 advantage on the boards. Sophomore Sei’mir Roberson added 21 points, junior Xavier Pahler 15 and sophomore Xaul Arroyo 10.
Crusaders coach Guy Dibacca said he will begin
preparing for Glens Falls on Thursday.
“You don’t go in expecting to lose,” he said. “They’re 22-0, they’re high-powered. A lot of guys score the ball. They share it, they’re up and down the floor. We’ll prepare, take some concepts that we’ve been working on all year to get better at, and apply them to our next opponent.”