Men’s Hoop Comes Close in Consecutive Games

Cougars One Shot Away from Victory

(Albany, NY / Holyoke, MA) - Men's basketball began the spring semester portion of their campaign this past week, playing in their two closest games of the season. The Cougars came ever so close to finding that first victory of the year, falling by just one basket in consecutive contests. Holyoke suffered a 69-67 road loss to Albany College of Pharmacy on Sunday afternoon before a heartbreaking 81-79 loss at home to CC of Rhode Island on Thursday night.

The Cougars could feel a victory in their grasp on Thursday, trailing by two points with possession of the ball and less than ten seconds left on the clock. With time running out, Holyoke took a three-point shot that dramatically rang off the back of the rim and bounced away from the hoop. Dylan Rohan (Holyoke, MA / Holyoke HS) led the way offensively for the Cougars in the home matchup, scoring 30 points, his second highest total of the season. Daniel Melendez (Boston, MA / Crosby HS) and James Fitzgibbons (Hadley, MA / Hopkins Academy) each registered a double-double on Thursday. Melendez scored 16 points and dished 11 assists, and Fitzgibbons tallied ten points and grabbed ten rebounds.

Men's basketball has an 0-12 regional record and an 0-15 overall record. The last two games were certainly among their best two performances of the season. Holyoke welcomes non-NJCAA opponent Southern Maine CC to the Bartley Center on Sunday, January 18th at 3pm. Women's basketball hosts SMCC on the same day at 1pm. Let's go Cougars!

Photo: Rohan takes a free throw during Thursday night's game. Fitzgibbons (R) positions himself for a possible rebound as Melendez (#0) and Kerteek Cheema (Morgan Hill CA / American HS, #23) look on at midcourt.