Men’s Basketball gets back on track at home, win 72-54

(Matt Dalls helps Herkimer go into halftime with a 28-22 lead after this three-point make with 36.9 left). 

HERKIMER, NY – Playing at home for the first time since the holiday break, the #8 Herkimer Generals men's basketball team remained undefeated at home on Saturday (1/9), defeating Hostos 72-54, avenging an opening round loss to the Caimans in the open round of the national championship tournament one season ago.

Herkimer (10-3, 4-0) looked sluggish early after capturing the first lead of the game in the opening possession. Hostos jumped out to an early 11-5 lead until consecutive buckets by Tyquan Scott (Long Beach, NY) and a three-point field goal by Tru Garland (Bronx, NY) made it 18-14 with 10 minutes left in the first half. Scott and Garland were the Generals top two scorers in the game, finishing with 13 and 12 points respectively.

It took made foul shots from Garland and Scott to tie the game at 20 each with 5:37 left, then watched sophomore Daniel Owens (Albany, NY) sink his only three pointer of the game to recapture the lead 23-20. Owens finished with 12.

Owens, Garland and Matthew Dallas (Hudson, NY) scored for the final five points of the half, seeing Dallas also hit his only three of the game with 36.9 left on an assist from Owens to give Herkimer a 28-22 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Herkimer did a much better job of capitalizing at the charity stripe, sinking 16-of-17 (94 percent) in the final 20 minutes compared to their 41 percent (7-for-17) free throw percentage in the first 20 minutes. The team managed to build a double digit lead within the first five minutes of the second half then made it 20 points by the end of the game, stopping a two-game losing streak in the process. Herkimer hadn't lost consecutive games since the 2013-2014 campaign when they finished seventh in the nation.

The team will get back at it next Thursday (1/14), playing most of their January games on the road. Columbia-Green will host Herkimer at home, losing their last eight games. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Score:

#8 Herkimer Generals 72, Hostos Caimans 54

Halftime:

Herkimer 28-22

GENERALS (10-3, 4-0) Tyquan Scott 15, Tru Garland 13, Daniel Owens 12, Todd Spottswood 7, Patrick Dorrian 7, Shomari Redd 6, Christopher Simmons 4, Justin Harley 3. Totals: 22-22-72

CAIMANS (7-10) Dequawne Richards 22, Jefferson Francois 9, Kameron Outlaw 6, Mohamed Fofana 4, Ariel Medina 3, Jemal Smith 3, David Ivanov 3, Moses Denis 2. Totals: 20-11-54

3-Point Goals: Generals 6 (Garland 2, Dorrian 1, Owens 1, Dallas 1, Scott 1); Caimans 4 (Richards 2, J. Smith 1, Ivanov 1)

Next Game: 1/14 at Columbia-Greene 6 p.m.

-Giorgio Varlaro