The 2016-17 season for the Stevenson University’s men’s basketball team is coming to a close. After their most recent game against Alvernia on Feb. 14, where the Mustangs lost  94-77, the team will now take a little time time to reflect on the season.

The Alvernia game was Senior Night for Michael Byrd, who scored 16 points  and had seven rebounds for the night. After the game, Coach Gary Stewart said, “Michael’s a talented guy, and we’ve benefited from that. We wish him great success moving forward… He’ll be sorely missed.”

Byrd was assisted by freshman Cameron Hayes who also scored in double figures with 31 points for the night and six rebounds. Of Hayes, Stewart commented, “He’s played his best basketball the last half of conference play. There’s nothing he can’t do on the basketball floor.”  Additionally, although the Mustangs had 17 points from the bench, the real tale of the game was in Alvernia’s 3-point shooting, with over 52 percent (12/23) on the night, compared to Stevenson’s 15 percent (3/20).

Notably, of the 20 losses the team suffered this season, 14 of them have been by 12 points or less, and several have been nail-biters until the final buzzer.

Freshman forward Taj Fleming said that the team knew this year was going to be a learning experience, due to freshmen inexperience, but Stewart has stood by the players every step of the way.

In a recent interview with  Stewart about past games, he said,  “We expect to play well because the standard is high, but we haven’t been able to do that on a consistent level. We do have some really good young players and we are excited about our future.”

The Mustangs believe they are are looking up from here despite what the scoreboards show. They will finish their season this Saturday at Lycoming. Fleming noted the motto for the rest of the season and beyond: “#trusttheprocess.”