NCCC's Williams earns Region honors

SARANAC LAKE — North Country Community College basketball player Dejanaye Williams, a sophomore from Wilmington, Dele., was named the Region III Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 20.  Williams has been a starting guard for the Saints for two seasons. This past week, she led the Saints to victories over Clinton CC, Schenectady CCC, and Herkimer CCC. In the three games, Dejanaye averaged 13 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3 steals per game, but most importantly she led the team with her intensity and communication on the court.

The Saints hit the court again this weekend in the Region III Women's Basketball Tournament hosted by Tompkins-Cortland CC. The Saints earned the #5 seed and will play the #4 seed Clinton CC at 8 p.m. Friday. The winner will play on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the winner of Onondaga CC and Corning CC.

NCCC women beat Clinton in regionals

AnonymousPress-RepublicanPlattsburgh Press RepublicanSat Feb 26, 2011, 02:23 AM EST

DRYDEN — Octavia Daye drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the final two minutes Friday to lift North Country Community College to a 58-50 victory over Clinton Community College in the NJCAA Region III Division III women's basketball quarterfinals.

"Those were probably the two biggest shots anybody's hit since I've been here," third-year North Country coach Jerrad Dumont said.

Daye totaled five triples on her way to a game-high 25 points. Jade Pellerin led Clinton with 14.

The fifth-seeded Saints (15-9) match up with No. 1 seed Onondaga C.C. at 3 p.m. today at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.

No. 4 seed Clinton led 49-48 with 2:39 to go but managed just one more point.

Daye hit one trey with 1:45 left to give the Saints a 2-point lead and stroked another 49 seconds later, making it 54-49. Both shots were preceded by Clinton turnovers.

The Saints sealed it when Dejanaye Williams got a putback and Daye made a pair of free throws with 25 seconds on the clock.

"For 36 or 37 minutes, we were not together," Dumont said. "We went on spurts where we played really well and then had spurts where we were I don't even know what.

"The last 3 to 4 minutes we came together as a team. We shared the basketball and really, really defended well."

Ayanda Ntombela scored 16 points for North Country, and Stephanie De Los Santos had 10 points, seven rebounds and a big steal at the end.

Clinton (18-9) led 26-21 at the half, and coach Donna Dixon would have liked a bigger lead.

"We should've taken advantage when they were in foul trouble in the first half," she said. "We weren't able to make a run on them."

Dumont added that while the Saints had two players on the bench because of fouls, Isatou Kujabi gave them solid minutes. She finished with six rebounds — five at the offensive end.

Johni Coryea had 12 points for the Cougars, and Kiyanna Edwards tossed in 11. Mychelle Favreau pulled down 13 rebounds.

"We played real well. This is not going to take away from the season we had, because I think our season was very successful," Dixon said. "It was not one play that lost us the game or won them the game. It was 40 minutes, and they hit the two shots when they needed to.

"I'm really pleased with the season and with the fight in our team."

Onondaga beat No. 8 Corning 69-44 Friday.

"They're very smart," Dumont said. "We're a lot more athletic than they are, so hopefully our zone will cause them some problems."

—

North Country 58, Clinton 50

North Country (58)

Williams 1-0-2, Daye 9-2-25, Ntombela 6-4-16, Garcia 2-1-5, De Los Santos 4-1-10, Kujabi 0-0-0, Newtown 0-0-0, Petty 0-0-0. Totals: 22-8-58.

Clinton (50)

Edwards 4-2-11, Favreau 0-1-1, Bowman 3-0-7, Coryea 4-2-12, Pellerin 4-4-14, Pfeiffer 0-0-0, Fournia 0-0-0, Sullivan 2-0-5. Totals: 17-9-50.

3-point goals: North Country (6), Daye 5, De Los Santos. Clinton (7), Coryea 2, Pellerin 2, Edwards, Bowman, Sullivan.

Halftime: Clinton 26, North Country 21.

NCCC 61, Jefferson 27

WATERTOWN — Krista Lucas scored 14 points while Ayanda Ntombela. Octavia Daye and Olga Garcia contributed 10 points apiece to lead the Saints to a season-opening victory over the host Cannoneers.

North Country scored the first seven points of the game and held a 29-12 lead at halftime.

The Saints return to action Sunday at Fulton-Montgomery Community College.

—

NCCC 61, Jefferson CC 27

North Country (61)

Ntombela 4-0-10, Daye 4-0-10, Williams 3-1-7, Garcia 5-0-10, Lucas 6-0-14, De Los Santos 4-0-8, Kirksey 0-0-0, Kujabi 0-0-0, Newtown 0-0-0, McMillan 0-0-0, Petty 0-0-0, Davis 1-0-2. Totals 27-1-61.

Jefferson CC (27)

Heschke 2-0-5, Uhlein 4-3-12, Maitland 1-0-2, Percy 0-1-1, Davis 1-1-3, Maxon 1-2-4. Totals 9-7-27.

3-point goals: NCCC (6) Ntombela 2, Daye 2, Lucas 2. Jefferson (2) Heschke, Uhlein.

Women's Basketball News

NCCC names Women’s Hoops coach for 08-09 season

SARANAC LAKE –  Anyone who knows Jerrad Dumont or has seen him on the court, knows he is competitor.  He prides himself on his work ethic, and his refuse to lose attitude.  That is why the Saints Athletics Department is happy to welcome Dumont as the newest member on their staff.  Dumont joins the staff this year as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach. 

Don’t expect to see Dumont teaching the pick and roll, building team chemistry, or planning for his next away trip.  While Dumont will be spending some time on the court this year, assisting and learning from his former coach Chad LaDue, he will spend most of his time this season on the sidelines.  Dumont has accepted the challenge of reemerging the Women’s Basketball program for NCCC.  The program dissolved two years ago but the Saints Athletic Department is looking to add the sport in 2008-2009.  The program will need to be built from the ground up.  Dumont will take this coming school year to establish connections with high school coaches.  He will strive to find talented athletes that are excited about college basketball and that want to be a part of an exciting college basketball team.  He will focus and build his team on the principles of family, a strong work ethic, accountability to one another both on and off the court, and most importantly having fun.

“Everything excites me about this job,” replied Dumont to a question. “I enjoy watching, playing, and teaching basketball. I want to have fun, but I also want us to be a top competitor in Region III. As far as recruiting goes, I’d like to initiate relationships with, and get to know the coaches in our area, so I can get to know their best players.”

Dumont is no stranger to success.  He started his collegiate career at NCCC where he was a leader for both soccer and basketball programs.  He served as captain to both programs, was named to the basketball All Northern Independence Conference Team, and was named the Saints Player of the Year his sophomore year.  After graduation in 2005, Dumont traveled to SUNY Plattsburgh where he was a two-year starter and captain his senior year for the Cardinals Men’s Basketball Team.  He would contribute to the  team’s back to back conference championships, earning them an NCAA tournament appearances both years.  The Cardinals ended up losing their first NCAA game in 2006, but came back Dumont’s senior year and won, making them one of the top 30 teams in the Nation.

Saints Athletic Director, Heather Conger, comments, “I have had the pleasure of watching Dumont as a player.  He is the true essence of a team player that understands the meaning of dedication and commitment, and leads with his unmatched work ethic. We are happy to have the chance to offer women the opportunity to play women’s basketball here at North Country.  Dumont bears the determination and persistence that will be needed not only to reestablish this program, but make them successful.”

Attention all girls basketball coaches from Albany to the St. Lawrence valley, if Jerrad Dumont calls, don’t ignore him. One of your student-athletes might just get the opportunity of a lifetime in Saranac Lake, playing with the Lady Saints under Coach Dumont.