Purple People

Nothing gets the collective student body on Mount St. James fired up the way a Patriot League Tournament win does.

This year, both the men’s and women’s teams headed to the “big dance” with automatic berths in the NCAA tournament, and the entire time Crusaders offered their teams enthusiastic and unwavering support.

Hundreds of students gathered in Crossroads alongside the men’s team on March 11 to watch ESPN’s announcements of when and where the Crusaders would play in the NCAA Tournament. The crowd roared when they learned the men earned the No. 13 seed to play No. 4 seed University of Southern Illinois.

The women earned No. 16 to square off against No. 1 seeded Duke.

Being part of the tournament was not a new feat for either team; this was the 12th NCAA Tournament appearance for each.

Two busloads of student fans were able to travel to Columbus, Ohio to support the men’s team on March 16. A treacherous snow storm did not deter these die-hard fans. The roads were so bad, the buses nearly turned around in Pennsylvania.

“We would have been devastated if we didn’t make it to the game, it was an experience of a lifetime,” said senior Francesco Danielle.

Despite the defeat by the Salukis — not to mention living off granola bars and sun chips for the 30 hours of travel — the busloads of students did not regret the trek.

For the students who did not bear the bus ride with screaming and exhausted ’Sader fans, Student Programs and Involvement (SPI) along with the Athletics department made sure that the student body on campus would still be able to cheer on the teams. A large projection screen set up in the Hogan Ballroom, as well as a plasma screen in the back of the room, allowed Crusader fans to see seniors, including Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, play their final game for Holy Cross and freshman Eric Meister dominate the boards during the men’s game; and Brittany Keil score her 1,000th point during the women’s game.

“We figured the Hogan Ballroom was the best place to get the community together for such exciting events and we were thrilled by the turn out,” says Ben Correia, assistant director of SPI.

Screens were also set up in the Pub and Crossroads for both games.

Unfortunately, our beloved teams did not make it past the first round. The men’s team was defeated by Southern Illinois 61-51 and the women’s team lost to Duke 81-44.

But the teams probably have little to worry about next year in terms of filling the stands. Their devoted fans will be back in the Hart Center to cheer them on toward a 13th appearance.

In fact, the Hart Center can oftentimes be a tough place for opposing teams to play. During men’s games, Hart averaged 3,044 fans a game this season, the largest attendance in recent memory. The team was unbeaten this year in home court.