Men’s bball rides the process to Centennial Conference tournament

Mules come away with first round victory in C.C. tournament

0
1134
Dan Gaines '22 moves up the floor against Washington College earlier in the 2020 season.

The Muhlenberg men’s basketball posted a stellar regular season record of 18-7, their best record since the 2001-02 season. With an in-conference record of 11-7, the Mules qualified for the Centennial Conference tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Mules are the third seed heading into the conference tournament behind an undefeated Swarthmore team that sits atop the DIII national rankings, and a tenth place nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins team. 

The Muhlenberg roster is relatively young, with 14 out of 17 players being underclassmen. Daniel Gaines ‘22, who was recently named the Lehigh Valley Small Colleges Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, noted the young team’s emphasis on building chemistry and momentum with every outing. “I think the big difference between last season and this season is the amount of chemistry we have as a team. Getting the experience of a full season was also important for a lot of guys, especially because of how young of a team we have,” said Gaines.

The Muhlenberg men are led by Kevin Hopkins, who first took over head coaching duties during the 2017-18 season. Since Hopkins’s tenure began, the Mules have improved steadily each season. When asked what adjustments the team has made to find their stride in the conference this year, Hopkins responded, “To be honest, we have not made many major adjustments this year. Guys have just continued to grow and improve both individually and as a group. We have made a couple minor changes offensively, but the core principles of our playing style have stayed consistent each year that I have been at Muhlenberg.” The third-year coach continued, saying, “We talk to our team about continually trying to raise the standards of what is unacceptable, acceptable or exceptional as the season progresses and year-to-year as the team continues to grow.” 

The raised standards have certainly made a difference for the Mules, who, according to Gaines, continue to push each other in practices. “I think a lot of the freshmen have come in and pushed everyone to practice and play harder. Also, understanding how important each practice and lift is has contributed to the increased success from last year,” he said. 

The emphasis placed on process seems to be an important one for the team. This long-term focus on improvement over time is one of the biggest messages being relayed to the team by the coaching staff according to Matthew Gnias ‘20. “[The team values] process over results, where even though the results of a certain situation may not be in our favor, as long as it was the correct process, we are on the right track to success,” Gnias explained.

For every member on the team, this is their first experience with the Centennial Conference tournament. Coach Hopkins is insistent that the team plays true to themselves, and continues to enjoy the process, saying “the main messages for the team will be to enjoy the experience of hosting a home playoff game and to continue to compete and play our brand of basketball. We have talked a lot this year about trying to play a full 40 minutes of Muhlenberg basketball, and so we will continue to focus on that.”The Mules certainly played a full 40 minutes, winning their first game of the 2020 Centennial Conference tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 25 with a dominant 84-72 win over Washington College. Scoring was lead for the team by Gaines and Gnias posting 21 and 18 points respectively as the team went 52.4% from beyond the 3-point arch. The Mules will look to continue the process and advance in the conference tournament playing their semi-final game against Swarthmore College on Friday Feb. 28 in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here