Salem is 2-8 against Fort Ann since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Salem Generals will head out on the road to take on the Fort Ann Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. Salem comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Salem struggled with offensive rebounds on Friday (Lake George had nine more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Salem took a serious blow against Lake George, falling 61-27. While losing is never fun, Salem can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 870th, while Lake George is ranked 336th).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Josh Harrington, who scored five points along with 12 rebounds and two steals. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down ten or more in the last five games he's played. Blaise Barrett was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with four steals.
Salem struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Fort Ann came up short against Hadley Luzerne on Wednesday and fell 46-34. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Fort Ann in their matchups with Hadley Luzerne: they've now lost five in a row.
Fort Ann's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Kadynce Cutter, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 20 rebounds, and Javier Hernandez who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds. Cutter has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last six times he's played.
Salem dropped their record down to 0-17 with that loss, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Fort Ann, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-14 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Salem have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Fort Ann struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Salem couldn't quite finish off Fort Ann in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 and fell 49-46. Can Salem avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
