CONTACT: Justin Hoyt, (518) 629-7898, j.hoyt@hvcc.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, February 24, 2016
The 2015-16 Region 3 and Conference award recipients were announced on Wednesday afternoon. Head Coach Mike Long earned Region 3 and Conference Coach of the Year accolades after leading the Vikings to a 20-10 record, the first 20-win season since 2012-13.
Long guided his team to a No. 5 seed in the Regional Tournament, where they lost a heartbreaking game at the buzzer to No. 4 Mohawk Valley on Tuesday night. In his three years at Hudson Valley, Long has went from 12 to 15 to 20 wins, showing steady improvement in building the program. With 8 of the 10 players on the team slated to return next season, the Vikings put themselves in good position to make a push deeper into the tournament.
The top returners next year will be headlined by John Palmer (Columbia/East Greenbush) who earned 2nd Team All-Conference and Kevin Lenehan (Duanesburg/Delanson) who earned 3rd Team All-Conference honors. Palmer finished second on the team averaging 12.3 points per game, with his best game coming against Clinton where he scored 32 points on 7-15 shooting from behind the arc. Lenehan was third on the team averaging 11.9 points per game, with his top game coming against SUNY Delhi where he scored 34 points. The Vikings look to fill a big void at point guard when Jordan Nelson (Troy/Troy) will move on next season. Nelson earned 3rd Team All-Conference honors leading the team with 12.4 points per game. His best game came against Columbia-Greene where he recorded 31 points on 15-20 from the field.