JOHNSTOWN – FM led by as many as eight points, and the two teams were neck-and-neck for much of the second half, but the Clinton Cougars downed the Raiders 79-75 on Saturday afternoon. It was FM's final home game of the season, and the Raider seniors were honored prior to the game. (See photo at the bottom of this page.)

The high-spirited Raiders quickly built a 16-8 lead. Carlos Rivera put the first two points on the board. Dondre Simmons' three-pointer made it 5-3. Rivera added a three, and the two teams were playing run-and-gun in the high-scoring opening minutes.

Photo:  Khaleeq Baum scores despite the defending by Clinton's big man

FM continued to score. Rivera hit for two. Khaleeq Baum tipped in two. Kenny Barr banked in a shot over Clinton's 6' 10" center, Mykelle Krecko. Barr drove and banked in another.

The Raiders were scoring, but the Cougars were closing the gap. Their big man Krecko was hard to defend. An alley-oop to Krecko closed FM's lead to 18-14.

Photo:  Kenny Barr's bank-in puts FM up 16-8

Baum took a pass from Kadeem Stanislas and scored. Simmons hit another three-pointer and then laid in a tally. FM led 25-18 after nine minutes of play. The Raiders were scoring at a more than 100-point pace. But Clinton made adjustments and slowed down the home team for the remainder of the half.

Clinton started controlling the defensive boards. They were allowing the Raiders only one shot per attack. Clinton's Krecko went high and scored. The game was tied 31-31. The visitors added seven more unanswered points, and the half ended 38-31 in the Cougars' favor.

Baum's free throw opened the second-half scoring. Stanislas scored and then fed Baum for two. Stanislas hit a long jumper, and the game was tied at 38-all.

The game's intensity grew. FM led 43-42 and 45-43. The two teams stayed within a point or two of each other until the score was 52-52. Then the Cougars pulled away. The Big Cats led by 11, at 65-54, with 5:23 to play.

Photo:  Dondre Simmons sinks a three-pointer

FM fought back. Baum scored on a nice spin move. Barr drove for two and converted it into a three-point play. Stanislas drove for two. Barr hit a three from the left corner. Simmons nailed a three. But Clinton could not be caught. The final score was 79-75. It was yet another close-game loss for the Raiders. Further, Clinton's season mark is now 21-7, so once again the Raiders made a more successful team work hard for their win.

The FM Five have two games remaining. They will play at Hudson Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, and at 1:00 p.m. next Saturday, February 22 at Columbia-Greene.

                            C.J. Bonny, website writer

Scoring:

FM:  Barr 17, Simmons 11, Rivera 7, Stanislas 9, D. Davis 6, Baum 25; Total 75

Clinton:  Davison 10, Hull 26, Carter 11, Krecko 20, Grant 12; Total 79

Photo:  The FM seniors were honored prior to the game – from left, Asst. Coach Dan Schulz, Asst. Coach Arturo McLeod, Kenny Barr, Dondre Simmons, Carlos Rivera, Kadeem Stanislas, Khaleeq Baum, Head Coach Ed Collar, Asst. Coach Kevin Kucel

 

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