Granville boys improve to 9-1, 10-3

It’s often said that basketball is a game of runs and whoever has the last run wins. That was the case Tuesday night in Granville as the Golden Horde and Hartford exchanged runs all night.

Granville closed the game with a final run in the fourth quarter to fight off a pesky Tanagers squad, 64-55, in an Adirondack League boys basketball contest.

It was Senior Night for the Golden Horde as Caleb Nelson, Cody Nelson, Alex Torres and Matthew Barlow and their parents were honored before the game.

Hartford came out looking like a team that was on a mission to spoil the party. Trailing 8-7, the Tanagers went on an 11-0 run to open an 18-8 lead.

A pair of Nate Fiske baskets and the muscle of Austin Wells in the paint fueled the spurt. A Ray Harrington 3-pointer gave Hartford its biggest lead of the night, 21-10, A trey by Nathan Williams sliced the Granville deficit to 21-13 at the quarter break.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve played a team that’s come out and punched us in the face in the first four or five minutes,” said Granville coach Justin Nassivera. “But we’ve got a resilient group. Every time we’ve been in that situation we’ve been able to battle back and make a game of it.”

The second quarter was a 180-degree turnaround. Granville trailed by 10 early, but then started to roll. The Golden Horde locked down on the defensive end, holding Hartford to five points in the stanza, all by Wells. Meanwhile Granville poured in 20 points in the frame to lead 33-26 at the half.

“We talked about consistency with them at halftime. I was frustrated with them because of our second quarter, because we played so well in the first quarter,” said Hartford coach Jason Harrington. “We’ve had quarters like that all year. The team is there, we just need to put the pieces together to finalize the whole product.”

In the third it appeared the intermission stifled the Granville momentum. The Tanagers went on a 13-4 run to take back the lead at 39-37. The Golden Horde regained the lead at 43-41 on a pair of Caleb Nelson free throws, but a Jesse Baker hoop brought Hartford even at 43 to close the quarter.

Hartford went back in front to begin the fourth, but Granville responded quickly and built a 58-49 advantage. The Tanagers closed the gap to 60-55 but clutch foul shots down the stretch by Cody Nelson clinched the victory for the Golden Horde.

Trey Senevey and RJ Monger gave Granville a crucial spark off the bench. Senevey denied a Hartford breakaway basket with an emphatic blocked shot and Monger nailed two huge 3-pointers.

Jesse Baker, a 6’8” sophomore, made a solid contribution for the Tanagers down the stretch, showing flashes of his potential.

Caleb Nelson led four players in double figures for Granville with 16 points. Cody Nelson added 13, Senevey 12 and Nathan Williams 10.

Harrington, who is closing in on the 1,000-career point mark, netted 20 points for Hartford. Wells chipped in 19.

Nassivera knows with their success so far this season the Golden Horde will face a few more battles as they try to win the Division I title and earn a shot at the Adirondack League crown.

“When you’re 9-3 and winning games like we’ve been winning games, you’re going to get everyone’s best effort,” he said. “It’s not just Hartford, Fort Ann on Friday will be the same thing. They’re going to come out and punch us in the face and our guys need to be ready for that.”

Granville improved to 8-1, 9-3. Hartford dropped to 3-6, 3-9.

On Friday night, Granville head coach Justin Nassivera made it 2-0 against his father Kevin as his squad defeated Fort Ann, 59-38, in league play.

The Cardinals stayed close for a half, trailing 24-17 at the break, but Granville got things rolling over the finals two periods.

“We were plagued with some foul trouble in the first half that kept it a seven-point game,” Justin Nassivera said. “Offensively we were just way too stagnant and lazy against their zone the first 20 or so minutes. The ball kept sticking, too much. Our guys were standing around too much and not working hard enough to get open on offense.”

Caleb Nelson poured in 24 of his game-high 26 in the second half.

“Once we got the ball moving and had a sense of urgency in our offense, we got better looks and scored some buckets the last quarter and a half of the game for us to pull away,” the Granville coach said.

Cody Nelson added 14 for Granville.

Javier Hernandez led Fort Ann with 16 points. Garrett Brown chipped in 13.

“We have a tough one at North Warren Monday night. We have to be ready to play right from the opening tip or it could get ugly for us. They are a good team,” Nassivera said.

Granville is now 9-1, 10-3. Fort Ann is 2-9, 3-10.

Fort Edward beats Granville bowlers

The Granville bowling team took on a big challenge this week as it faced Adirondack League powerhouse Fort Edward at Slate Valley Lanes. The Flying Forts came away with a 4-0 win.

Andrew Fish led Fort Edward with a 642 series. Fish fired games of 249, 203 and 190.

Gabe Glass added a 529 triple with games of 159, 170 and 200.

Preston Gulick shot a 523 and Tori Anderson a 496 for the Flying Forts.

For Granville, Jackson Ketchum bowled games of 154, 131 and 180 for a 465 series.

Danny Dunster added a 448 triple with games of 133, 179 and 136.

Josh Ketchum bowled a 396 and Matt Getty a 378.

Granville girls impress with 50-14 win

The Granville girls basketball team celebrated Senior Night in impressive fashion Friday night as they defeated Fort Ann, 50-14, in an Adirondack League contest.

Seniors Lilly Strout, Jordan Chadwick and Kerri Jennings and their parents were honored before the game.

The Golden Horde led 13-2 after a quarter and 27-10 at the half.

Strout led Granville with a double-double of 21 points and 19 rebounds.

Melissa Beaver added eight points and Lauren Bascom seven.

Ella Olsen added 17 boards.

Jennings, who could not play this season because of recurring concussions, suited up for the game and started. In the fourth quarter the Fort Ann coach, Katelyn White, asked Granville coach Dan Brown if he would like to insert Jennings back in the game to score.

“With three minutes to go in the game their coach came over to me and asked if I wanted to put her back in to score. ‘We will help you out,’” Brown said.

Jennings came back on the floor and scored two points.

“It was the most outstanding show of sportsmanship by the Fort Ann coaches and players,” Brown said. “Brought a tear to this old coach’s eyes. Unbelievable gesture.”

Granville is 4-8, 2-7. Fort Ann is 0-11, 1-13.

Last Tuesday night, Hartford avenged the loss to Granville at the Glens Falls Grandstanders Holiday Tournament, edging the Golden Horde, 45-40, in a league matchup at the Ella Colvin gym.

The Tanagers used a balanced offensive to get the job done. McKenzie Johnson, Cassandra Wade and Raeghan Liebig contributed eight points apiece for Hartford.

Cailin Severance added seven points for the Tanagers.

Strout again led the Golden Horde with 12 points. Bascom chipped in eight.

Hartford raised its mark to 4-4, 4-7. Granville fell to 1-6, 3-8.

Track team competes at Union College

The Granville girls and boys indoor track teams competed last weekend at a Tri-County League meet at Union College.

The Golden Horde girls finished ninth at the meet, with the boys placing seventh.

Granville’s Amber Gibbs finished second in the 300-meter dash. Madeleine Johnson was 11th and Natalie Morin 15th.

Gibbs also placed 10th in the 600 meters. Johnson finished sixth in the long jump. Morin was fifth in the shot put for the Golden Horde.

On the boys’ side, Tim Pratt was fifth in the 45-meter dash. Pratt was also second in the 50-meter hurdles and the long jump.

Ethan Gibbs finished sixth in the 300-meter dash. Carter Powell was 11th for the Golden Horde in the 600 meters.

Granville wrestlers win duals title

The Granville boys wrestling team finished with a record of 4-1 to claim the championship of the Golden Horde Duals Saturday at the Granville High School gym.

Granville hosted Ausable Valley, Berne-Knox, Middlebury, Mechanicville-Stillwater and Northern Adirondack for the annual meet.

Ausable Valley also finished with a 4-1 mark, but the Golden Horde defeated them head-to-head.

Granville topped Ausable Valley 39-33, Berne-Knox 54-0, Middlebury 42-27 and Northern Adirondack 48-27.

The Golden Horde fell to Mechanicville-Stillwater 39-33.

Brent Perry led Granville with a 5-0 record. Perry won all five of his matches at 215 pounds by pin.

At 152 Scott Whitman won all three of his matches on the mat and picked up a pair of forfeits to go 5-0. Whitman had two pins and a major decision.

Quinn Johnson also went 5-0 on the day at 126, wrestling his way to three wins and adding a pair of forfeits. Johnson recorded three pins.

At 138 Nathan Barber went 4-1 with two pins and two forfeits.

Nick Crum recorded two wins by fall and a pair of forfeits at 132 pounds.

Jaxon Torres won a match by fall at 145 and was awarded three forfeit wins.

AJ Landon at 189, Timothy Lotz at 160 and Scott Jones at 285 also had wins for Granville.

The Granville wrestling team continued its successful campaign with a hard-fought 42-26 win over Corinth-Hadley-Luzerne last Wednesday evening.

The Golden Horde received pins from Crum, Barber, Torres, Beaver, AJ Landon, Perry and Johnson to earn the victory.

Paul Granger, Zac Wood and Tazzrine Bovee won by fall for Corinth-Hadley-Luzerne.

At 132 Crum pinned Daniel Galant in 42 seconds. At 138 Barber pinned Nicolas Torino in just 24 seconds. Torres finished off Dominick Ruggiero by fall in 2:52 at 145 pounds.

At 172 Beaver pinned DJ Barnes in 43 seconds. Landon needed just 46 seconds to take down Jacob Lafaver by fall at 189. At 215 Perry pinned John Geary in 1:15. Johnson took care of Keegan Patterson at 126 in 1:45.

For Corinth-Hadley-Luzerne Paul Granger pinned Wittman in 3:49 at 152. At 160 Zac Wood pinned Lotz in 5:03. Tazzrine Bovee pinned Jones in 3:02 at 285.

See also “An outstanding show of sportsmanship” about Golden Horde senior Kerri Jennings