CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Friday, March 4, 2005
Tenth-seeded Hudson Valley Community College had its season come to a close with a 67-64 loss to No. 2 SUNY Cobleskill (27-4) in the quarterfinals of the Region III men's basketball tournament earlier today in Utica.
Holding a 61-59 lead with 1:09 remaining, Cobleskill hit six consecutive free throws to stretch its lead to 67-61 with 15 seconds left. Hudson Valley sophomore guard Aric Kucel (Gloversville/Gloversville High School) cut the deficit in half with a three-pointer from 24 feet away with eight second left. After a pair of missed free throws by Cobleskill, Hudson Valley had one last chance but the shot rattled in and out.
Freshman forward Khylan Hunt (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs High School) scored 17 points in the second half and finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Hudson Valley. Kucel had 18 points and five assists.
Jamael Lynch paced the Tigers with 19 points, including 17 in the second half. Daniel Pierre added 13 points.
Cobleskill held a 40-36 rebounding advantage, and scored 22 second chance points. The Tigers also only committed nine turnovers.
Hudson Valley finished the season with a 16-14 record- its 15th consecutive season.
Hudson Valley (64): Aric Kucel 5-5-18, Mike Collopy 4-0-8, Maurice Frye 1-0-3, J.R. Battle 1-0-2, Khylan Hunt 10-3-25, Ryan Livingston 2-3-8,
Totals: 23-11-64.
Cobleskill (67): Jamael Lynch 7-5-19, Scotty Fratar 3-2-9, Danielle Pierre 6-1-13, Isiah Forde 0-2-2, Abar Miller 5-0-11, Devon Moore 1-0-2, Max Menard 4-1-12, Totals: 26-11-67.
Halftime: Cobleskill, 32-29.
3-point goals: Hudson Valley 7 (Kucel 3, Hunt 2, Livingston, Frye); Cobleskill 4 (Menard 3, Miller).