Congratulations to DCC Men's Basketball Head Coach Robert Piano who has just hit 100 wins in his career after DCC took down Sullivan CC 88-69 on Saturday, February 14th. 

     Coach Piano joined Dutchess Community College in the summer of 2021 after he started his career with a 1-1 record as interim head coach at Hudson Valley CC. In his first season with Dutchess, he led the team to a 12-12 record and 9-7 record in Region XV. It was the first time in over 20 years that DCC Men's Basketball had not lost more than they had won. The Falcons fell in the first round of the Region XV playoffs to Nassau, but it was just the start for them.  

    The 2022-23 season was the second for Coach Piano, his first time with returning players and some big newcomers. The Falcons were able to finish 17-14 with an in-Region XV record of 12-5, but being over .500 for the first time in over 25 years was not good enough for Coach Piano. DCC took down BMCC and Monroe-Bronx to get a rematch with Nassau in the Region XV Championship game In just his second season, Dutchess won their first ever Region XV Men's Basketball Championship while also having Victor Potter Jr named as a NJCAA 2nd Team All American, the first in DCC history for Men's Basketball. Dutchess fell in both of their games at the National Tournament, but the achievement of reaching that bracket would lead to only more fire to be there once again.  

    Year 3 for Coach Piano was the 2023-24 season; improvements continued even after a National Tournament appearance. finishing 23-6 and 13-3 in Region XV. Dutchess began the season as the #10 ranked team in the country, the first time DCC had made it into the National Rankings. They started the season 8-0 and moved all the way up to 4th in the National Rankings, the highest they would reach. The Falcons held teams to the 2nd lowest scoring total per game and blocked the 3rd most shot per game of anyone in the country; they were a defensive powerhouse. Dutchess made it back to their 2nd Region XV Championship game in 3 years under Coach Piano; they took down Kingsborough and Nassau in the Quarterfinals and semi-finals to meet up with Hostos. The Championship did not fall to the side of the Falcons as they were defeated to end their season. Coach Piano won his first Region XV Coach of the Year Award at the end of the tournament.

    The 2024-25 Dutchess Falcons Men's Basketball team is the best in the history of the school. In Year 4, Coach Piano led the team to a 26-3 record to win his second consecutive Region XV Coach of the Year award. Dutchess was ranked nationally for the entire season and spent 3 weeks at #1 in the country to end the season while going undefeated against Division 3 opponents in the regular season. Defense was once again the key for DCC, they were 2nd in Country - Opponents FG Percentage 37.7, Opponents PPG 62.3, Steals per Game 15, and 3rd in the country in block per game with 6.8. The Falcons took down Suffolk and Kingsborough to reach their 3rd straight Region XV Championship game taking on Monroe-Bronx for the second time. The coaching staff and returning players all remembered the feeling of the loss they had the year prior and were not going to allow that to happen again. DCC took the Region XV championship, the second in the school's history, 88-81. Dutchess went into the National Tournament as the Number 1 overall seed but were unable to come away with a win in the tournament. Alijah England was Coach Piano's Second NJCAA All American, he made the 2nd team.  

    The 2025-26 season has been another one of the best in DCC history, currently the Falcons are 21-3 and 18-2 in regional play with 3 regular season games to go. Once again DCC ranks at the top of the defensive leader boards, 2nd in the country in Opponents PPG and Blocks per game while being 3rd in Steals per game. The Falcons have been ranked for the entirety of the season, currently sitting at #5; their highest spot reached so far this year. This season Dutchess scored 120 points in a game against Bronx, the highest scoring tally in Coach Piano's tenure.  

    In his 5th year as head coach, Robert Piano has now achieved 100 career wins with an impressive 73%-win rate over that time, 2-time Region XV Coach of the Year and 2-time Region XV Champion. We would like to thank Coach Piano for all he has done for the Men's Basketball team and DCC Athletics; we will honor him on Tuesday, February 17th with our sophomores. We hope to see you in the stands.