The Vaughn College men's basketball team squarred off against The College of New Rochelle Blue Angels in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) semi-finals on Saturday, February 18. The Warriors finished the regular season 6-2 in the (HVIAC) good enough for the number two seed in the HVIAC playoffs. The Blue Angels also finished 6-2 in conference play and were the number three seed in the HVIAC playoffs.
The regular season match-up between both teams was a thriller. The Blue Angels had a two point advantage at halftime. Vaughn College would storm back in the second half and go up by as many as nine points with six minutes to play in the game. The visiting Warriors would go on to defeat the Blue Angels by a final score of 75-70.
The Warriors entered the HVIAC semi-finals match-up against the Blue Angels missing key contributors from their team that were major factors in the Warriors win during the regular season. Despite being undermanned, the Warriors battled the entire game. There were two lead changes and eight ties in the contest.
At halftime the Warriors once again trailed the Blue Angels. Just like their regular season match-up the Warriors would climb their way back into the game. With five minutes left in the HVIAC semi-finals the Warriors came within two points of the lead. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were unable to come up with a big play down the stretch to tie the game or to put them ahead of the Blue Angels. The men's basketball team would have their season come to an end, falling to the Blue Angels by a final score of 90-83.
Donald Tompson (Yonkers, NY) led the Warriors with 19 points, on 7-11 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and three assists. Carlos Montes (Yonkers, NY) finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds. Senior captain Michael Pena (Dumont, NJ) ended his collegiate basketball career with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Joshua Colome (Bronx, NY) added 12 points on 4-8 shooting from the three-point line.
The loss drops the men's record to 14-6 overall. The Warriors will wait for the USCAA Division II basketball selection show to see if they will receive and at large bid to the USCAA Tournament. The USCAA Division II basketball selection show will be streamed live online on the USCAA website on Tuesday, February 21.