Rustlers MBB end the season with a bronze
Men's basketball had higher aspirations, but still came away with hardware at the end of the year.
The squad won ACAC bronze for the second time in three years, the program's third medal in six years, accomplishing the feat in a crowded pool of talented teams on the men's side.
First, the team had two players make it through the All-Conference selection process for the North Division. Baha Salma made the 2nd Team, thanks to great two-way play playing more than 600 minutes this season, while Andre McFadden made the 1st Team, scoring 20.6 points per game (fifth in the league).
Their semifinal matchup at the ACAC Final Four was against the top ranked St. Mary's Lightning, a team boasting two of the top scorers in the country. Lakeland went back and forth with St. Mary's in the first half, trailing 44-45 going into the third. A strong burst had the Rustlers up by as much as nine points, before the Lightning cut it to four by the end of the quarter. In the final stanza, Lakeland was within two possessions in the dying minutes, but couldn't quite keep pace, losing 82-87.
Salma won Player of the Game for the Rustlers, posting a team high 25 points, along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Sheray Thomas said the effort was there against St. Mary's, but they just weren't able to match the Lightning in executing late.
"We played hard on Friday, but costly turnovers prevented us from advancing to the Finals," he said.
The following afternoon, Lakeland faced last year's champion, the SAIT Trojans, for bronze. After trailing by 2 after the opening quarter and 5 points at the half, the men stormed back in the second half to win 71-58. Chance Samuel was POG with a game high 16 points.
Thomas noted the hunger the players had on Saturday allowed them to walk away with bronze against a really good team.
"We relied on our defense holding SAIT to 8pts in the 3rd quarter and 9pts in the 4th," he said. "We had players step up all tournament with us battling injuries and foul trouble in both games."
Salma was the team's representative on the tournament All-Star team.
Lakeland will now reset for the off-season, as Coach Thomas reorganizes the roster for what should be another memorable men's basketball campaign in the fall.