Men’s basketball ends season with thrilling victory

Will Reed
Staff Writer

The Hudson Valley men’s basketball team won their season finale against the Fulton-Montgomery Raiders 91-84 in a thriller Wednesday, February 21.

Sean Degraffenreid had 17 points for the Vikings, including the go-ahead three-pointer with just under 40 seconds remaining to put Hudson Valley up 83-80. Dave Reo had a team-high 20 points. After the game, Reo said the team was able to take advantage of the different defensive schemes the Raiders were playing on the court.

“With all of these looks they were giving us, I think we did a good job of attacking them and making them have to guard us, which is why I think they had to switch up their defenses so much,” Reo said.

He also said this game displayed the toughness that the team has developed over the course of the season and that they proved they can compete with playoff-caliber teams even though they did not make the playoffs.

Head Coach Mike Long said the team was able to battle back from being down using their toughness and improving on defense. “When we got behind, we just talked about continuing to play hard and cleaning it up on the defensive end a little bit which I think we did,” he said. “It was just a great effort by all eight guys that were there to play,” he added.

The first half saw the Vikings start the game on a 6-0 run, but both teams got into foul trouble early, and both were in the bonus before the halfway point of the half. They combined for 20 first-half fouls. The Vikings led 39-34 at halftime.

Fulton-Montgomery went on a 10-0 run to start the second half with the help of Darren Demmitt and Dante Morgan who were the team leaders in points for the Raiders with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Raiders built themselves a lead, with the Vikings slowly battling back, until Taylor Slatterly hit two free-throws to give them the 75-74 lead heading into the final minutes.

The teams traded shots until Degraffenreid’s 3 with just under 40 seconds put the Viking in front for good. Raheem Duncan also came up big in the final minute, with a clutch block to protect Hudson Valley’s lead and then a dunk on a fast break in the ensuing possession to put the game away. Duncan finished the game with 19 points.

Before the game, the Vikings players and coaches, along with President Drew Matonak, honored player Justus Simon, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this season. Mantonak and the team were able to present Simon and his family with the resulting check from the school’s fundraising campaign for over $7,400.

Dave Reo said Justus Simon was the source of the team’s inspiration down the stretch of the season. “Everything that we’ve accomplished this season was for Justus,” he said. Coach Long said having Justus at the game put a fire into the team to get the win.

“It was just a great night all the way around and to finish with the win it couldn’t have ended any better,” Long said.