The Cabrini men’s basketball team is ready for revenge.
Last year on Feb. 27, the Cavaliers traveled to Gwynedd Valley to play in the Colonial States Athletic Conference championship game against the Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins. Things couldn’t have looked better in the beginning of the game as the Cavs came out red-hot taking a quick lead.
This didn’t last long though as sophomore forward for Gwynedd-Mercy Jon Hogga came off the bench with a stifling 22 points. The Cavs burned a big time out after Hogga’s fifth three-point basket and from then on found themselves playing catch up for the rest of the game. The final score ended up being 108-96.
“We fell short in the CSAC championship to Gwynedd-Mercy. It left a bad taste in our mouths so on Oct. 17, our first practice, we know we have something to work for so that we can approve and achieve our goal of winning the CSAC this year. By working hard and coming to compete everyday in practice we should be a tough team to beat,” Wes Toth, junior forward, said.
If this men’s team got anything out of last season’s championship loss, it is motivation for next season.
“I believe we will be playing in the championship game again this year but hopefully with a different result. We know the feeling of losing the championship game and that’s our motivation to reach our goal for the season,” Kevin Misevicius, senior forward, said. Misevicius led the team in scoring last season with an average of 19.3 points a game.
The team will also be playing without point guards Charles Bush and Ryan Oxley, who graduated last year. Bush led the team with 132 assists and 49 steals. Oxley was the third best scorer on the team averaging 7.3 points a game.
“Bush and Oxley were our seniors last year who contributed to our success on and off the court and without them we wouldn’t have been able to make to the CSAC championship game and the finals of the ECAC,” Corey White, senior guard, said.
Unfortunately, the Cavaliers’ resistance will be tested even further this season due to the fact the majority of their games are away. Fourteen of the team’s 26 games will be away this season.
“We were very dominant at home and now we have to take that attitude on the road because this season we have more road games. Winning on the road shows the character of a team because the odds are against you but we need to work hard to take steps in that direction,” White said.
Coach Marcus Kahn has high expectations for the team as well as they prepare for the opening of the 2009-2010 season.
“My expectations for every player is come every day prepared to compete, play hard, and get better.
