The #2 seeded Mohawk Valley Hawks Men's Basketball team hosted the #7 Hudson Valley Vikings at the Jorgensen Center last night. This was a very close battle throughout with multiple lead changes, good fast-paced action, and some big plays from both teams. At the end of the day, it was the Hawks who prevailed by a score of 67-61. Mohawk Valley was led by Jamale Cummings who had 15 of his game high 25 points in the second half including two baskets where he drew contact and finished the layup, and also made the free throw both times to convert the three point play. Along with Cummings, right there was Jordanny Cuevas-Marte who finished with a game high three 3-point baskets en route to a 24 point evening.
The game was a good battle throughout. The game was tied at 33 at the half with neither team holding a very big lead at any point. Hudson Valley was up 18-15 when the Hawks went on a 9-0 run to take the lead 24-18, the biggest lead of the entire half. The Vikings did not go quietly. They took the lead early in the second half and extended it to the largest lead of the game at 8 with the score 56-48 with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. After a big run that re-energized the crowd, Mohawk Valley took the lead for good at 58-56 with 4:38 remaining as Cummings finished the lay up and got the foul call as well. The season came to an end for Hudson Valley as they finished the year with an impressive 21-8 record.
The Hawks record improves to a program best 25-2 as they travel to Herkimer College on Saturday afternoon to face the #3 seed Fulton-Montgomery Raiders at 4:00pm in the Region III semi-final. The Hawks won the first two matchups including a 95-93 overtime victory just last week.