The firsts keep coming for the Keuka College Men’s Basketball team.
The Wolves toppled SUNY Brockport on Saturday to win the first Empire 8 Conference championship in any sport in College history.
Leading scorer Lamar Lovelace was the first Keuka College player to be named Empire 8 Conference Tournament MVP.
Photo courtesy of Jared Smith
Empire 8 Tournament MVP Lamar Lovelace of Rochester shows off the trophy.
And now the team has secured its first invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolves learned on Monday that they’ll be heading to Connecticut this Friday to face defending champs Trinity College.
They got the news during a viewing party at the College’s Hawkins Lounge. Among those on hand were seniors and student-athletes Mary Cotter and Elianna Wilder – both of whom attended Saturday’s championship game in Brockport.
“It was really cool to see actual history in front of us – the first Empire 8 Championship,” said Elianna, a senior Educational Studies major and four-year Women’s Soccer player. “I never thought I’d see that as a student.”
The victory was especially sweet for Mary, who, as a member of the Women’s Basketball team, often travels with the Men’s team.
“I was honestly emotional because these are some of my brothers,” she said in a voice still hoarse from a weekend of cheering. “It was great to see them succeed. It means so much to our school, especially seniors, to see success come out of something we put so much work into.”
The team was joined by scores of fans in the Hawkins Lounge on Monday for a viewing party to learn who they will face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It's off to Connecticut to take on defending champs Trinity College.
The Wolves enter the NCAA Tournament looking to extend what has been a magical season.
After a slow start that saw the team sitting at 2-7, the Wolves turned things around. They finished strong, winning six of their last eight games to secure a spot in the Empire 8 Tournament.
“Overcoming the adversity we faced early in the season helped fortify us,” said first-year Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Wilk. “Coming together as a team, you only get about two weeks of practice before the season starts. Sometimes it takes longer for a team to come together. It was a slow, slow burn but eventually we got there.”
Seeded seventh in the Empire 8 Tournament – the lowest-seeded team to win the title in Empire 8 history – the Wolves defeated three higher-ranked teams. All on the road, all by single digits, and all with a healthy dose of home-campus support.
“I’ve been at four or five colleges now, and this is the most support I’ve known. Especially being on the road for three games – it was unbelievable.”
The victory marks the first Empire 8 Conference Championship in any sport in College history.
In addition to Lamar’s Tournament MVP honors, fellow guard Ty LaBarge was awarded the Empire 8 Torchbearer Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA playing in the championship game.
Also during the tournament, St. John Fisher College transfer Akinlana Popoola was named Third Team All-Empire 8 for the second straight year and Canandaigua resident Connor Chapman, a first-year guard, was named to the Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team.
