SYRACUSE – The Raiders were looking good right from the start on Sunday afternoon. Marquis Edwards and Jordan Stewart opened the game with three-pointers. Soon Stewart had nailed a fourth three-pointer, and FM was on top by 23-10 The Raiders were rolling. But host Onondaga CC fought back and led 52-51 before the FM Six took control once again. The final score was 89-74.

The game saw great effort by both teams. The Raiders seemed to be the better of the two squads for using a swarming defense to regain the ball and then counterattack at full speed.

Photo:  Jordan Stewart shooting – he was fouled and sank both free throws

Head Coach Ed Collar substituted liberally, keeping fresh legs on the court. Ten different Raiders put points on the board. But while it was truly a team effort, two Raiders had standout games: Stewart and Tyrone Davis. The two senior guards set up an effective array of scoring plays, and they combined to score 47 points themselves. Stewart had a huge game, scoring 22 points from the floor, and netting six for six from the foul line.

FM played a strong first half in front of the good crowd in OCC's Allyn Gym. Midway through the half FM owned a 26-14 lead. The pace of the Raiders' scoring slowed just a little, but a long three-pointer by Stewart made the score 30-21.

Photo:  Tyrone Davis drives and scores – the other Raiders are Marquis Edwards (left) and Jordan Stewart

Kyle Giddings added a long two-pointer. 32-25. Then Stewart fed Giddings in close, and Giddings made it 34-27.

The home team was also working hard. They closed the gap to 36-31.

Raheem Small was playing with a lot of energy. He fed Barceem Dukes, who tallied a two, and then Small passed to Shaleek Randolph who hit for a long three-pointer from the left. FM had regained a 10-point lead, at 43-33.  The first half ended with that score.

Stewart opened the second half with a close-in score on a nice inbounds play. However, Onondaga scored the next three field goals, and the score was 45-41. And the Lazers weren't done. They sank two FTs to tie the game 48-48. The momentum had shifted. Then the home team took the lead at 50-48.

The lead changed hands twice more, and then Tyrone Davis scored with an 18-foot jumper. 53-52 FM. Davis scored again. Randolph hit for three from the right side. FM led 58-52, with 12:25 to go.

Photo:  Jonathan Brioso shooting - the other FM players are Tremaine Elder (far left) and Shaleek Randolph (5) 

Onondaga kept working, but FM seemed a bit faster. The Raiders connected with several key breakout passes. They were steadily increasing their lead. Edwards scored a long two, and FM led 69-59. Edwards sank another long two and then scored with a steal-and-go. 83-66 Raiders.

Head Coach Ed Collar's team managed the closing minutes well. The final score was 89-74. FM's record in the young season is 4-2. OCC's mark is 4-3.

The Raiders will play their next game this coming Saturday. They will host the SUNY Adirondack Timberwolves in a 3:00 p.m. matchup. It should be a good game. The Timberwolves are 4-0. They defeated Jefferson CC 88-84 at Jefferson this weekend.

                 C.J. Bonny, website writer 

Scoring:

FMCC:  Stewart 8-6-28, Giddings 4-0-8, Edwards 6-0-14, Small 0-2-2, T. Davis 7-5-19, Akinmola 1-2-4, Randolph 2-1-7, Dukes 1-1-3, Brioso 1-0-2, Elder 1-0-2; Total 89 -- Three-point Goals:  Stewart 6, Edwards 2, Randolph 2

Onondaga:  Piazza 5-0-13, Kline 3-0-8, Parkmond 5-4-14, Hanley 4-4-12, Filippi 1-0-2, Perry 1-1-3, DiSanto 4-2-10, Scott 2-1-5, Dologos 1-2-5, Towner 1-0-2; Total 74 -- Three-point Goals:  Piazza 3, Kline 2, Dologos

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