The men’s basketball team faced off against Widener on Feb. 21 for the second match of the doubleheader. Although they’d already been eliminated from the conference playoff pursuit, a nice touch to end off the season was something they were looking forward to.
The sentimentality of notching a win on a day where the seniors were honored was understandably another line of reasoning to play with a purpose.
“The emotions of course are going to be heightened a little just because it’s senior night, meaning it’s the last game we have together as a group,” fourth-year forward Kyle Luddy said. “I know for sure that the guys returning next year don’t want to have the seniors go out on a loss, so everyone on the court has to go and play a complete 40 minutes to get this win.”
Once more, even as they gave their fullest effort in the game, another unfavorable moment came to decide the outcome. With the game tied at 58-all, Widener took the lead on a clutch mid-range shot within the final few seconds. Just like that, Stevenson was left with few alternatives.
They could not advance the ball up the court, and it was freshman guard Solomon Lewis on the receiving end of the bucket, despite playing great on-ball defense and leaping up for a strong closeout.
Subsequently, the Mustangs (11-14 overall, 3-11 Commonwealth) were unable to get a good look off, and they lost by a final score of 60-58 to Widener (8-17 overall, 5-9 Commonwealth) close out a season that most certainly tested their will.
Fourth-year guard Kendall Seguignol led the scoring with 12 points in what is his final game with the team. First-year forward Jelani Lee pulled down 7 rebounds and added 11 points through some truly physical buckets on the interior in the second half. Luddy also closed the final chapter of his Stevenson career as an athlete with a 5-assist ballgame
There are things that can be controlled, and turnovers were a huge reason why this game still stuck around after a while. At times, the Mustangs felt as if they could pull away. However, the zone defense from Widener was predicated on reading where the ball was moving at all times.
This ability turned routine handoffs into layups with minimal coverage on the opposing end, with Widener holding a 22-12 advantage in points off of 18 forced turnovers. The most damning quality came from a 14-0 advantage in fastbreak points, where Stevenson aimed to make their mark this season.
The positives can just as easily get swept under the rug, because they were able to fend it off seemingly and work themselves back into the ball game like they’d been doing the whole season. With the contributions of some of the younger players throughout the year, the team is clearly in good hands as some guys depart.
“I’m proud of the fight,” head coach Jack Bors said. “This is why you want to be a competitor. Put yourself in those moments, it doesn’t always go your way. That’s why we love it: the rush of it, the adrenaline of being in that moment. We blew leads on our end, we came back countless times.”
This team possesses promise like you can’t imagine. There’s an understanding that they have the ability to reach a better condition as a squad sooner rather than later. You look at the metrics, however, and you recognize that this is another game this season ending in the same anti-climactic manner. Growing pains were to be expected, but as mentioned in an unpublished work, there is a fine line between these kinds of finishes and the results that a coach will seek.
Even though losses marked the matches yesterday, history here will not forget what this outgoing class contributed to their respective teams. The heart, the energy, the hustle and the unrelenting spirit possessed on the court carried a long way even with these daunted outcomes. You go to battle with these fellow players in your locker room over the course of a season, and the connection develops into a deeper bond.
“They mean a ton,” Bors said. “It’s really difficult- especially when you’re a senior- to have a new coach. They handled it just as well as I could’ve hoped. For someone like me, who’s coming into it new and so late in the season, it was definitely helpful to have them there.”
It’s not goodbye forever, as an absence is only temporary in theory.
