The men’s and women’s basketball teams have officially concluded their 2021-2022 season after playing in the NCCAA National Tournament.
The men placed 5th overall, and the women 4th. Overall for the season, the women went 21-7, and the men 16-12.
After a challenging start for the men, they pushed through and found traction, capping it off with a finish at nationals, winning two of their three games.
“The NCCAA tournament was a great experience, and I’m glad that we were able to go in and finish the season on that stage,” said junior Eric Powell. “This was a special team, and I’m so proud of the way that we overcame all of the adversity that we had this season. Starting 1-6 and finishing 16-12 just shows the character off our team top to bottom”
The problematic start proved to be a challenge for the men, but junior Nick Fort, who also won the title of NCCAA Mideast Player of the Year, was able to see the team’s resilience as they worked to overcome obstacles.
“Our season started out very shaky as we were 1-6 at the beginning. We were able to work through the rough start and finish off the season with a national tournament birth and a winning record. We could have folded and given up, but this team was very resilient,” Fort said.
The shaky start wasn’t the only challenge the team faced.
“We faced obstacles such as foul trouble in some games, but the biggest obstacle would have to be the time of some of the games. We had game times of 10:15 and 8:30 AM, which are super early and abnormal game times. With these obstacles, we were still able to compete at a high level and win two of the three games,” said Fort.
Despite the challenges, the men were able to rally and put up a performance they are proud of this year.
“I feel like this season was a great success,” Fort said. “We didn’t know coming into the season what the season would look like as we were navigating a D3 season without a conference. We had new rules and experiences to overcome, and we ended on a high note. We look forward to winning the national championship next year.”
