The FMCC Men's Basketball team finished their prolific 2022-2023 season at the NJCAA Championship Tournament in Herkimer. Head Coach Ej Gallup led his squad to the National Tournament for the first time since 2007.
"Our first meeting of the season we talked about wanting to continue to move the program forward. We set goals and talked about what it was going to take to accomplish those goals," stated Head Coach Ej Gallup.
On Wednesday, March 15th the Raiders opened the national tournament as the #6 seed against the 11th seeded DuPage Chaparrals.
FMCC fell behind early, as DuPage took a 11-0 lead to start the game. De'Vante Mateo was able to cut the lead to 11-6 with 15 minutes left in the first half. The Chaparrals would continue to dominate to finish the half leading 51-37.
In the second half, it was all Raiders. They opened the 2nd half on a 20-2 run and took a 65-59 lead with 11 minutes to play.
Both teams traded basket for basket the rest of the way. Nick Butler gave the Raiders an 81-78 lead from the foul line with 22 seconds remaining. The Chaparrals would not give up as they nailed a three with 7.8 seconds remaining to force overtime.
DuPage was able to score the final four points in overtime to secure the 89-85 victory.
Nahjhime Kirton led with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Jelani Moreno tallied 20 points and Kennyh Hardeman with 20.
The loss moved the Raiders into the consolation game on Thursday against #7 Butler County. FMCC led the majority of the first half, but Butler headed into the locker room at the half with a 44-38 lead.
In the second half, The Raiders were able to re-gain the lead at the 12-minute mark. Butler pushed the lead to 10 with 6 minutes to play and FMCC was unable to overcome the deficit.
"We had nine guys that stuck with it and committed themselves to a full season of the ups and downs of a college basketball season. They will have a Regional Championship banner hanging in our gym long after they are done playing basketball to show for it. They not only put us in the conversation of schools to contend within our Conference and Region, but also on the national level," Gallup said.
Hardeman led with 16 points and 15 rebounds against Butler County. Jaisan Parker had a big game off the bench to include 14 points and 7 rebounds.
This 2023 Raider Basketball squad is one for the record books. They rode an 11-game winning streak mid-way through the season. They dealt with the tragic loss of Assistant Coach, Todd Wheaton and came together as a team to earn a Region 3 Title.
They finish the season with a 20-8 record. De'Vante Mateo, Kennyh Hardeman and Nahjhime Kirton were named to the All-Region and All-Conference teams. Head Coach Ej Gallup earned both Region and Conference Coach of the Year. He also was tabbed North District Coach of the Year.
"They raised expectations of the program and the hope is that next year's team will build off what this year's team was able to accomplish on the floor. All our seniors will have opportunities to move on and play at four-year schools and our returning freshman will have the experience necessary to come back and hit the ground running. Our program dealt with a tragedy and some circumstances that honestly would have been ok to take a break from basketball. Our team found it as a way to bring us even closer together and honor a special guy who was a Raider through and through. For all these reasons, the 2022-23 season is dedicated to Todd Wheaton and will always have a special place in our hearts," said Coach Gallup.
