FIGHTING TIGER MEN POST A PAIR OF WINS TO MOVE TO 22-3 OVERALL

Forced to play back-to-back due to weather related postponements; the SUNY Cobleskill men’s basketball team swept a pair of contests over the weekend, easily handling visiting Holyoke Community College on Friday evening at the Iorio Gymnasium by a score of 104-50 then taking to the road to beat Fulton-Montgomery Community College on Saturday in Mountain Valley Conference action by a score of 78-65 in Johnstown, NY. The Fighting Tigers improved their overall record to 22-3 on the year to go with an 11-2 mark versus league opponents. Cobleskill is currently ranked eighth in the latest NJCAA Division III National Poll.

“The weather certainly backed us up a little this week but on the positive side we had the opportunity to address some things in practice and with the regional tournament on the horizon we got some experience playing on back-to-back days,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Kevin McCarthy. “These were extremely important wins for us to pick up with the ‘Selection Sunday’ coming up next week. We now have three important games against Herkimer on Monday at home, Mohawk Valley at their place on Wednesday and Hudson Valley on Friday at home. Every one of those games will have impact on the tournament seeding on some level.”
 
Versus the Cougars of Holyoke on Friday evening, the only thing that stopped the Fighting Tiger offense was a traffic accident on Interstate 88 which delayed the arrival of the visitors from Massachusetts and the game’s officials by 45 minutes. Once the action started Cobleskill used a 26-7 run to close out the first half with a 49-25 advantage. The second half saw the Fighting Tigers transition game electrify the home crowd with a series of impress fastbreak baskets and dunks.

Senior forward Stanley Francois, Valley Cottage, NY, posted a double/double on the night with 16 points and 11 rebounds while senior power forward Anthony Armstead, Schenectady, NY, Schenectady High School, added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Orange & Black also received double digit scoring efforts from freshman guard Matt Williams, Mt. Kisco, NY, Fox Lane High School, who scored 11 points to go with four rebounds and from freshman guard Nyquan Bellamy, Poughkeepsie, NY, Poughkeepsie High School, who had 15 points in the contest.

In the victory Cobleskill received strong contributions from senior point guard Harley Fuller, Gloversville, NY, Broadalbin-Perth High School, with six points and 10 assists, senior guard Darryl Burns Jr., Brooklyn, NY, High School of Art & Design, with eight points, four assists and three rebounds, senior swingman Brian Leadbetter, Schenectady, NY, Schenectady High School, with seven points and senior point guard Devon Williams, Brooklyn, NY, Franklin Lane High School, with a career high of nine points to go with three steals.

On Saturday, the Fighting Tigers fought off short rest and the Fulton-Montgomery home court advantage to become road warriors using their depth, a diversified offense and strong defense to subdue their hosts by a 78-65 margin. On the afternoon five Cobleskill players scored in double figures to scuttle the Raiders and secure the win.

The familiar Cobleskill scoring quartet of Anthony Armstead who posted a 15 point three rebound effort, Stanley Francois who added 10 points and eight rebounds, Darryl Burns Jr. with 13 points and five assists, Nyquan Bellamy who had 14 points were joined by senior center Kyle Mitchell, Hadley, NY, Hadley-Luzerne High School, who posted his first career double/double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Harley Fuller was once again the catalyst for the Fighting Tigers from the point guard spot returning to his home stomping grounds to equal his career high in assists with 13 while scoring six points and taking down seven rebounds in the contest.

The Fighting Tigers return to the court on Monday February 18th when the celebrate the President’s Day holiday by playing host to Mountain Valley Conference rival Herkimer Community College beginning at 7:00 PM.

TIGER NOTES: Senior point guard Harley Fuller’s 13 assist performance on Saturday makes him the most proficient passer in program history with 382 career assists passing the previous mark of NJCAA All-American Josh Barcomb, Colonie, NY, Colonie High School, who had 372 assists from 1996 thru 1998. Anthony Armstead became the thirty-sixth player in program history to score 500 points currently ranking thirty-fourth in career scoring with 523 career points. Kyle Mitchell’s double/double makes him the fifth player to accomplish the feat for the Fighting Tigers this season. Currently ranked fifth in career rebounding with 490 boards Stanley Francois at 6’2” is the shortest player listed in the program’s top ten in the category.