Walking into the crowded gym, the sound of the cheerleaders exuberantly pumping the crowd was overwhelming. The 473 fans in attendance could be heard cheering from outside the Dixon Center.
The pace of this season’s home-opener could be described as speedy and intense.
On Nov. 21, the Cavaliers took on the Apprentice School of Newport News, Va. in the first game of the 2005-2006 season.
The spread of the game was quite close, see-sawing back and forth, with Cabrini managing to keep a grasp on the lead through out the entire game.
Senior Anthony Bennett led the team to their victory with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jim McMahon, also a senior, led the team with an all-time high of 11 rebounds and 19 points, proving that this is going to be an exciting season.
The Apprentice School put up an outstanding fight, defensively. Holding the Cavs to a fairly close, five-point game towards the end of the first half. That was just ammunition for Cabrini. The men of Radnor wanted to set their stakes high for new head coach Matthew Macciocca’s first season with the team.
“It’s exciting being able to coach at such a young age,” Macciocca said. “I never knew I would get a head coaching job this early in my coaching career.”
In the second half, the Cavaliers took a hold of the game, blowing the Apprentice School out of the water.
“It was so exciting to see that that after practicing for the last month how the players responded to playing other teams,” Macciocca said. “The way we executed the game plan is better than I expected at this point in the season.”
The Cavs came out on top with a final score of 104-85.
On Nov. 27, Cabrini headed to Nittany Lion territory as they battled Penn State – Berks in a non-conference game.
Jeff Dailey, sophomore, had 20 points which included six three-pointers.
“I think we definitely started out a little sluggish in the first half. But in the second half we came back and showed we were much more capable of winning,” Dailey said.
The Cabrini Cavs defeated the Lions with a nail-biting score of 84-79.
With two wins under their belts, the Cavs are not going to let their winning ability go to their heads.
“I think these guys are very level-headed guys and will respond like any other good, top-25 team would respond,” Macciocca said. “I think the leadership shown by the seniors on the team has really trickled onto the court and in the classroom as well.”
In the next couple games, the Cavaliers will play three rival schools in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference: Neumann College, College of Misericordia and Marywood University. These are all league games that will affect their standing in the PAC.
“These teams are all very good teams and we need to feel prepared, take on the challenge and put our best foot forward,” Macciocca said.
“They are all potentially dangerous games and we need to make sure that schools like Misericordia come into an intimidating environment like the one we had for the Apprentice School,” Macciocca said.
“We are trying to set a tone for the season that is all about an atmosphere geared towards the fans. A high level of defense mixed in with talented players who play smart and play together. Players who play like a family,” Macciocca said.
The Cabrini Cavaliers will host their next home game against College of Misericordia on Sat., Dec. 3, at 3 p.m.
Posted to the web by Brian Coary
