Glens Falls buzzing with hoop tourney excitement
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> Downtown Glens Falls is bracing for a wild and crazy weekend as hometown hero Joseph Girard III leads his Class B state championship team into the New York State Federation Basketball Tournament.
Girard, the state’s all time-leading scorer, lifted Glens Falls to a dramatic buzzer-beating 75-74 victory over Lowville last Saturday to win the state title in overtime.
More than 5,100 tickets have already been sold for this Saturday’s Federation semifinal against South Bronx Prep at the 6,200seat Cool Insuring Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“If Glens Falls can win Saturday and come back Sunday we’ll probably have more than 13,000 people in the building for a twoday span,” said Jeff Mead, arena general manager. “It’s great for the community.”
Lines are expected to start forming long before doors open at 2:15 p.m., possibly leading out the parking lot and up the Glen Street hill.
The Federation tourney fea-
tures the Class AA, A and B boys and girls public high school state champions against the state’s top independent, Catholic High School Athletic Association and PSAL (New York City) teams.
Play begins Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Earlier this week, however, tourney Director Robert Zayas made the controversial decision to split Saturday’s and Sunday’s action into two separate sessions, in a move designed to accommodate out-of-town fans who couldn’t buy tickets ahead of time.
Session 1 on Saturday has three games beginning at 9 a.m., which are expected to be lightly attended.
If all-day tickets alone were sold, Glens Falls fans might have bought them all before people arrived from outside the area.
“It wouldn’t be fair to shut out fans from those six communities whose teams are playing Saturday morning,” Zayas said.
Glens Falls versus South Bronx Prep is the first game in Session 2.
However, some local fans did in fact buy all-day tickets before the decision was made to hold two sessions. Everyone attending Session 1’s games must exit the building at the conclusion of play and re-enter, beginning at 2:15 p.m., for Session 2.
But no one will be allowed to save their morning seats and by the time Session 1 ends, a long line for Session 2 will have already taken shape. So people leaving Session 1 will likely have to stand at the end of a long line to get back in for Session 2.
“I totally understand the frustration,” Zayas said. “Nothing we did was going to make everyone happy.”
But the downtown business community is thrilled about the prospect of anticipated big crowds.
The Bullpen Tavern plans to livestream the action, the same as it did for last weekend’s public high school tourney, giving fans who can’t get in the arena a chance to see the game.
“We did breakfasts, which we don’t normally serve, for last Friday morning’s semifinal game,” coowner David Krogmann said. “We were wall to wall for that.”
Another big crowd turned out for Saturday’s championship game, which Girard won by driving the baseline and scoring with less than a second on the clock.
That shot was money in the bank for The Bullpen and many other businesses that will be crowded again this weekend, too.
Downtown Social, on Glen Street, is already making plans to serve dinners to many of the tournament’s teams.
“It’s great to have this kind of buzz,” General Manager Dan Biddiscombe said. “It’ll help all the restaurants, bars and everyone in town.”
Fitzgerald’s Restaurant, just north of Exit 17 on Route 9 in Moreau, plans to livestream all tourney games along with its sister establishment, Dango’s, on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs.
“We’ve been showing Joe Girard’s games right through sectionals,” owner David Johnson said. “We’ve had big crowds every night.”
If Glens Falls wins on Saturday, it will face the winner of the other Class B semifinal between Lawrence Woodmere Academy (Nassau County) and Cardinal O’Hara (Buffalo) at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Big crowds are also a coup for Cool Insuring Arena, which gets 100 percent of all food and beverage concession sales. Ticket revenue goes to the tourney, which rents the arena.
Arena staff began setting up for basketball late Thursday night, when amateur men’s hockey teams were done playing.
“First all the glass comes out, then we cover the ice, build the basketball court and set up chairs,” Mead said. “If all goes well, we’ll be ready by 5 in the morning.”
Many outstanding players will be showcasing their talents this weekend. But Zayas said Girard III is the focal point.
“This is the most highly touted, highly anticipated Federation tourney since I’ve been involved,” he said. “We’ve never had this type of excitement. We’re celebrating one of the best high school basketball players in New York state history.”