TROY – The FM men's team traveled to Hudson Valley CC on Wednesday and earned a memorable win over the Vikings. The home team led by 13 at the break, but the Raiders stormed back in the second half and secured an 83-80 victory.

Many teams need some time to adjust to the visual cues of Hudson Valley's cavernous arena, with its large open areas behind each goal. That may have been the case with the Raiders on Wednesday evening. Regardless, the Vikings led 50-37 at halftime.

Head Coach Ed Collar's team did not give up. Rather, they charged into the second half and staged a remarkable comeback. The FM Five not only caught up with the Vikings, but they built a five-point lead. FM was ahead 82-77 with 45.1 seconds to play. Five seconds later, Hudson Valley's Ericco Feaster stole the ball and sent it to teammate Jose Reyes. Reyes drained one from three-point range, and FM's lead was cut to 82-80.

The Vikings regained the ball, and with 9.1 seconds showing on the scoreboard high above center court, they called a timeout. They inbounded the ball and got it to Reyes who tried for a three-pointer but missed.

FM's Khaleeq Baum grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Baum went to the line for a one-and-one with 2.1 seconds left. He made the first free throw. The second FT was a miss, but the Raiders' defense held. FM won the game 83-80.

The game was yet another late-season high point for the Raiders. On Feb. 1 they made the region's #1 team, SUNY Delhi, work very hard for their eight-point win. Five days later, FM went to Herkimer and defeated the #3 Generals 99-96 in overtime. Now the Blue & White have won five of their last 10 games and are looking to close out the season with a win on Saturday at Columbia-Greene. They will take on the Twins on the CGCC campus in a 1:00 p.m. contest.

Scoring:

FM:  Barr 20, Simmons 2, Rivera 10, Edwards 9, Stanislas 17, T. Davis 2, D. Davis 2, Baum 13, Giddings 8; Total 83

HVCC:  Walker 11, Gleason 6, Obanion 2, Reyes 18, Feaster 8, Baptiste 2, Newsome 3, Monson 14, Melville 2, Gorman 6, Suski 8; Total 80

Halftime:  HVCC 50 – FM 37

Records:  FM 9-15 (5-12 conference), HVCC 12-12 (7-7)