MVCC Men’s Basketball Wins NJCAA National Championship

When the bracket came out for this year's NJCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) fourth year head coach Harley Fuller said he had a hunch that it could all come down to two cross-county rivals that had already played three times since November. Fuller said, no matter the record of either team, when MVCC plays Herkimer "it's going to be fireworks, it doesn't matter what kind of a season either team had."

Back on November 6, MVCC beat Herkimer, 72-65. When they played at Herkimer on February. 8, the Generals won 77-66, and when they played for the Region III Championship, the MV Hawks won, 67-54. Now it was coming down to a National Championship between the two Mohawk Valley teams, one team in this great rivalry was going to walk away with the national title.

Herkimer, last year's runner-up in the national championship game, was playing host to the tournament up on the hill in Herkimer County. The first half was a defensive battle between two teams that knew each other well. Coach Fuller said both teams were very familiar with each other and neither he nor Herkimer Coach Matt Lee were expecting any surprises.

The Hawks got out to an 11-point lead at the half, 27-16 with a game plan to step-up the offense following the break. MVCC came out strong the second half and with 8:22 remaining in regulation, they extended their lead to 16 points. Herkimer would claw back in  an attempt to avoid being national runner-up two years in a row. The Generals would come within 7-points of the lead multiple times, but key baskets and great defense by the Hawks allows them to maintain the lead, and capture their first-ever NJCAA National Title with a 58-51 win over Herkimer.

The Hawks won 10-straight games to close out the season and finished 29-1, the only loss was that game at Herkimer back in February.

Mohawk Valley’s Isaiah Earl was named the Tournament’s MVP. Fellow Hawk Jamir Smith won Small Man of the Tournament while Jalen Bradberry and Andre Pasha were named to the All-Tournament Team. Head Coach Harley Fuller was selected as the Gary Cole
Coach of the Tournament.

Back in November, the MVCC Men's Soccer Team won the NJCAA National Championship in a game that went into double overtime.

Watch the interview with Head Coach Fuller below, via YouTube.