CONTACT: R. Sean Coffey, (518) 629-7898, r.coffey@hvcc.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010
Hudson Valley Community College's men's basketball team (11-5) defeated on a non-member of the NJCAA, Word of Life, on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 72-56.
Word of Life shot the lights out in the first half, hitting seven of 19 three-point attempts. The Huskies held onto a 26-24 lead when Hudson Valley's Steven Hunt (Tamarac, Wynantskill) completed a lay-up, plus the foul to take a one-point lead with 5:45 to go in the first half. Hudson Valley built an eight-point lead with under a minute left in the half, but allowed Word of Life to hit an open three and convert a transition lay-up off of a Viking turnover to close the half at 37-34.
The second half started out to be much of the same as Hudson Valley let Word of Life hang around for the first ten minutes of the half. But, the Vikings went on a run and stepped up the defensive pressure after a steal by Hunt that led to a beautiful, high-rising finish by Matt Harte (Lansingburgh, Troy) to give Hudson Valley a 57-48 lead with 10:03 left. The Vikings wore down their opponent and limited their open looks and only sacrificed eight points on two field goals for the remainder of the game as Hudson Valley ran away with a 72-56 victory.
The Vikings had a well balanced attack led by Kyle Mafrici (Colonie, Schenectady) who had 21 points in the contest. Mafrici also added nine rebounds. The Vikings season leading scorer, Ramel Alexander (Berkshire, Albany) had another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Hunt also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Harte got into double figures in scoring with 14 points.
The Vikings will be back in action when they take on local rival, Schenectady Community College at the Union College Field House Sunday, Jan. 17. Tip time is 2 p.m.