Lions Travel Upstate to Play Coach Pettit's Alma Mater

Coach Ryan Pettit decided to take his Varsity Basketball team on a road trip -- four hours upstate to his hometown of Gloversville, New York, for an action-packed competition against Gloversville High School, his alma mater.

"I thought it was important for our kids to have a basketball experience outside of Manhattan against a quality opponent. My relationship with the current staff at Gloversville allowed that to happen. The current head coach was my JV coach when I was a student," said Coach Pettit, who graduated in 1996.

Though the Lions defeated the Gloversville Dragons 61-58, the trip was about much more than what happened on the court. "I am proud of the fact that our players represented Columbia Prep so well. At restaurants, practices, movies, and even bowling, they handled themselves like gentlemen. I am also proud of how well we played in the game, playing hard and together for 32 minutes," added Coach Pettit. Assistant Coaches Joe Grande and Matt Hoek and Trainer Ammarah Khan also accompanied the team for the two-day stay in Gloversville in late December.

Gloversville's newspaper, The Leader-Herald, covered the Lions-Dragons game in its December 31 edition. To read the full article, click here.