Finger Lakes Ends Season in Semis
CANANDAIGUA -- The Finger Lakes Men's Basketball team fell in the semi-finals of the 2015 NJCAA Region III Division III Tournament to the top seeded Herkimer Generals 65-59 on Saturday
The Lakers end their season with a 23-6 record, tying them for the third most wins in program history. Herkimer improves their record to 28-3 and advances to face Mohawk Valley Community College in the Championship Game.
Kievonn Banks led the Lakers with 15 points. Rahiem Robinson added 11 for FLCC. Brandon Bullock gave Finger Lakes an all-around effort. Played all 40 minutes, he totaled 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals.
Herkimer was led by Jallah Tarver with 15 points. Jamell Johnson and Ken Woodard each added 14 points for the Generals. Woodard also grabbed 10 rebounds for the double-double.
The Generals grabbed the early lead on Finger Lakes and maintained control for most of the first half. The Lakers fought back to tied the game at 16-16 on a Rahiem Robinson layup with 8:39 left in the first half. A minute later, Dylan Verkey turned a Brandon Bullock steal into a layup and Bullocked followed it up with a three pointer. That capped an 11-0 run for the Lakers and gave them a 21-16 lead. Herkimer would respond, but Finger Lakes carried a 33-27 lead into halftime.
Finger Lakes remained in the lead for the early portion of the second half. Every time Herkimer would draw near, the Lakers made a three to widen the margin. Brandon Bullock made a three pointer two and a half minutes in to make it 38-31. Three minutes later, Rahiem Robinson hit a three to make it a six-point game, 41-35. The Generals leveled the game at 45-45 with 10:39 left to play following a Felix Riascos three pointer. Herkimer followed that with another three pointer and a dunk to cap a 10-0 run, giving Herkimer a 50-45 lead. The Lakers would work the lead down to one point multiple times in the closing minutes but was never able to retie the game.
With 1:38 left to play, Kievonn Banks made a pair of free throws to make it 60-55 and the Lakers took a timeout. Off of the timeout, they applied the press and Banks stole the ball and laid it in with 1:19 remaining to make it a three-point game, 60-57. Off a miss by Herkimer, the Lakers had the ball and a chance to tie. A jumper fell short, however and Herkimer regained the ball. Finger Lakes grabbed another defensive rebound with 40 seconds left, but the outlet pass went out of bounds and they turned the ball back over to the Generals. Herkimer would make five of their six free throws in the final 30 seconds on their way to the victory.
