CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Sunday, February 4, 2024
The Hudson Valley Community College men's basketball program suffered a heartbreaking home loss 96-91 to Onondaga on Sunday afternoon in the McDonough Sports Complex on the campus of HVCC.
The Vikings fell behind early in the first half and trailed Onondaga 43-33 at the break. In the second half, the Vikings made a nice run to close out the game and regained the lead at the 8:14 mark in the game when Bo Catherwood completed a fast-break layup on an assist from James Blake II to put HVCC up 69-68. Catherwood finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting in 30 minutes of action.
Several back-and-forth buckets between both programs, the Vikings found themselves trailing again 85-79 when Daniel McMahon converted on an unconventional three-point play and the Vikings pulled within three points with 2:47 remaining in the game.
Onondaga was clutch down the stretch as they were able to keep the Vikings within arms-length to secure the win. In the Vikings final possession, trailing by three points and 14 seconds remaining, Onondaga forced a Vikings turnover at half court to take away Hudson Valley's last chance to tie the game.
Six Vikings players finished the game with at least 11 points. Joining Catherwood was James Blake II, who finished the game with 15 points and added five rebounds, four assists and a team-best five steals.
Keyaton Parks dominated the glass as he collected 25 rebounds with 11 offensive and 14 defensive boards. Parks also tallied 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting and swatted a game-high seven blocks in 27 minutes of gameplay. Korey Hawkins added 11 points and Rowan Swan added 12 points to round out the Vikings top scorers in the game.
Up next for the Vikings men's basketball program is a road match against Mohawk Valley at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8th in Utica, NY.