Generals advance to men's regional basketball semifinals
HERKIMER - Playing at home as they will throughout their postseason, the Herkimer College men rolled to a 90-61 win over Hudson Valley Community College in the first of Friday's four Region III basketball quarterfinals.
Herkimer's top-seeded Generals, ranked fourth in the nation in Division III, are hosting the regional tournament this weekend and will also host nationals March 13-16. The Generals play again at 1 p.m. Saturday against No. 4 Tompkins Cortland Community College in the first semifinal. No. 2 Fulton-Montgomery Community College plays No. 6 Clinton Community College in the second semifinal, and the championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m.
More: Mohawk Valley men play their way into Region III basketball quarterfinals
The Generals (25-2) opened a 16-point halftime lead against Hudson Valley's Vikings (9-18) in a game that was never closer than a 12-point margin in the second half.
Five players scored in double figures for Herkimer, led by Jayden Norris and Ozzy Dejesus with 16 and 14 points off the bench. Oladele Oladitan had 13 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, and Nick Boyce added a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Brandon Harris chipped in with 12 points.
James Blake II scored 16 points to lead Hudson Valley.
Following Friday's opener, Tompkins Cortland (17-8) held on to beat SUNY-Adirondack 70-67 in a game the Panthers led by 15 at halftime. Khai Pugh led the victors with 30 points and 11 rebounds. During the regular season, Tompkins Cortland was beaten 93-67 at home by Herkimer Jan. 10.
In Friday's later games, No. 2 Fulton-Montgomery got by Mohawk Valley Community College. Mohawk Valley (10-14), which had been ranked as high as 12th in the nation early in the season, trailed by one point at halftime in an eventual 82-78 loss. Schumel Shepard scored 19 points to lead Fulton-Montgomery (24-3), currently ranked seventh.
The final semifinal spot went to No. 6 Clinton (16-10) which advanced with a second consecutive one-point playoff win, 81-80 over No. 3 Genesee Community College; Clinton's Cougars had beaten Jefferson Community College 65-64 at the buzzer in Tuesday's sub-regional.
In Watertown Friday, No. 3 Mohawk Valley joined No. 1 Jefferson, No. 2 Onondaga Community College and No. 4 Fulton-Montgomery in a sweep for the higher seeds in the women's quarterfinals.
Raegan Dalrymple (31 points), Nataya McGee (21) and Nevaeh House (20) combined to score 72 points for Mohawk Valley (17-4) in the Hawks' 86-51 win over Hudson Valley. The Hawks' semifinal opponent will be Onondaga (24-2), an 86-42 winner over North Country Community College, and a 79-45 winner over the Hawks when the teams played in Utica Feb. 3.
Jefferson (22-2) beat Cayuga Community College 75-70 in overtime while Fulton-Montgomery (17-5) beat the Herkimer women 70-45. Kerisa Van Olst and Lydia Reimer, graduates of Dolgeville and West Canada Valley high schools, led Herkimer (15-11) with nine points each; Reimer, the regional player of the week, also grabbed nine rebounds. Abigail Lombardoni scored 29 points for Fulton-Montgomery.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer College among quarterfinal winners in Region III basketball
