Generals sit atop region with win over Lakers

(Daniel Owens hits one of his three three-point field goals against the Lakers Sunday).

HERKIMER, NY – Facing the second best team in the region gave the Herkimer Generals men's basketball team a nice barometer of where they stand on Sunday (11/23), defeating Finger Lakes Community College at home 87-71.

The Generals (7-1, 3-0) came out hot in the game's opening minutes, jumping out to an early 15-4 lead on field goals by Jamell Johnson (Rochester, NY), Carson Murphy (Mohawk, NY), Jallah Tarver (Schenectady, NY) and Daniel Owens (Albany, NY). Murphy's field goal was the only one of a two-point variety, seeing the Generals rack up three of their five made three-point field goals within the first seven minutes. Johnson finished with a team-high 19, Murphy finished with 13, Tarver had five and Owens had nine.

Getting Herkimer's other two three pointers was Pat Dorrian (Kingston, NY), helping Herkimer maintain a double digit lead throughout the first half. He finished with 10.

The Lakers managed to dwindle the lead down to five (31-26) with 2:52 left before intermission, but sophomore Dantre Langhorne (Greenport, NY) wouldn't allow it, scoring the team's final six points via perimeter jumpers, building it back to 10 (39-29).

Much like the first half, the second half began with a Generals 11-to-6 run with both Murphy and Johnson collecting six points each. It helped deflate any momentum by the Lakers, building the lead to over 20 (64-40) after Murphy connected with Ken Woodard (Bronx, NY) with 13:15 left in regulation. The game's final 13 minutes was controlled by the Generals keeping the lead around 27 until the final five minutes were Finger Lakes go it under 20.

Up next for the men's basketball team is Broome Community College. That game won't be played for 11 days due to the holiday. It will be the team's third consecutive game against a Mid Atlantic Conference opponent. Game time on Saturday, December 6^th is at 3 p.m.

Score:

Herkimer 87, Finger Lakes 71

HERK (7-1, 3-0) Jamell Johnson 19, Carson Murphy 13, Dantre Langhorne 10, Pat Dorrian 10, Ken Woodard 9, Daniel Owens 9, Jallah Tarver 5, Eli Huggins 4, Kainan McCarthy 4 Totals: 32-11-87

FLCC (7-2, 0-0) T. Wright 11, T. Lewis 11, K. Banks 11, R Sims Jr. 10 Totals: 23-14-71

3-point goals: Generals  10 (Murphy 1, Johnson 3, Owens 3, Tarver 1, Dorrian 2) Lakers 7 (Banks 2, D. Mathis 1, D. Velkey 2, T. Wright 1, A. Faust 1)

Halftime:

Herkimer 39-29

Next Game: 12/6 at Broome 3 p.m.

-Giorgio Varlaro