Heatly senior guard Dominic Patalino floats through the lane as he attempts a shot over Loudonville Christian's Koury Deeb during Tuesday's CHVL game at Loudonville Christian School. Heatly scored the game's first eight points and won, 66-53. (All photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

The Hornets weren't able to play the type of game they like to play in Loudonville's cramped gym, as the small court dimensions prevented them from running and squeezed the Heatly perimeter game.

Alex Heffern, however, managed to hit four three-point buckets en route to 22 total points and J.R. Gleason, Heatly's 6-foot-3 senior center, added 14 points and seven rebounds in the paint for the Hornets.

Four teams entered play on Tuesday tied at 5-1 for first place in the Central Hudson Valley League standings: Heatly, Loudonville, New Lebanon and Germantown.

The stage is set for a classic pennant race as the second half of the season winds down and the Hornets took a big step forward Tuesday, especially considering the 20-point loss at home to Germantown that happened just last Thursday.

The Hornets were pumped-up from the get-go Tuesday night, but their head coach wanted to assure them that they need to play like this every night if they wish to repeat as CHVL regular season champions.

"It’s fun, it really is," said Heatly head coach Peter Heffern. "They know that they have to show up every night. It’s not just the top four teams. Hawthorne is playing well and you have to go and play against the other teams too. You have to show up. I think our league is a lot better than it was a few years ago. The coaches are doing well, the kids are responding and I think everybody is seeing the results of it: good basketball."

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The crowd at Loudonville was big and they were loud, especially as the Eagles drew to within 10 points late in the fourth quarter. Cullen Overholt scored a game-high 23 points, but the Eagles threw up too many bricks throughout the game to make a legitimate run at a comeback.

Read more about the game and how Alex Heffern and J.R. Gleason work together on the court in Wednesday's edition of The Record.

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Watervliet's Tierney McGlynn looks to pass as Holy Names' Leah Arduini defends during Tuesday's Colonial Council game at Holy Names. Holy Names won, 52-23, extending its winning streak in league play to 28 games.

Holy Names' Sarah Agan looks to take a shot over a pair of Watervliet defenders during Tuesday's game. Holy Names, 10-0 this season, was ranked No. 4 in the latest NYS Class A poll.

Watervliet freshman guard Ailayia Demand (1) elevates toward the hoop during Tuesday's game at Holy Names as Fallon Witte (22) defends and Leah Arduini looks on.

"Holy Names played terrific," Watervliet head coach Gordie Johnson told our Ryan Kircher. "They played great and they killed us on the offensive boards. They took us out of everything we do, we couldn't get open looks and when we did we didn't finish them."

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Record.