The #12 Mohawk Valley Men's Basketball traveled to Johnstown, New York for a 7:00 PM matchup with Fulton Montomgery Community College on Thursday evening. With the Hawks controlling the first matchup of the season with a 76-60 victory, Mohawk Valley knew that they would be getting the Raiders best shot based on the recent competitive history between the two programs.
Despite playing without All Region Forward Ike Sheppard (Foot) and Keon Armstrong, the Hawks came out playing exceptionally well out of the gate. Taking an 11-4 lead to start things off. Sophomore Tyruse Boock was impressive early on shooting the basketball and pacing the Hawks on the scoring front.
The back and forth battle continued throughout the first half, and Freshman 6'10 Forward Isaiah Earl was stellar on both ends of the floor blocking shots and scoring and was key for keeping the game close through the first 20 minutes of action especially.
Going into the half, the Raiders led 44-38.
As the second half began Jalen Bradberry began to do what he's done all season and started making plays for his team. The guard trio of Michael Moreno, Bradberry and Boock combined for 49 effecient points on the evening to keep the Hawks on pace to be in striking distance over the final minutes of play.
Sophomore Forward Lateef Johnson, despite playing through illness added some heroics to the contest as he soared for huge block and scored some timely baskets that were vital to the Hawks chances.
The Hawks found themselves leading by 2 with 2.6 seconds left on the clock. FMCC's Jordan Jackson stepped to the line to shoot the first of a 1 and 1. The first shot rocketed off of the front of the rim, hit a fmcc players hand and bounced directly to an fmcc player and he hit a contested 3 to seal the victory for the Raiders.
Tyruse Boock led the scoring the Hawks with 19 points. Jalen Bradberry and Isaiah Earl both added 18 points for the visiting Hawks. Hawk's leading scorer Lateef Johnson added 16 points on the evening. Michael Moreno was also very impressive in his Hawks debut adding 12 points in the loss for the Hawks.
"This was just a really good basketball game. It was probably one of the toughest endings I have been around in my years of coaching and playing, just based on the bad luck that fell our way. We were where we needed to be, we were engaged, and we boxed out. Unfortunately in basketball thats just the way the ball rolls sometimes, and we aren't defined anymore by this loss then we were with a our double figure win against them in November. It's a great win for them, and an unfortunate loss for us. With injuries, and health we have had just about everything thrown at us we could have this week, and our guys have battled with all they have. I love my team and fully believe this is a group that can make another run at an NJCAA Elite 8 or beyond once we are healthy, which will be very soon."- Coach Fuller said after the game.