The men's basketball team entered the NJCAA Region 3 Championship Tournament as the #3 seed. They traveled to Mohawk Valley Community College on Saturday, February 25th to take on Genesee in the semi-final round. FMCC took care of business and defeated the #2 Cougars, 105-98.
The win on Saturday, earned them a spot in the Region 3 Championship for the first time since 2018 against the #1 Mohawk Valley Hawks. The Raiders played the Hawks in the regular season and lost both matchups.
On Sunday, against the #1 Hawks, FMCC took a 19-18 lead mid-way through the first half. Mohawk Valley pulled ahead, 37-30 with 4 minutes left. Jelani Moreno drilled back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to five with two minutes left in the half. The Hawks closed out the half leading 43-36.
Mohawk Valley started the second half strong, and the Raiders quickly trailed by 15 points. FMCC would not go away as they chipped away and used their quickness to cut the deficit to 8.
With two minutes to go, Moreno put the Raiders on top for good, 79-78. They were able to manage the clock and sink free throws to secure the 89-82 win and the Region 3, North District Title.
All five starters scored in double figures for FM. Nahjhime Kirton led with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Jevonny Brown and De'Vante Mateo each had 16. Kennyh Hardeman had 14 points to go with 12 rebounds. Jelani Moreno had 14 points, 5 assists and 6 steals.
Head Coach Ej Gallup has led his program to the top in just two seasons. The Raiders record improves 20-6 and are now crowned Region 3 Champions.
FMCC is now ranked #6 in the nation and await the NJCAA Selection Show on March 8th at 2:00p.m. to determine who they will match-up against. The Raiders will compete in the NJCAA DIII National Tournament at Herkimer College on March 15-18th.
All-Tournament Team
Genesee-Pape Tankura
Hudson Valley-Trevor Green
Mohawk Valley-Travis Gray
Mohawk Valley- Jordan Drain
Fulton Montgomery- Nahjime Kirton
Most Valuable Player
Fulton Montgomery- De'vante Mateo
