UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Men’s Basketball Team Uses Home Court Advantage to Capture First Conference Championship in 27 Years “I Believe That We Will Win!” “I Believe That We Will Win!” That iconic chorus by the boisterous Ozarks student section reverberated off the walls of Mabee Gymnasium in the waning seconds of the championship game of the American Southwest Conference men’s basketball tournament on March 15, 2021. When the final horn blared, the Eagles had defeated Louisiana College 7472 to capture the school’s first ASC basketball championship since joining the conference and NCAA Division III in 1997. What a moment it was when hundreds of Ozarks students stormed the court to congratulate their conquering heroes in one of the most improbable athletic championships in University history. Picked to finish last in the ASC East Division in the preseason polls, the Eagles shocked the conference by winning the division and hosting the conference tournament. The Cinderella season continued in the tournament as the Eagles used the home-court advantage and large purple-clad cheering sections to defeat long-time conference powers LeTourneau, Hardin-Simmons and Louisiana College within a six-day span to claim the program’s first league title in 27 years.
The unlikely championship season was spearheaded by the hard work and leadership of head coach Travis Carruthers (see page 10) and a gritty group of six seniors who stayed the course despite winning just three games as freshmen. Those seniors— Bryson Johnson, Zach Bobo, Tim Turpin, Seth Duke, Darnel Renelique and Lynden Gibson—formed the foundation of the team’s first men’s basketball conference championship since the Johnny Johnson-coached, Stephen Kennedy-led Eagles won the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference postseason tournament during the 1993-94 season. The Eagles not only had to overcome a strong conference schedule, they had to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic that forced them to cancel several games and miss weeks of practice early in the season. According to Carruthers, the team turned the negative into a positive. “I think the entire time away from each other really helped us appreciate the opportunities that were present,” he said. “We thanked God each day after practice and games for giving us the opportunity to compete together as a group. Every time we were
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