Stomping on Marywood University by a score of 90-76 was only one of the tasks accomplished by the Cabrini men’s basketball team on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Nerney Field House. They also clinched first place for the Colonial States Athletic Conference tournament for the second year in a row and recorded their 13th consecutive win, 30th consecutive win at home against a conference opponent and 23rd consecutive win at home overall.
Many students, faculty, family, friends and alumni filled the Nerney Field House to watch the decisive victory for the Cavaliers. Following was a Cabrini men’s basketball alumni game.
“It’s good to see the winning tradition of Cabrini basketball being kept alive and the program back at the top,” John Mack, Cabrini class of 1998 and former Cavs center, said. “The coaches are doing an excellent job with these players. They are a really strong squad and an heir to a legacy.”
The name of the game for Cabrini was teamwork. Three players tallied points in the double digits and the bench came up big for the Cavs.
“In this game we really had to keep the tempo up because the ball was up and down the court the whole time,” Dom Farrello, senior forward, said. “We had to get those fresh legs off the bench and keep the energy up.”
Farrello recorded a career-high 33 points but the most impressive part of his performance was shooting 13 for 13 from the free throw line. He also tallied nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in what can be considered a career game for the senior. Farrello also moved into ninth place on Cabrini’s all-time scoring list by recording his 1,128th career point.
Assisting Farrello in the victory by having standout performances were sophomore point guard Corey Lemons, junior guard John Boyd, sophomore center Goran Dulac, senior guard Lamar Fisher and freshman guard Keefer Francis.
Joining Farrello in the double-digit points category was Lemons and Boyd. Lemons tallied 18, shooting eight of 10 from the field, while Boyd added 11 points with four assists.
Fisher and Dulac each recorded six points with six and seven rebounds respectively. Francis contributed nine points off the bench in 15 minutes of play.
“We got great play today from the starters especially Dom, Corey, and Goran,” Saleem Brown, assistant coach, said. “Getting players like Keefer and Lamar to contribute off the bench the way they did tonight makes a good team even better. It helps when everyone is on the same page.”
Brown also mentioned that this victory against Marywood was especially huge for the Cavs because the only conference loss for Cabrini this season came at the hands of Marywood on Jan. 1, by a nail-biting score of 57-55. He describes this victory as a revenge game for Cabrini.
The players and coaching staff set the goal for the beginning of the season to get the top seed and have the home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Now that the goal is achieved and with only two regular season games left, Cabrini will be looking to keep the intensity up and the ball rolling.
“It was our goal from the start to get that home court advantage, “ Boyd said. “Cabrini is a tough place for opponents to come in and play so it really adds to the confidence of the team. Still, we have to take it one game at a time and go out to win every one.”
The Cavs will be looking to dominate the CSAC tournament and make it to the NCAA playoffs for the second consecutive year. Cabrini will be looking to keep up the strong performances from the starters and the bench to continue the winning streak.
“Everyone is excited for both the women and the men’s basketball teams,” Dr. Marie Angelella George, president of Cabrini, basketball fan and attendee of the game, said. “They bring so much energy to campus and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”
