Boston, MA- The Men's Basketball team faced a tough task this afternoon in search of the NIAC Championship as they were facing a 17-6 Green Mountain Eagles team that had already handed the Falcons a 76-55 loss earlier this season. Both teams came into the game on a winning streak as the Falcons had won two in a row and the Eagles were looking for their sixth straight. Ultimately it was the Eagles who earned their sixth straight win, playing a hard fought defensive battle, and their first ever NIAC title, defeating the Falcons 65-52 at the Winsor School in Boston, MA.
The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders in the first, taking an early 5-0 lead on their first two possessions. However, Fisher's Ville Milan (Turku, Finland) answered right back with a three-pointer to make it 5-3 after three minutes of play. GMC responded with the game's next 12 points from six different Eagles to push their lead to 12 with the score 17-5 at the 10:41 mark. Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA) broke up the run with a breakaway lay-up to make it 17-7, but six straight points from the Eagles forced Coach Blouin to call a time out with the Eagles up 23-8. A three-pointer from Abrian Dickson (Indian Wells, AZ) and a lay-up from Giovanni Thompson (Kissimmee, FL) pulled the Falcons back to within 10 with 3:45 remaining in the first half out of the timeout, but the Eagles continued to put on the pressure and upped their lead to 18 with the two teams headed to the locker room with the score 33-15. GMC saw contribution from eight different players in the first half, including eight first half points from Jerome Dixon, while forcing 13 Falcons turnovers to give them the considerable lead after one.
The break was much needed for the Falcons as they were not giving up hope for a chance at the NIAC title. After a three-pointer from GMC's Duane Goodman, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run in less than two minutes getting them back to within 11 with the score 38-27 at the 15:14 mark and getting the crowd back into it. GMC's Greg Alexander silenced the crowd though just minutes later as he hit back-to-back three pointer's to give his team a 15-point lead again. Anthony Lewis (Lodi, CA) sparked his team on the next trip down the court with a three of his own, and helped ignite another Falcons 7-0 run capped by a Lumpkins lay-up bringing the score to 47-39 at the 9:09 mark. Another three-pointer from Alexander capped an 8-0 run from the Eagles to put them back up 55-39 with 7:12 left on the clock, and proved to be the difference in the contest as the Falcons could not get closer than 11 the rest of the way. The Falcons did outscore the Eagles 14-10 over the last seven minutes, but it would not be enough and the Eagles would hold on for the 65-52 victory.
Lewis led the way for the Falcons contributing 11 points and a pair of rebounds in the losing effort. Lumpkins played strong off the bench as he collected 10 points and six boards in the losing effort. GMC's Alexander led all scorers with 24 points on 66% shooting, while hitting five from beyond the arc. Demauriaye Smith and Goodman also finished in double figures for the Eagles as they each had 10 points in the victory.
The Falcons honored their two seniors, Brandon Rembert (Camden, NJ), Kyle Snowden (Santa Cruz, CA), before the contest. Snowden finished the game with six points and six boards while dishing out a pair of assists. The Falcons finish their season at 9-16 while the Eagles await the possibility of entry into the AII Tournament which will be announced this week.