GCC

ROCHESTER, NY: The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team swept the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region III Division II Final Four this weekend, defeating Niagara County Community College in the semifinals on Saturday and dropping Monroe Community College in the finals on Sunday.

(Semifinals) There were four ties and 14 lead changes on Saturday night and neither GCC or NCCC held a lead higher than nine throughout the game.

Naquil Jones scored 21 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and the sophomore was a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line, all attempts coming in the final 20-minutes.

Ervin Mitchell needed just 18 points entering Saturday's contest to overtake the school record for most career points. He scored 13 points in the first half and with 13:09 left in the second and the Cougars trailing 60-58, converted a layup to tie the game and break the record. He finished with 26 points.

The Cougars used a 10-0 run to take a 64-60 lead with 11:14 to play in the second half and the Cougars did not trail the rest of the way.

Jones went 6-6 from the line during the last 30-seconds of the game to keep the GCC lead out of reach.

Gabriel Burroughs went 3-4 from 3pt-range for GCC and tallied 11 points. Tre'Shaun Perry had a game-high 12 assists and also grabbed six rebounds. Mitchell also grabbed six boards and Jason Perry Murray finished with six points and five rebounds.

Mitchell now sits at the top of the all-time scoring list in GCC men's basketball history with 1383 points. He passes current Cougars head coach Terry George, who scored 1374 points from 2002-2003.

(Finals) With 8:19 to play in Sunday's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region III Division II championship, the No. 2-seed Genesee Community College men's basketball team trailed No. 1 Monroe Community College, 67-49. It was the largest deficit (18) faced by the Cougars on the afternoon and it looked as though GCC would be sent home after a finals trip for the second year in a row at the hands of MCC.

Sunday turned out different, however as Genesee ended the game on a 26-7 run to earn its first regional title since the 2002-03 season.

The Cougars turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and went the last 7:03 without a field goal to reach the break trailing 43-30.

An 11-4 run to start the second got GCC to within 47-41 at the 16:37 mark, but the Tribunes used a 20-8 run of their own to extend the lead to 18 with 8:19 remaining.

Tournament MVP Naquil Jones then took over for GCC, scoring 12 of his game-high 27 points in the final eight-minutes. The Cougars stepped up defensively, holding MCC to just three field goals down the stretch and with 1:11 left to play, were within one at 74-73.

Both teams traded empty possessions on offense before Jason Perry Murray tipped in a missed Ervin Mitchell jumper with 3.6-seconds left to give Genesee a 75-74 lead.

The Tribunes had one last look out of a timeout but came up short and GCC dropped MCC for the first time in three tries this season.

Jones also collected eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Joshua Doughty finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, Gabriel Burroughs, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, added 11 points and Perry Murray and Ervin Mitchell both finished with eight points apiece. Perry Murray also recorded three blocks, which ties him for the career record for most blocks in GCC history (106).

Genesee (22-8) will now host the District II championship on Sat., Mar. 7 at GCC. The Cougars will face Dean College (MA), which defeated the Community College of Rhode Island on Sunday to win the Region 21 title. Game time to be announced.

In its final home game of the 2014-2015 season, the Genesee Community College women's basketball team picked up a Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) win over Erie Community College on Tuesday night, 55-35.

GCC forced 28 turnovers and turned them into 22 points. The Genesee bench outscored the Erie bench 30-8 and Genesee never trailed in the game.

Elsa Andersson scored a team high 13 points with 11 of them coming in the first half.

Genesee used a 15-2 run late in the first half to take control of the game and beat Erie for the second time this season.

Thais Matté added 10 points and hit two of GCC's three 3-pt baskets on the night. Breana Gleaton finished with nine points and five rebounds and Hillary Rivera had seven points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Genesee improves to 13-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play. The Cougars will end their regular season on the road on Thursday night at Jamestown Community College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

(Photo: GCC’s Breana Gleaton (#33 white) and ECC’s Ijeoma Onwuekwe (#21 black) get ready for the opening tip-off on Tuesday night at GCC)

It took overtime on Tuesday night between Genesee Community College and Erie Community College and the visiting Kats left town with the Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) win, 81-78.

In a game that saw three ties and five lead changes, the Cougars committed 18 turnovers and allowed 16 offensive rebounds to ECC.

Genesee held a lead as large as 12 in the first half but the Kats crept back in the second half, using a 9-2 run late in the frame to take their first lead of the game, 67-66.

Joshua Doughty kept the Cougars alive with a three-point field goal with 12.9-seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 72, eventually sending it into overtime.

Erie outscored Genesee 9-6 in the extra session to tie the season series 1-1 and improve to 13-6 overall.

Doughty finished with a game high 23 points including five 3-pt baskets. Ervin Mitchell tallied 15 points and five rebounds, Rahsaan Williams and Gabriel Burroughs each added nine points, Naquil Jones had seven points and six rebounds and Tre'Shaun Perry dished out a game high six assists.

Genesee falls to 17-8 and 5-5 in WNYAC play. The Cougars will head out on the road on Thursday night to Jamestown Community College for a 7:30 p.m. start.

The Genesee Community College men's basketball team shook off a slow start and a halftime deficit on Saturday afternoon to drop visiting Mercyhurst North East 95-71 to improve to 17-7 overall this season and 5-4 in Western New York Athletic Conference play.

Mercyhurst N.E. held a 40-39 lead at half but the Cougars stormed out on a 13-2 run to begin the second. Devante Carolina scored six points during the stretch and Genesee never gave back the lead. The Cougars held the Saints to just 25-percent shooting in the second half.

Ervin Mitchell put together another strong performance finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds three blocks and three assists. Carolina finished with 21 points, Naquil Jones added 20 points and eight assists, Rahsaan Williams grabbed 14 rebounds and scored eight points and Tre'Shaun Perry dished out six assists and scored five points.

Genesee will return to action on Tuesday night at home against WNYAC opponent Erie Community College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

(GCC’s Tre’Shaun Perry (white) goes up for a shot vs. Mercyhurst North East on Saturday afternoon)

The Genesee Community College women's basketball team fell to 1-7 in Western New York Athletic Conference play after losing to visiting Mercyhurst North East on Saturday afternoon, 66-54.

The Cougars took a 25-15 lead late in the first half but allowed the Saints to go on an 18-8 run to end the half and tie the game at 33 apiece.

MNE took the lead early in the second half with back-to-back baskets and the Saints led the rest of the way.

Shanell Glover led GCC and was the only Cougar to reach double figures with a game-high 15 points and she also grabbed nine rebounds. Terra Clanton added seven points, Latricia Stephens, Hillary Rivera and Tekia Gary each had six and Gary also dished out four assists.

Genesee (12-11, 1-7) will play its final home game of the regular season on Tuesday night when Erie Community College visits GCC for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.

The Genesee Community College women's basketball team battled from behind for most of the night on Tuesday but the Cougars wound up clawing their way to a 73-64 win over visiting Finger Lakes Community College.

The Lakers scored 10 of the first 12 points in the opening frame and led 24-12 midway through. Back-to-back baskets from Shanell Glover sparked a 12-0 run for Genesee and with under seven-minutes remaining in the half the score was tied at 24 apiece. Glover scored 12 points in the first half.

Out of a timeout, the Lakers responded by going on a 10-0 run in a span of just over two-minutes to take a 34-24 lead and FLCC took a 37-31 lead into the break.

Finger Lakes extended its lead back to double-digits early on in the second half before Genesee began its comeback.

Hillary Rivera scored eight straight points for GCC and after holding the Lakers to just one basket in six trips down the floor, the Cougars got to within one at 48-47 with just under 13-minutes left.

FLCC hit consecutive three-point baskets but Glover kept GCC in it with a layup and one of two free-throws. Rivera then converted on a three-point play and with 9:30 remaining the Cougars tied the score at 54.

Rivera gave Genesee its first lead of the night with a layup and a free-throw but FLCC hung around and with 4:30 left, the game was tied 61-61.

Breana Gleaton tipped the scale towards GCC with two of her 12 points on the night and after a Glover layup and a couple of Rivera free-throws, the Cougars controlled the lead for good. Genesee ended the game on a 12-1 run to improve to 12-9 overall this season.

Rivera and Glover shared game-high honors with 21 points apiece. Rivera also grabbed nine rebounds and Glover had seven. Elsa Andersson added eight points and four boards and Terra Clanton dished out five assists.

Genesee sweeps the season series against Finger Lakes after already beating the Lakers 76-73 on Dec. 4. The Cougars will return to action in conference on Wednesday night at Monroe Community College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.  

(GCC’s Shanell Glover (#4 white) looks to pass down low in Tuesday night’s win over Finger Lakes CC)

Tuesday night marked the fifth time this season that the Genesee Community College men's basketball team eclipsed the 100-point mark. The Cougars rolled to a 110-85 Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) victory over visiting Jamestown Community College-Olean to improve to 3-2 in conference play, the first time GCC has been above .500 in WNYAC play this season.

Ervin Mitchell led four Cougars in double figures with a game-high 35 points. Mitchell was 15-19 from the field in the game and scored 23 points in the first half alone.

Genesee raced out to a 15-point lead midway through the first but the Jaguars hung tough and got to within seven late in the period. The Cougars went into the half on a 7-2 run and led 55-43 at the break.

Naquil Jones scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and Devante Carolina added nine in the frame, 18 overall, to help the Cougars put the game out of reach.

Genesee out-rebounded JCC-Olean 52-20 and shot better than 59-percent from the floor. Mitchell also grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double and Rahsaan Williams finished with a double-double as well with 12 rebounds and 10 points. Devante Carolina added 18 points and six rebounds; Jones led GCC in assists with six and Tre'Shaun Perry chipped in nine points and four assists.

Genesee (15-4, 3-2) will play its second of four scheduled games this week on Thursday at Niagara County Community College. Tip-off is set for 7:30pm.

(GCC's Ervin Mitchell (#0) and Naquil Jones (#12) celebrate after a Mitchell basket in the 2nd half of Tuesday night's game against JCC-Olean)

Press release:

January is flying by and April 15th will be here before you know it. If that sends you into a panic, take advantage of free tax preparation help from Genesee Community College. For the sixth year straight, GCC volunteers are offering free income tax preparation services to the community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Those interested may access walk-in sessions at GCC's Batavia Campus as noted below or appointment-based services at Genesee County Department of Social Services (GCDSS) on Tuesdays.

There are four walk-in sessions scheduled at the GCC Batavia campus, all in room T205:

•    Thursday, Feb. 12th 4 -7 p.m.

•    Tuesday, Feb. 24th 4 - 7 p.m.

•    Tuesday, March 24th 4 – 7 p.m.

•    Thursday, April 2nd 4 – 7 p.m.

The appointment-based services are available from Feb. 3rd – April 7th at the Genesee County DSS at 5130 E. Main St., Batavia. To make an appointment call Betty at 344-2580, ext. 6552.

Through VITA, IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation to community members with household income up to $53,000. Business tax returns or complicated capital gains transactions cannot be completed through the VITA program. VITA offers free electronic filing of federal and state returns.

"Genesee Community College is once again pleased to offer this service to our local residents. Our certified volunteers consist of faculty, staff and current students," said Cheryl Corke, GCC associate professor of Accounting and Business and VITA program director.

Last year we prepared 162 Federal and NYS income tax returns. Through this effort, our clients received $226,087 in Federal Income Tax Refunds, including $51,899 in earned income tax credits, $15,479 in child tax credits and $10,107 in education tax credits."

Corke advises participants to bring all necessary documents including W-2 (wage and earning statement(s) from employer(s), W-2G, 1098,1099-R, 1099-Misc (interest and dividend statements from banks) forms and the new 1095A forms related to the ACA; Social Security cards for all persons listed on the tax return; and a copy of last year's Federal and State returns, if available.

In addition, bank account routing numbers and account numbers are also needed for direct deposit of refunds. Other information participants may need to provide includes total annual payment for daycare providers plus the daycare provider's tax identifying numbers and address.

Lastly, for married-filing joint tax returns both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.

"I want to personally thank all of those involved in this program. It really is a fantastic opportunity for community members and our students," Corke said. "We have several certified preparers from GCC and DSS and many others have put time and effort into this endeavor."

The certified volunteers have undergone rigorous online training to be able to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country. VITA sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other convenient locations.

For more information, contact Cheryl Corke, VITA program director at GCC, at cacorke@genesee.edu.

In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, the No. 10 Monroe Community College men's basketball team outlasted No. 16 Genesee Community College on Saturday afternoon, 68-66.

The Cougars jumped in front early, scoring the first seven points of the game. Freshman Joshua Doughty was responsible for five of the seven, connecting on a 3-point basket and adding a layup.

Monroe quickly closed the gap and held the lead late in the first half before GCC ended the frame on a 7-2 run to take a 35-32 advantage into the break.

The Tribunes began the second half on a 6-2 stretch and took back the lead, not allowing it back to Genesee the remainder of the afternoon.

The Cougars were able tie the game at 51 apiece with just under eight-minutes to play, but MCC responded by going on a 9-0 run to regain momentum.

Down six with under two-minutes to play, Doughty got GCC back to within three after connecting on his second 3-point basket of the afternoon and after a defensive stop, Ervin Mitchell hit one of two free-throws to make it a 66-64 game with under a minute to go. The Cougars again came away with a defensive hold and Didier Antoine notched the game at 66 apiece with a layup with 19-seconds on the clock.

After an MCC timeout, the Tribunes looked to Anthony Hemmingway who connected on a jumper with 2.3 seconds left to put MCC in front 68-66. A last second look for GCC was unsuccessful, and Monroe sent Genesee to its second Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) loss of the season.

Naquil Jones scored a team-high 14 points for GCC, Mitchell added 13 points and six boards, Antoine finished with 11 points and seven rebounds and Doughty added nine points and eight rebounds.

Genesee falls to 1-2 in conference play and 13-4 overall on the season. The Cougars will return to action on the road on Jan. 22 at Erie Community College. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m.

The No. 6 Monroe Community College women's basketball team was too much for Genesee to handle on Saturday afternoon as the Tribunes powered their way to a 96-36 Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) win at GCC.

The Cougars were led in scoring by Breana Gleaton who finished with seven points. Shanell Glover and Thais Matté each added six and Glover also grabbed six rebounds.

Monroe was successful on half of its shots from the field in the game and was plus-22 in rebounding.

GCC committed 26 turnovers and shot just better than 21-percent from the floor.

Genesee (0-3, 9-7) has now lost three straight and the Cougars will take the floor again on Jan. 22 at Erie Community College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The 16^th ranked GCC men's basketball team shot better than 56-percent to drop visiting Niagara County Community College on Thursday night and improve to 1-1 in Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) play.

The Cougars and Thunderwolves went back-and-forth in the first half with neither team holding a lead higher than four. Ervin Mitchell scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the opening half and was the only scorer to reach double figures during the first 20-minutes. Both teams went into the break tied at 40 apiece.

Trailing 59-58 midway through the second, Genesee went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and the Cougars did not trail again. GCC led by as much as 17 and went on to win, 98-84.

Naquil Jones finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Jason Perry Murray recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards, Joshua Doughty added 16 points and eight assists and Mitchell also grabbed six rebounds.

Genesee (13-3, 1-1) snaps a two-game losing streak with the win and the Cougars will return to action at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. against No. 10 Monroe Community College.

(Naquil Jones (white) eyes up his defender in Thursday night’s win over Niagara County CC. Jones finished with 25 points and seven rebounds for the #16 Cougars)

The Genesee Community College women's basketball team started off 6-31 in the first half of Thursday night's Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) showdown with No. 20 Niagara County Community College, and fell to 0-2 in conference play after a 68-49 loss to the visiting Thunderwolves.

The Cougars gave up a 12-0 run early in the opening period to fall behind 22-8 and managed only 18 total points in the first half.

Terra Clanton led GCC with 10 points, all 10 of which came in the second half. Breana Gleaton finished with 10 rebounds and eight points, Hillary Rivera added nine points and six boards and Tekia Gary grabbed six rebounds and finished with four points.

Genesee (9-6, 0-2) connected on just two of 16 three point attempts on the night and committed 17 turnovers in the loss. The Cougars will return to action at home on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against No. 6 Monroe Community College.

The Genesee Community College women’s basketball team picked up two wins this weekend in the Genesee Holiday Classic Tournament to end the first semester with a 7-3 record.

Latricia Stephens poured in a game-high 22 points on Saturday in a 74-47 win over Durham College (Ont.).

Genesee forced 27 turnovers and out-rebounded the Lords 64-39.

Elsa Andersson added 17 points, Hillary Rivera added nine points and seven rebounds, Shanell Glover grabbed 11 boards and scored eight points and Thais Matté collected eight rebounds and dished out three assist.

On Sunday, Genesee erased an early seven point lead by the Community College of Rhode Island and used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to hold off the Knights, 67-59.

Rivera finished with a team-high 17 points for the Cougars, Stephens recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points and Andersson added 15 points.

Stephens was tabbed the tournament MVP and Andersson and Rivera were named to the All-Tournament team.

Genesee is off to its best start since the 2010-11 season and will resume action again on Jan. 6 at Cayuga Community College.

The Genesee Community College men's basketball team rolled to two wins this weekend at the GCC Holiday Classic Tournament, defeating the Community College of Rhode Island and Columbus St. Community College.

The Cougars used a balanced attack to defeat CCRI on Saturday, 93-55.

Genesee had five players reach double figures in scoring, led by Ervin Mitchell who finished with 17 points. Naquil Jones and Devante Carolina each added 15 points, Gabriel Burroughs tallied 12 and Jason Perry Murray finished with a double-double, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points.

The Cougars led the entire game and were plus-21 in rebounding.

Jones scored the first five points of the game on Sunday against Columbus St. CC and it was much of the same as the Cougars did not let the lead slip away.

Jones finished with a game-high 28 points, including five-3pt baskets. Mitchell added 20 points and five assists, Perry Murray collected 19 rebounds and also chipped in nine points, Joshua Doughty finished in double-digits with ten points and Carolina and Benjamin Hackett each contributed seven points.

Perry Murray was named the tournament MVP and Mitchell and Jones were selected to the All-Tournament Team.

The win over Columbus St. is the second this season for Genesee (8-1), which is now on an eight-game winning streak. The Cougars will play in the Niagara County Community College tournament on Dec. 19-20 to end the first semester.

Despite facing a 17-point deficit at halftime, the Genesee Community College women's basketball team improved to 5-3 this season after a comeback win against visiting Cuyahoga Community College on Saturday afternoon.

Cuyahoga started the game on a 14-0 run to grab the lead five-minutes into the game.

GCC committed 18 turnovers in the first frame and were out-rebounded 22-13. The Cougars trailed 44-27 at the break.

In the second half, Genesee battled back behind Shanell Glover and Elsa Andersson, who scored 12 and 10 points respectively in the period to get GCC back in the game.

Genesee trailed 70-68 with under 10-seconds to play before Thais Matté converted a layup in the final seconds to knot the game, which went into overtime.

Andersson scored the first seven points of the extra session for GCC to put the Cougars in front 77-70. Genesee held Cuyahoga to just one field goal in overtime and outscored the Challengers 14-3 to earn an 84-73 win.

Latricia Stephens led the way for Genesee with a game-high 17 points. Andersson finished with 16 points, Glover added 14 points and seven rebounds, Matté chipped in six points and three assists and Terra Clanton and Breana Gleaton each scored nine points.

Genesee improves to 2-0 at home this season and the Cougars will return to action next Saturday in the Cougar Holiday Classic Tournament against the Community College of Rhode Island at 2 p.m.

The Genesee Community College men's basketball winning streak is now up to six after the Cougars dropped visiting No. 13 Cuyahoga Community College on Saturday afternoon, 89-74.

After falling behind 8-3 early on, GCC went on an 11-0 run to take the lead and the Cougars did not trail the rest of the game.

Naquil Jones scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half and Genesee shot better than 55-percent from the floor in the opening frame. The Cougars held a 50-27 advantage at the break.

GCC held a lead as high as 26 in the second half but Cuyahoga got to within single-digits late when the Challengers trailed 81-72 with 4:18 to play. The Cougars responded by going on an 8-2 run to end the game.

Genesee had a total of six players reach double-figures in scoring. Ervin Mitchell finished with 18 points and six rebounds, Jason Perry Murray added 13 points and eight rebounds, Joshua Doughty had 12 points and five assists and Didier Antoine and Gabriel Burroughs each added 10 points. Jones also had eight assists and six boards.

Genesee (6-1) will return to the floor at home next Saturday in the Cougar Holiday Classic Tournament. The Cougars will play the Community College of Rhode Island at 8 p.m.