Perspectives
6 The Loquitur
Thursday, March 22, 2011
Keeping Up with the Cavs:
the Final Four experience PHOTOS BY TONY DURSO
BY KEVIN DURSO Asst. Sports Editor It’s called March Madness for a reason. Anything and everything can happen in college basketball. When the Cabrini men’s basketball team started their season back in mid-November, there were certain expectations that the team carried. Coming off of two consecutive CSAC championships, the team was favored to win their third straight in 2012. Somewhere along the way, the team realized their goals would set the bar higher than any season in the school’s history. Fourth-year head coach Marcus Kahn knew his team could go deep in tournament play. From the start, they had Salem, Va., on their minds. A 9-0 start saw its first blemish come in a holiday tournament at Centre College in Kentucky, as an overtime loss ended Cabrini’s bid for an undefeated season. From that point on, the Cavs took down opponent after opponent for 15 straight games to close out the regular season at 24-1. Two games later, the Cavaliers were back in the NCAA Division III Tournament and won the CSAC Champions. That’s where this story really begins. Cabrini players had the sense that this season was turning into something special as they finished their regular season on an extensive winning streak. Senior stars Cory Lemons and John Boyd had a national championship on their mind.
Two wins in hosted games in the first and second round put Cabrini in their second straight Sweet 16. One win put them in the Elite 8, the farthest the team had ever reached in a tournament in school history. The next night, the Cavaliers were Salem bound. Last weekend proved to be the high of all highs and the low of all lows for a season. There is not a single person that can com-
title game in school history. And while those in Salem roared and this magical team saluted the fans that traveled with them, there were hundreds of Cabrini fans back on campus roaring at a viewing party. March Madness had hit the entire campus of Cabrini College with full force. Those fans had even more to cheer about a night later, as
each other the whole way and how they took the entire campus and brought them together to watch history in the making. Personally, I found that this whole experience was about living out your dreams and living in the moment. Everyone who traveled to Salem, watched the games on campus or was a part of just one game this season, will remember this team.
“There is not a single person that can complain about how far this team made it this season.” plain about how far this team made it this season. But there is not a single person that can tell you the bitter end doesn’t sting. On the morning of Friday, March 16, two buses loaded with Cabrini students, alumni, parents and friends of the men’s team made the trek to Salem, ready for much more than a one-and-done trip to Salem. There was nothing quite like watching junior Jeremy Knowles’ game-winning threepointer as it swished through the basket. There was nothing quite like watching this team that had won the heart of the entire campus mobbing each other at center court after reaching their first
Cabrini opened up an 18-point lead with 13 minutes remaining in the second half of the National Championship Game. Those 13 minutes were all that stood between Cabrini and a national title. The old cliché is “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Unfortunately, the Cavaliers slowly lost the momentum of the game, slipped closer and closer to a tie only to watch their lead vanish and their opponent, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks, take the National Championship. The loss was devastating but this story is about so much more than wins and losses. It’s about the bond of a team that backed
By the time it was all over, I and the many students that were in Salem had felt the sting because we felt just as much a part of that team as the players. Getting to know these players was a touching experience and one that I and many students will remember forever. I hear it all the time when I watch sportswriters and reporters cover professional teams. They will constantly remark that the ones that hit the cusp of championships are such great groups to be around. I can tell you it is a true statement because I have now lived it. Not a single member of this team, players and coaches alike,
missed the opportunity to greet the Cabrini fans that had gathered into a small reception room in the Salem Civic Center after both games. They enjoyed and appreciated our support. We simply enjoyed the ride. There is something special about any sports team that can win over a large group. For every champion in professional sports, an entire city normally is bonded to them forever in a special way. That’s what this team did. They made believers out of the entire campus and gave us a season to remember. The final result might not be what we wanted here on campus, but don’t take anything away from these players. They have set the tone for future seasons and put Cabrini basketball on the map. This year’s team is losing three seniors, meaning several of the players who fell just short of a national title will be back next season. And now that they and the entire campus know what they are capable of, they should have plenty of support and attention next season. So, congratulations to the Cabrini men’s basketball team on a great season. We can’t wait to see what next season brings.
KAD323@CABRINI.EDU