CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898 or 518-416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, February 14, 2022

The Hudson Valley Community College men's basketball team continued its winning ways as they won its third consecutive game after defeating North Country 82-62 on Monday evening at the McDonough Sports Complex on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College. The streaking Vikings have now won eight of its last nine games. 

In the opening quarter, the Vikings came out of the locker room focused and ready to play as they kicked off the game on a 25-7 run in the first 14 minutes of the game. A stark contrast to the Vikings first meeting against the Saints in Saranac Lake last weekend, where the two teams combined to score 99 first half points, Hudson Valley's defense stymied North Country's offense, resulting in the Vikings entering the halftime break leading 43-17. 

Hudson Valley shot 41 percent of 15-of-36 from the floor in the first half and won the rebounding battle 33-20, including 10 offensive boards. The Vikings had a balanced offensive attack with Kobi Wallace leading the way with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the first-half double-double. Trevor Green posted eight points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes as eight total individuals scored at least three points in the first half. North Country was limited to a 0-for-7 first half from behind the arc. Another huge difference from the previous meeting, when the Saints shot 14-of -21 from behind the three-point line. Wallace finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Green posted 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. 

In the second half, North Country came out the gates on a 19-2 run and cut the 26-point first half deficit down to nine within in first six minutes of the second half and they were back into the mix. Hudson Valley recovered from the Saints big run and executed a small 14-8 run over the next five minutes to push their lead to 16 points with just under nine minutes remaining. 

The Vikings finished the game off with a balanced attack, which resulted in four individuals scoring at least 13 points. Hudson Valley's leading scorer was Luke Bourgault, who had a quiet 16 points, shooting 60 percent from the field on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-5 from behind the arc. Hudson Valley's center, Jourdan Belcher continued to play well as he finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action. 

The men's basketball team closes out the regular season this Wednesday, February 16, when they travel to take on Fulton-Montgomery at 7 p.m. in Johnstown, NY. The Vikings men's program is looking to lock in a top-4 seed in the 2022 NJCAA Region 3 playoffs, which will earn them an opening round bye and a home game on Tuesday, February 22.