Cougars Advance to Region III Semifinals

Batavia, NY – The #2 Genesee Community College Cougars men's basketball team hosted the #7 Corning Red Barons in a NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Region IIIQuarterfinal game. The Cougars won the game 85-77, and will play Fulton-Montgomery in the regional semifinals.

First Half: The Red Barons came out flying against Genesee to start the first half. Just under 2:30 into the game Corning had opened an early 9-2 lead over the Cougars. However, Genesee would rally back, taking their first lead of the game 2:15 later, at 11-10. At the point, it turned into each team trading blows. 10 minutes into the half, Genesee led 24-23, with neither team getting a lead larger than four points other than the initial Corning lead. The final 10 minutes were much of the same, with the Cougars taking a 37-36 lead into the break after a Junior Sutherland layup in the final second of the half.

The lead changed hands 9 times during the field half, with the Barons 7-point lead to open the game being the largest gap between the two teams. Freshman Richard Martelly led the Cougars with 10 points, while Xavier Hill led Corning with nine points.  

Second Half: The second half of play was much of the same. Genesee scored quickly to extend their lead to three, before a layup and three point shot for the Barons would give Corning a two point lead. The Cougars would respond to tie the game at 41, and the teams would continue to trade points and the lead. Genesee would open their largest lead of the game just over five minutes into the period, when a Sutherland layup put the Cougars up 51-44. However, a 12-2 Corning run would give the Barons the lead 58-55 with 11 minutes left in the half. Once again, the lead traded hands several times, with neither team being able to find that final blow. Genesee would finally start opening the game with 3:48 to go, when the Cougars would go on a 12-3 run across over three minutes to build a 80-71 lead with :34 second left. The final 30 seconds saw the teams trading free throws, however Genesee's nine-point lead was to much to overcome for Corning. The Cougars would finish with two free throws from Martelly, and would hold onto the 85-77 lead.

Xavier Hill finished the game with a double-double for Corning, with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Dwight Reed was the highest scorer for the team with 22 points. For Genesee, Martelly posted a double-double of his own, and led the team with 26 points and 16 rebounds.

With Genesee's win they move onto the Regional Semifinal. They will play Fulton-Montgomery at 1PM on Saturday, February 25th. Both the regional semifinals and the regional final are being hosted by top-seeded Mohawk Valley.