By Christy Cain
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Adversity is not a new concept to the Westmont men's basketball team. It has been said time and time again that this group of men has surprised just about everyone this season. They were not "supposed" to be good. They were not supposed to fight their way up the Golden State Athletic Conference rankings. They were not supposed to make the NAIA National Tournament and they were certainly not supposed to be final contenders for the 2014-15 National crown. And yet tonight, they played on the biggest stage of all. While the bite of a of a 53-71 loss to Dalton State (Ga.) in the championship will hurt for a while, these 15 Warrior men have so much to be proud of.
Tonight, the unseeded Warriors took the court in the final game of the National Tournament against #6 seed Dalton State. While Dalton had a healthy and complete roster, the Warriors were missing a key element on the court. Senior Daniel Carlin came down with flu-like symptoms after Monday night's victory and was unable to participate in tonight's game. As any true athlete would do, Carlin warmed up and attempted to play, but about three minutes into the game it became evident that the senior captain would not be fighting for a ring, nor playing in the final game of his career.
"We needed to get off to a good start tonight, especially with Daniel Carlin being ill," opened John Moore. "With him being on the bench, I knew we really needed to make opportunities for Cory to take lots of shots. But then we started missing shots. When you miss shots in a game like this, it is hard to come back. We didn't get to keep them on their heels like we had hoped to."
Dalton State's Ladaris Green scored the first basket of the game on Daltons first possession. Westmont responded with a 10-2 run, kicked off by a fast break layup by Sean Harman. Over the next three-plus minutes, Cory Blau sank four field goals to account for the rest of the run.
The Roadrunner's offense then kicked into gear with, starting with a three-point bucket by Jordan Bowling. The trey ignited an 11-3 run by Dalton State that tied the game at 13. The Roadrunners were not done, however, and what began as an 11-3 streak turned into a 24-7 run. By halftime, Dalton State enjoyed a 37-21 advantage.
Over the first 14 minutes of the second half, Westmont nibbled away at Dalton States advantage, drawing to within six points (50-44). However, the Roadrunners' offense returned with a vengeance, producing a 10-2 run to make the score 60-46 with just under three minutes to play. Westmont was unable to reduce the margin below double-digits the rest of the way and ended with a final score of 71-53.
The Warrior men tried their best to earned themselves rings tonight, but the natural rhythm of the game was throw off and shots simply were not dropping. Westmont went six for 32 from three point range tonight (18 percent) and 18 for 60 from the field (30 percent). Cory Blau gave it a good run with 17 points and two assists on the night. Sam Bentz and David Gunn stepped in and tried to fill Carlin's very large shoes, by combining for nine rebounds and 13 points. In the final game of his collegiate career, senior Nate Marsing earned eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a loud standing ovation from the crowd as he exited the court for the last time.
While the disappointment of this loss is very real, the accomplishments of this year's team are even more real. They have fought not only for themselves, but for their teammates and fought to represent the Warrior name well.
"This is an incredible accomplishment by a team that has been the underdog throughout this entire tournament," exclaimed Moore. "I am overwhelmed with pride for this group of men. They are a class act. Tonight they received the sportsmanship award which is only given to one team and these Warrior men absolutely deserved it. I am blessed by the quality of men I get to coach every single year."
While this game put the final period of the storybook of the 2014-15 season, the epilogue is already filled with many awards that the Warriors received tonight. As a team, they earned the Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship Award which is given to one of the 32 teams in the National Tournament. With that, John Moore took home the Charles A Krigel Award. This is an honor that is given to the coach of the team that exhibits respect, civility, integrity and fair play.
Although sidelined for the final dance, our favorite Australian, Daniel Carlin, earned himself a spot on the NAIA All-Tournament, alongside junior Britton Williams.
This Cinder-fella team will forever leave their mark in Westmont basketball history as the first team to make it to the NAIA National Championship game. Whether they know it or not, they have breathed life into Westmont circles back home. Over the last week and a half, these fifteen men have given Westmont students, faculty, family members and alumni a reason to come together and cheer them on.
The sign of a good team is the ability inspire themselves, but the sign of a great team is the ability to inspire others.
I think it is safe to say that this 2014-15 Men's Basketball team is, in fact, a great team.
