The Cabrini men’s basketball team defeated the Philadelphia Biblical University Crimson Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 11, by a score of 85-55. The team is now one win away from earning the school’s third perfect Colonial States Athletic Conference record. The men’s team has now won 43 consecutive CSAC games on their home court at the Nerney Field House.
Saturday was Senior Day for the Cavaliers. Seniors Cory Lemons, John Boyd and Greg Zabel, all guards, received awards and were recognized for their achievements in the game of basketball. Zabel led the Cavs with 21 points and made seven of his 12 shots.
“I thought the team played very well in that when we play against a team that isn’t the greatest we don’t play down to their competition and just go out and play and focus on us as a team getting better,” Zabel said.
In addition to his career-high 21 points, Zabel also made two three-point shots and was a perfect five for five from the free-throw line. Sixteen of his points came in the second half of the game.
Sophomore forward Fran Rafferty helped the team score the first five points of the game. The Cavs went on a 12-0 run before the Crimson Eagles even scored a single point.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Rafferty said. “It was sloppy at times but overall we did a lot of things right and walked away with the win.”
Even when they had the lead, the Cavs didn’t take it for granted and extended the score to 46-29 at the half. As they started the second half, Boyd and Lemons followed Zabel’s lead. Boyd had four points, three rebounds and two steals while Lemons had five points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Rafferty ended the game with five points, four rebounds and three assists.
“I was just looking to come out and play hard, hustle and do the little things that will win us games,” Rafferty said. “[Greg Zabel] carried us offensively and as a team we really spread the ball out well and got everyone involved.”
Junior guard A.J. Williams and freshman guard Aaron Walton-Moss each ended the game with 10 points. Junior forward Abraham Bah finished with seven points, including two points from an alley-oop that was set up by Rafferty.
The seniors on the men’s roster have combined to go 47-7 over the last couple of years and have picked up two CSAC championships along the way.
“I think we did showcase our athleticism,” Rafferty said. “We knew Philly Bible wasn’t a top team in the conference so we definitely tried to get out and put together a great 40 minutes. We played well and athletically we might be one of the more athletic teams in region. We like to run up and down the floor and that was on full display Saturday.”
“I think [the win] showcased our team’s athletic abilities in that no matter who we play we go out and give 100 percent,” Zabel said. “We were able to do what we wanted on both ends of the floor. We could have executed much better but there is no question our athleticism was apparent.”
