| In A.J. Williams' four years
at Cabrini, the Cavaliers have never lost more than six games. And
they won't this year, either. Cabrini athletics photo |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
As brutal as it can be to survive on the road in college basketball, particularly in the NCAA Tournament, Cabrini has embraced the challenge rather than allow itself to be overwhelmed by moments that can be so unforgiving at times.
Three times in this NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers have played away from home. Every game has been close, each one decided by less than 10 points, and all three times the unranked Cavaliers have prevailed, marching right into Salem, Va., this weekend for the Elite Eight at the Salem Civic Center.
“It’s very tough to play on the road, but we’ve taken on a road warrior mentality,” senior guard A.J. Williams said. “We have a tough mindset and the wins we have been able to get in difficult environments have helped us build confidence.”
Cabrini’s confidence is surging at the moment and it has won its last 14 games overall. The Cavaliers opened the tournament with a thrilling 80-78 win over No. 16 Hampden-Sydney and then edged No. 21 Ohio Wesleyan 84-81 for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Last week, Cabrini earned the right to go to Salem with a 70-63 win at No. 20 Wooster. The Cavaliers, the 2012 national runner-up, are back in the Elite Eight for a second consecutive season, and coach Marcus Kahn is impressed with what his team has been able to do in the pressure-packed moments of the tournament.
“They aren’t bothered by playing on the road at all,” Kahn said. “They have done a great job of staying focused and just worrying about playing basketball instead of focusing on the travel. That isn’t easy to do. We have played hard and our ability to win close games on the road is a huge credit to the players.”
Of course, the success isn’t a surprise to Kahn. His team has played in its fair share of big games, and the experience it gained last year despite falling short of a national title has paid off nicely this year.
“The confidence we have goes back to our experience,” Kahn said. “They have won big games in the past and so they aren’t overwhelmed by the situations. We know at the end of the game we are going to have a chance to win if we play well, and the players have done a good job of making plays.”
But those plays that weren’t made by the Cavaliers a year ago have never been forgotten. They now serve as a driving force for this tournament run.
In the national championship game against UW-Whitewater last March, Cabrini had one hand on the momentum and the other all set to wrap around the first championship trophy in program history.
The Cavaliers led 31-21 at halftime. Their lead was 47-29 with 14:43 to go in the game. Excitement was beginning to build.
That excitement soon turned to disappointment. The Warhawks got hot, using a 26-8 run over the next 11 minutes of action, tying the game at 55-55 with 3:19 to go. At the end of the game, Cabrini was on the wrong end of a 63-60 score.
“It hurt to lose that game and we all wanted to work hard to get another shot at winning a championship,” Williams said. “We haven’t taken this season for granted and we are focused on one game at a time, but it does feel great to be playing in Salem again.”
| Cabrini is the only team to
return to Salem from 2012 and is one game away from back-to-back
Final Four berths. Cabrini athletics photo |
Kahn said his players took the loss hard, maybe harder than any loss in their careers, but once they had an opportunity to reflect on the season, they took pride in what they accomplished.
Of course, the pride wasn’t strong enough to wipe out the bitter taste of falling short.
“Once we got back home last year, after everything had soaked in, our attitude was that we let one slip away,” Kahn said. “We had a great season but we still had that bad taste in our mouth. We used it as motivation. It’s been a driving force.”
The Cavaliers (25-5) average 82.3 points per game and five players are averaging 10 or more points per outing, including Williams, who is clicking for 11.1 per game and has made 29 shots from beyond the arc.
Aaron Goodman was the leading scorer during the first semester, pumping in 15.1 points per outing and grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game. Aaron Walton-Moss (14.9) has led the team since missing a semester due to academic issues.
Fran Rafferty (13.7) and Jeremy Knowles (12.5) are also scoring in double figures for a Cavaliers team that is shooting 47.4 percent from the field. Rafferty has nailed 69 3-pointers and Knowles has drilled 59 treys. Williams and Knowles have 62 and 59 steals, respectively. Walton-Moss has picked up his scoring after joining the team at the semester mark, averaging 20.8 over his past five games to raise his average from 13.1 points.
“A lot of our offensive success has to do with our confidence,” Kahn said. “We have had a lot of players step up and it’s been fun to see it all come together. The older players have been in a lot of games and have had a lot of practices over the last two years. The experience is paying off.”
Williams said the fact that Cabrini doesn’t rely on or two players is huge for the team as it continues its quest for a national title.
“We play really well as a team and we know we can count on each other,” Williams said. “We’re excited about we’ve been able to do and if we just focus on what we have to do to be successful, we’re going to in a position to win.”
Kahn said he knows his team will have its work cut out for it against second-ranked Amherst (27-2), but he said he is more focused on his team and the preparation that goes into playing in the Elite Eight.
“Amherst is a darn good basketball team and we are trying to prepare as much as we can for our opponent, but at this point, we’re not changing much,” Kahn said. “If we play the way we know we can play basketball, we will be fine. We’re looking forward to the weekend. Each game gets us one step closer to redemption.”