reporter Kevin Hanlon
Region 15 Men's DIII Basketball Championship Game at Westchester CC
# 3 - Fashion Institute of Technology 81, # 1 - Sullivan 98
The right mix of strong pressure defense and sizzling perimeter shooting proved to be the winning formula for Sullivan Community College as the Generals ran past FIT, 98-81 on Wednesday night. The victory gave Sullivan the Region XV Championship and and automatic bid the the NJCAA National Division III Men's Basketball Championship at SUNY Delhi from March 11-13. In their last visit to the National Tournament in 2006-07, the Generals capped an undefeated season and took home the title. In all, Sullivan has raised four National Championship banners in their Loch Sheldrake gymnasium.
Against FIT, the Generals sank 10 three-pointers and shot nearly 50% from long range. Moses Dayee, the tournament's "Most Valuable Player," led the otherwise balanced Sullivan scoring attack with 21 points. Evan Pope added 19 points as a total of six Generals finished in double figures. Garfield Burchette of FIT led all scorers with 23 points. His teammate, and Region XV "Player-of-the-Year" Corey Jackson chipped in with 21 points. The Region XV All-Tournament Team was announced during the post-game awards ceremony. The following is closer look at the group:
Region XV All-Tournament Team
William Holley - Kingsborough
Jefferson Guillaume - Nassau
Kyle Sierra - FIT
Corey Jackson - FIT
Terry Coleman - Sullivan
Tournament "Most Valuable Player" - Moses Dayee - Sullivan
Championship Game Box Score
FIT 81
Burchette 10-1-23, Sierra 3-1-10, Jackson 10-1-21, Cerant 2-4-9, Deitzer 2-0-4, Payton 0-0-0, Stewart 2-2-6, Hodges 3-2-8, Totals - 32-11-81
Sullivan 98
Coleman 4-0-10, Dayee 8-1-21, Fernandez 6-0-16, Pope 8-3-19, Thorpe 3-0-6, Givens 5-3-13, Joseph 1-0-2, Wade 4-3-11, Mitchell 0-0-0, Humphrey 0-0-0, Bernard 0-0-0, Mullings 0-0-0, Totals - 39-10-98
3-Point FGM - (FIT) - Sierra -3, Burchette -2, Cerant, (Sullivan) - Dayee -4, Fernandez -4, Coleman -2