Men’s Basketball – Lakers Lose Close Game to Hudson Valley, 55-53
CANANDAIGUA – Finger Lakes came out looking strong on Sunday in what was its third home game of the early season. Taking on the visiting Hudson Valley CC Vikings, the Lakers built a 24-15 halftime lead – but were unable to hold on for the victory on their own court as the Vikings would rally in the second half to grab a 55-53 road win.
In the second half, Hudson would go on to outscore the hosts – 40-29. The ebb and flow of yesterday's game seemed to favor the Lakers for a hefty portion of it – but it would be the Vikings who would disturb that flow late in the second half.
Finger Lakes rode the hot shooting hand of Richard De La Cruz in both half's as he delivered a 9-17 (4-9 from three) effort from the field on route to a 23-point (game-high) afternoon.
Trailing 55-52 late in the contest with just seconds remaining on the clock, Finger Lakes had an opportunity to tie things up. With the ball in the hands of the home team, it seemed like a certain thing that the ball was going to be relayed to De La Cruz – but that wasn't the case as Hudson's defense made it a point to surround the sizzling shooter.
Unable to get the rock into De La Cruz's palms, the Lakers were forced to heave up a last second shot in an attempt to knot the game. That attempt proved unsuccessful – but after doing so – an errant foul was committed by the visitors on Lakers forward Sean Carbonell.
With Finger Lakes in the double bonus, the foul earned Carbonell a pair of free throws. With the obvious in mind, Carbonell would need to make the first free throw and would then have to attempt to miss the second one – with the hopes of the missed second attempt landing in the finger tips of one of his teammates.
That didn't go as planned. Carbonell's first attempt was no good. His second attempt, on the other hand, was good. His final free throw, which banked in off of the glass, left the Lakers two points shy of the Vikings.
The loss dropped Finger Lakes to 1-3. The Lakers now stand 1-2 on their own hardwood this season.
Hudson, who didn't particularly shoot well in Sunday's game, earned the victory by taking advantage of the Lakers offensive miscues in the second half.
The Vikings, who shot just .298 % from the field, changed the ebb and flow of the matchup into their favor post recess by going on a sustainable offensive run thanks to the scoring efforts of Jose Reyes, Brandon Dean, and Jeremy Taylor.
The aforementioned trio, which scored 16, 14, and 13 points respectively, helped propel the Vikings into the winners circle after the horn rang signaling the conclusion of the meeting.
In defeat, the Lakers, as a team, shot .373% from the field.
Rebounds went in favor of Finger Lakes – 30-27. Turnovers read like this – 12 for the Vikings and 17 for the Lakers.
Turnovers could be credited as a valid reason for the Lakers defeat. But, give credit where credit is due. The Vikings notched the win by sealing off Finger Lakes offensive efforts with their defense down the stretch in the crucial moments of the second half.
Aside from De La Cruz and his offensive outburst, Finger Lakes received another solid game out of talented guard Kaleem Edwards. Edwards, a freshman, scored 10 points (off 5-7 shooting from the field) and passed out a game-high four assists.
Lakers center Nate Miller added a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.
Finger Lakes, in its next game, will host Herkimer County CC tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.