High expectations for the Men's and Women’s Basketball teams this season

By Maddi Achtyl

The Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams begin their season this month, competing in the Northeast Conference (NEC). It marks the first season since they made the jump to Division I that they are eligible for the NCAA postseason tournament. 

Last year, the men’s basketball team held a 15-17 overall record and a 7-9 record in Northeast Conference play. For the fifth consecutive year, the team earned a spot in the NEC championship tournament. Heading into tournament play, they were seeded fifth overall and lost to fourth-seeded FDU on March 5, 71-56. 

This season, the Skyhawks added six transfers to their roster: Davante Hackett, a junior from Brock University; sophomore transfer Trenton Ruth from Coffeyville Community College; Ridvan Tutic, a junior transfer from Maine; and Cory Lovell, a junior transfer from Harcum College.  

They are also joined by two graduate students, Anthony Holden from Maryville University and Raymond Espinal-Guzman from Sacred Heart University, as well as two first-year student-athletes.  

They hope that the addition of new talent to their already talented roster will help them succeed this season. The men’s team will have its home opener on Friday, November 21, at 6 p.m. against Lafayette College.  

The women’s basketball team finished with a 17-16 overall record and an 11-5 record in NEC play last season. They had a historic season, reaching the NEC conference championship game as the second seed. They fell to first-seeded FDU but earned a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time in program history. This year, they hope to berth their first NCAA tournament appearance at the Division I level. 

Although the women’s basketball team lost some key contributors after last season, with three players graduating, they are looking forward to the new talent joining the team. This season, they added three first-years and a graduate student from LIU, Amaya Dowdy, to their roster.  

The early signs are promising as the women’s basketball team opened its season at home Tuesday, November 11, at 2 pm against Niagara University, starting off strong with a 65-50 win.  

The NEC released a preseason poll in which both teams were voted to finish in the top three; the men were voted to finish third, and the women were voted to finish second. 

Both teams open NEC conference play on January 2, with the men playing at home against the University of New Haven at 7:00 p.m. and the women playing away at the University of New Haven at 6:00 p.m.