All good things must come to an end, and that is unfortunately what happened to a great season by the Cabrini men’s basketball team. Cabrini lost a tough one to Springfield 96-88 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
There were a lot of memories made throughout the season, some good, some bad. Nevertheless, the memories will last with these players. With the loss, comes the end of two seniors’ collegiate careers, both of who are in Cabrini’s 1,000-point club.
Tyheim Monroe and Deryl Bagwell combined for more than 3,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals during their careers at Cabrini.
Monroe, a 6’6″ senior forward, has cemented himself in Cabrini basketball history.
Monroe led the league in scoring and rebounding as a leader on the court for the Cavaliers. Monroe was also named ECAC Division III men’s Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Looking back on the year, with the accolades and records, the thing Monroe will remember the most from this season is bringing home Cabrini’s first CSAC championship since 2014.
Monroe said, “That will always stick with me, knowing I left a champion.”
Monroe will end his prestigious senior season with 21.4 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. Monroe led the Cavaliers in scoring, total rebounds, steals and minutes.
Monroe was a huge part of the success for the Cabrini basketball team, while also having the duty to be a leader on the team. Monroe led the Cavaliers to a 24-3 regular season finish.
The coach of the Cabrini men’s team, Tim McDonald, went into detail how hard each individual on the team worked to accomplish a common goal.
“Winning games is great, but watching this team grow together on and off the court is what it is all about. These guys have a bond that will last a lifetime and I am proud to be a part of that,” McDonald said.
Cabrini defeated Neumann University 89-76 to take home the beloved CSAC championship. To make it even sweeter it was on the Cavs home court in front of their fans.
Keith Blassingale, 5’11″ sophomore guard, chipped in with 18 points including three crucial three pointers.
“The most memorable thing is the feeling [of] winning the CSAC championship. That was one of our goals in the beginning of the year, and we got it done,” Blassingale said.
Blassingale went on to say he wanted to win it for the two seniors because they never had won, and he wanted them to go out on top.
This team cares about one another. This is a very tight group of guys that came together for a common goal.
Their success of the players showed how tight and how close the whole team was. Blassingale was second on the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game, while second on the team in total three pointers made.
Mike Doyle, a 6’2″ junior guard, called this team a “family.”
“We genuinely cared for each other and had each others backs. They’ve meant the world to me both on and off the court,” Doyle said.
Doyle also thinks that even though the team came up short, expectations were met.
“We won the league and a game in the tournament. Obviously we wanted to keep going, but we had a great season,” Doyle said.
Monroe described the team as “tough and gritty.” He said everyone worked hard and had something to prove.
There’s been a lot of memories as a team, especially the trip to Miami. Team trips, as well as daily practice, is going to stick with each player.
Blassingale felt passionately when it came to describing the team.
“I would describe this team as special,” Blassingale said.
Blassingale went on to say, “If you would’ve told me we would lose two of our leaders, Ivan Robinson and Devante Mosley, have people step in while finishing with a record of 25-4, win the CSAC championship and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, I would not believe it.”
Blassingale credits the hard work each player had to put in in order to achieve everything.
The Cabrini Cavalier men’s basketball team defeated the College of Staten Island in the first round of the NCAA tournament off a last-second game-winning shot by Bagwell.
In the same game, Monroe became the first Cabrini player and fifth CSAC player in history to reach 2,000 career points.
The players feel as the season was full of up and down times, but the brotherhood they shared between one another created memories that will last a lifetime.
“Those guys are like my brothers and we became a tight notched family as the season progressed,” Blassingale said.
