The Men's Basketball team came out strong on Wednesday evening as they hosted the North Country Saints in the Region 3 quarter-finals. This would be the third match-up of the season between the two teams. The Raiders used a balance attack to down the Saints, 87-68 and now move on to the semi-finals.
FMCC jumped out to a 12-2 lead to start the game. North Country started to settle in and cut the deficit to 19-15. At the eight-minute mark in the first half, the Saints went on an 11-2 run and trailed by just two points, 28-26.
Kennyh Hardeman led with 13, 1st half points and the Raiders led 40-36 at the break.
In the second half, De'Vante Mateo scored 7 points in the first five minutes to get his team rolling. The Raiders used a 10-0 run to extend their lead 72-58 with five minutes remaining.
FMCC used the clock and exceptional defense to close out the game with an 87-68 victory.
Hardeman had a big night with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Mateo finished with 21 points and shot 90% from the field. Jelani Moreno tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Nahjhime Kirton rounded out double figure scoring with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
FMCC will move on to the Region 3 Semi-Finals on Saturday, February 25th. They will travel to Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY to take on the #2 Genesee Cougars. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
