Paul F. Davis | Managing Editor
A year after one of the most successful seasons in Western Men’s Basketball history, this year’s team was not expecting to be nearly as dominant as last year; the Wolves had graduated a majority of their most highlighted players from the year prior. Still, the basketball team showed that even though this may be true, the newer and less experienced team could still take home wins in the postseason.
The GNAC’s fourth-ranked Western Men’s team started the postseason at the GNAC Championship Tournament, located in Bellingham, Washington on March 7, by playing the fifth-ranked Montana State Billings. The game ended in a close 79 to 72 win for the Wolves.
In the semifinals of the tournament played on March 8, Western faced a team which they had already lost to twice. In this game the Wolves faced first ranked Saint Martin’s University. In the beginning of the game, odds were not in Western’s favor and neither was the score. The Saints started the game by holding Western scoreless for almost five minutes. The Wolves eventually did score, but at half they were down 23-33.
The Wolves, who trailed the entire game up this point, came back fired up and ready to control the odds. Only the players and assistant coaches know what Coach Jim Shaw said during half time, but one can assume it turned a switch in the Wolves.
At the third minute of the second half, the five players on the court started to light up Saint Martins. In the next six minutes, Western went on a 22-6 run which clinched Western’s first lead of the night. From this moment on, Western kept the lead and won with dominance over the first seeded saints 70-53.
In the final game of the GNAC tournament, on March 9, Western’s mental grit was nowhere to be found. They played the second-ranked team, Seattle Pacific, and fell short in a loss of 66-78.
With their impressive performance at the GNAC championship the Men’s basketball team was invited back to the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. They came into the tournament ranked eighth in their bracket and that meant facing first seeded Point Loma. Facing a team with a 27-4 record proved too much for the inexperienced Wolves in a game that ended with a score of 58-70.
After splitting wins and losses in the postseason, the Western Men’s team came home with more postseason experience and hopefully that will translate to them coming back next year ready to win.
Contact the author at pfdavis14@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton
