Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

March 13, 2017

This past season for Cedarville men’s basketball was definitely a season to grow on. We had some good moments, and big wins that we can really build off for next year. There will be difficulties at times considering three of our main players were seniors, but we are an older team (most of our team is upper classmen) so we should be able to adjust well.

This year was a good building block for next year, and it was a lot of fun. This team is special from the standpoint that everybody has a good relationship with each other. Everybody enjoys each other’s company, and that does not happen on many teams. The relationships that formed on this team will last a long time, and that is one of the most important aspects of sports that is not discussed.

I would lastly like to thank all the support we received this year. Many parents on the team drove to most of the games, and that meant a lot to our team. We also appreciate the students and professors that came to our games, and supported us when there was not many people at the games. Thank you again for all the support and we cannot wait to see you at the games next year.

SeanB


February 28, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was one of the most important weeks in my eyes. It was the week of Senior Night. Senior Night is when you celebrate all that the seniors on your team have done for you and the basketball program. It is difficult to put into words all that our seniors have done for our team, but I will give you an idea of what each senior means to us as a team on and off the court.

I will talk about Justice Montgomery first. On the court, Justice is almost like a breath of fresh air. He is a calming effect for our team because we all have complete confidence in him as our point guard. He has one of the highest player IQ’s I have personally seen, and he makes so many plays that do not show up in the stat book. He creates shots for other players, and plays hard-nosed defense. Off the court, Justice is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He has a genuine care for anybody he interacts with, and is somebody who you can lean on spiritually. As a quick example, I told Justice this year that I wanted to become intentional about spending time with God, and he instantly gave me some sermons to listen too. He also checked up on me to make sure I was listening to them, and it meant a lot to me.

The next senior I will talk about is my woldy - J.C. Faubion. On the court J.C. is somebody we can lean on when we need a big play. He usually always comes through for us in big spots, and is a licensed walking bucket (He scores a lot). Off the court, J.C. is a great person, and is somebody you know will be honest with you. I think the best type of friends you can have are the ones who will not just tell you what you want to hear. I know if I go to J.C. seeking advice, or with a situation I need help with he will be completely honest with me. I appreciate that about him, and know I can always count on him if I need help with anything. He has not been anything but a blessing to me as a friend, and is somebody I know God intentionally placed in my life.

The last senior I will talk about who is also our leader on the team is Easton Bazzoli. On the court, Easton is our Swiss army knife. Easton is listed as a forward, but he can pretty much play all five positions on the court, which is very rare to have. He can do it all from rebounding, scoring, dribbling, and passing. He is a special player, and I have enjoyed watching him play. Off the court, Easton is a great person, and he is a part of a great family. Every player on our team is a part of a great family, but over the last three years, I have had the opportunity of getting acquainted with Easton’s family pretty well. They are a great group of people, and in particular, his mother and father are two awesome individuals. Once you meet them, it is obvious why Easton is the person he is. In addition Easton is somebody you can always count on to make you laugh, and most importantly, he is somebody that wants to grow closer to Christ. It is awesome to see the strides that he is continually trying to make with the Lord. Everybody on the team appreciates him.

It is G-MAC Tournament time, and we are hoping to have three games. It is single game elimination, which means if you lose, you are done. Our first game is Thursday against Malone (Start time is 2:30 p.m. EST) then our second game is Friday (Start time is 2:30 p.m. EST) and the championship is Saturday (Start time is 2:00 p.m. EST). All the games are being played at Kentucky Wesleyan since they won the regular season league title. We appreciate all prayers for safe travels!

SeanB


February 21, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was a solid week, and one where we grew closer to the team we want to be by the time the G-MAC Tournament begins. We had our Nashville trip last week, which is the best in-conference trip we take. Nashville is a fun city to visit, but our trip was still a business trip and we had one stop before Nashville. We played our first game against Kentucky Wesleyan who is the 13th-ranked team in the nation. They are a good team, and we knew it would be a battle going into the game. We played them well, but ended up coming up short in the end. It also did not help that Patrick suffered an injury early in the game. He was not able to finish the game or play in the next game, so we would appreciate it if you could keep him in your prayers.

Our next game was in Nashville against Trevecca. Nashville is also a fun city to visit, and Coach Estepp took us to one of the best BBQ restaurants in the area. We went to Martin’s BBQ and the food was amazing. Everybody enjoyed the restaurant, and were ready to play the next day. Our game went well the next day, and we had some great performances by two of our players. J.C. Faubion had another magnificent performance that we have grown accustomed too. He scored 26 points to go with eight rebounds, and also played some great defense. The second player who played well against Trevecca and Kentucky Wesleyan was Evan Kraatz. Evan is one of our hardest workers on the team, so it was nice to see him play the way he did. He brought it on both ends of the floor, and was a big reason we won our game. It can be difficult to be a back-up point guard at times, but Evan has adopted the role and plays that role better than anybody in the country.

The upcoming week for the team is the final regular season week of games. Which means we have Senior Night. The seniors have done a great amount for this program, so I know it would mean a lot to them if you came out and supported them. Our first game of the week is home against Kentucky State on Thursday (Start time 7:45 p.m.). Our second game, which is Senior Night, is a home game on Saturday against Ohio Valley (Start time is 6:15 p.m.).


February 14, 2017

This past week for me was a rough one because I was sick the whole week, so I wasn’t around the team that much. Something that was on everybody’s mind this past week was the trip we took as a team to Italy last summer. Some players on the team were reminiscing about the great time we had serving, and all the fun we had. It was such a great experience, and definitely an awesome place to visit. I thought I would share a great video of some moments in Italy that were captured by our own Kyle Laffin who also made the video:).

Hope you enjoy the four minutes of highlights!

Click here to watch!

We have two big G-MAC games this week and they are both away games. Our first game is Thursday against Kentucky Wesleyan (start time is 8:45 p.m.) and our second game is Saturday against Trevecca (Start time is 5:15 p.m.). Hope you all have a blessed week.

SeanB


February 7, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was another step in the right direction, and a learning experience. We had a huge game Thursday against D&E that we needed to win. D&E also had beaten us five times in a row, so we wanted to beat them. They are also a pretty good team that has one of the better players in the league on their team (Kevin Bracy-Davis). We went into the game knowing it was going to be tough, and a game we had to display perseverance because there was going to be ups and downs throughout the game. The game was an exact mirror image of that. It was a battle the whole game which featured runs by both teams, and some great plays. Everybody on our team contributed, but our upperclassmen played just like the excellent players they are.

To start off I can’t go any further in this blog without mentioning the defense that Patrick Bain put on display. He guarded the other team’s best player, and did a very solid job on him. He also hits shot as usual, but defense is something that goes unnoticed to most people and Pat did a great job. Easton and Justice also played a great game; I thought they both controlled their areas of the game.

Justice Montgomery ran our team great, played good defense, attacked, and just played a great game as he usually does. A lot of the things Justice contributes to the team also don’t show up in the stat book; which means he has a lot of hustle plays, drives to the baskets that lead to points that he doesn’t get assists for (even though he should), and lastly just his basketball IQ which enables him to make or do certain things that the stat book can’t account for.

Easton Bazzoli also played well, and did a great job controlling the boards alongside with Robert Okoro.

Lastly, my "woldy" played a good game, but I am just going to get right to the game-winning shot he hit. J.C. Faubion has hit a couple of big shots throughout the last couple years, but this one was by far the best. It took a lot of grit, and confidence to take that shot. Everybody was very excited he hit the shot, and also extremely happy for him. After hitting a shot like that I think it is safe to say he has ice water in his veins.

Everybody had a big contribution - even the bench cheering everybody on, and not just worrying about their minutes. Evan Kraatz also laid his body on the line for a huge charge call that helped a lot. Everybody played a role.

After an emotional win like that it is very difficult to come out for the next game, and have the same sense of urgency. Especially when the team you are playing is coming off one of their worst losses in years. We dug ourselves a hole early, and could never completely dig ourselves out of it. It was just a lesson that was learned that will prove to be big when conference tournament hits. I say this because in order to win we will probably have a huge win, and have to come back the very next day and play another big game. Now we know what not to do when that situation occurs.

Lastly I want to thank all the alumni, and people that came out for the men’s and women’s games. It was a great environment and we appreciate the support very much.

We play one game this week away at Malone on Saturday (Start time is 3:15 p.m.). You can watch online if you would like, but we do appreciate prayers for safe travels. I hope everybody has a blessed week.

SeanB


January 30, 2017

The last couple of weeks for Cedarville men’s basketball was a great example that hard work always pays off in the long run. The beginning of the season until about two weeks ago hasn’t gone as planned, but we embodied one of our core values and just persevered through the rough times. Nobody on our team stopped working on their game, or got down on themselves. Our coaches also made some key adjustments to help us get to this point. Our coaches usually don’t get a ton of credit, but this winning streak we are going on has a lot to do with what they have done. The last two weeks have been exactly what we have envisioned since our trip to Italy, and it’s coming just at the right time.

As we are really heading into the thick of conference play it is important that we are playing our best basketball, so we can get a good seed for the conference tournament. I believe we are definitely on the right track to do this. We know as long as we get into the conference tournament with a decent seed anything is possible, and we are excited at the chance to win it all. This week of upcoming games is going to be huge for our team, so we would love all the support we can get! If we get two wins this week it would give our team a great boost in conference seeding.

We play Davis & Elkins Thursday (Start time is 7:45 p.m.) and we play Saturday against Alderson Broaddus (Start time is 4:15 p.m.). Both games are home so we would love your support!

SeanB


January 23, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was one of the better weeks we have had to date. It is always easy to say we are playing basketball it should be fun, but just like anything in life it’s hard to have fun if you are not winning. Not to mention all the hard work that our team puts in on a consistent basis it’s always nice to see the payoff that comes with it.

We played well the whole week, and to our capabilities. The ball movement was good, and our defense was also good. In particular we witnessed two great performances from Kwenton Scott. He played well on both sides of the floor, and got buckets all week. We just simply played two great games, and we are looking to continue to build off of that as the year continues to progress.

Since our conference tournament means so much this year it is important that we continue to progress as the season is nearing its end. The season isn’t too far away from being over, so it is vital that we begin to play our best basketball. I think with the players and coaching staff we have, we are capable of doing just that. Everybody is really upbeat and ready for our games this week so we can keep building on the win streak that we have.

We have three big games this week and our first one is a home game against Central State on Tuesday (Start time is 7:30 pm) then another home game Thursday night against Malone (Start time is 7:00 pm), and we finish off the week away against Ohio Valley (Start time is 4:15 pm).

We would greatly appreciate support and prayers as we head into this week of games. We also appreciate the continued prayers for the team and the members of the team who aren’t with us right now.

SeanB


January 16, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was a tough one, but was still productive. We took our yearly trip to West Virginia for our games against Alderson Broaddus (AB) and Davis & Elkins (D&E). If you read the blog last year you are probably aware of how I feel about going to West Virginia.

This trip seemed to look scary before it started when we found out we couldn’t take our regular charter busses. Yes, I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but it’s vital to have a bigger bus on longer trips because most of the players are pretty big so it’s not too much fun getting stuck sitting with a grown 6-foot-6 man. The trip to Alderson Broaddus ended up not being that bad other than the few potholes we hit along the way. Big shout-out to Coach Sok (AKA B sizzle) for driving this weekend. I’m sure it isn’t easy driving over six hours, and still having to coach, so your efforts this week were much appreciated. The trip to West Virginia had a couple detours due to a terrible car accident, and some bad weather so we got to our hotel later than expected so practice was canceled. It’s never bad to have a day off, so everybody was a little happy about that. We just got up early the next day and got shots up at AB. Later that day we had our game against AB, and it didn’t go as planned. Both of our games were kind of similar.

I don’t think it was the fact that we played bad - we were just missing shots. Basketball in the simplest terms is a game of makes and misses. This week just happened to be the week that we were missing. We have a lot of hard workers on our team so I will be surprised if that continues to happen. Every team hits a rough patch during the year, and it usually takes everybody on the team having faith in each other to get out of the slump. I know we have the players to do just that, so I’m excited for this next week of games.

We play Tuesday at Wilberforce (Start time 7:30 p.m.) and Thursday which is at home game against Salem International University (Start time 7:45 p.m.). We would appreciate as much support as possible and continued prayers for Colton and Dazhonetae.

SeanB


January 10, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was very productive, and we are growing even closer as a team. It’s honestly something you wouldn’t understand unless you were actually around the team, but the bond that is being created within our team is probably unmatched by any other team in the nation. It’s a fun thing to witness, and I know it will translate on the court sooner than later. If you came to the games this week you could see that in glimpses, and it was very apparent over long stretches when we played Kentucky Wesleyan. Kentucky Wesleyan is historically one of the best teams in our league, so we knew it would be a fight going into the game. Everybody was excited for the game and, to make a big statement in the league. Not to mention that considering it was still Christmas break, and not many people were in town we had a decent crowd for the game so that was a big help.

The game was back and forth all game. Everybody played well, and Easton (Barny) really stepped up his game. He played a great all-around game and did a great job rebounding which is something that can go unnoticed, but is a vital part of basketball. In most cases rebounding is one of the main reasons you can lose games. We didn’t end up winning the game, but it was a great mark to see how good we can play every night. In the long run this game will be big for us to build off of as we continue into conference play.

We play two away games this week in West Virginia (Insert eye roll….Hoping there isn’t another waffle debacle - Only the real blog supporters will get that joke). We play Thursday against Alderson Broaddus (Start time is 7:30 p.m.). We also play Saturday against Davis & Elkins (Start time is 4:15 p.m.).

Thank you for all your support and please keep Dazhonetae Bennett in your prayers. He got injured in our game Saturday and isn’t doing too well.

SeanB


January 4, 2017

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball consisted of some tough practices. Since we had Christmas break the week before it was expected that practice was going to be tough. I think coaches love and are also at the same time scared of breaks because players get the whole week off. The coaches enjoy the time off just as much as the players, but it’s scary to take that much time off from your team. Even though we had that time off I believe nobody came back in terrible shape or looked like they didn’t do a thing over break. It also was nice to hear everybody had a good break, and was rejuvenated to be back.

In sports when you have time off the coach usually wants the team to get after it pretty hard because he wants all the rust to be knocked off immediately. Practice was highly intense the first day back, and everybody had a solid practice and coach was relatively happy about our first day back. The rest of the week involved everybody jumping over some hurdles, but we got through it and came out a better team.

I think after going through the week we just went through the rest of the year is going to be special. All of our players are mentally prepared to play, and ready to play for each other. The coaches are also ready to coach us to the best of their ability, and I think we are going to be a special team to watch. Not to mention this couldn’t have came at a better time because conference play starts this week. Your record before conference play doesn’t really matter because whoever wins the conference tournament at the end of the year gets to go to the national tournament. It is vital that we do good during conference play because the more wins we have the better seed we will get. It also means that if we are the #1 seed we will host the tournament, so these next couple months are huge for us.

We play two games this week - both at home. We play Thursday against Trevecca (Start time 7:45 p.m.) and also Saturday against Kentucky Wesleyan (Start time is 4:15 p.m.). We would appreciate any prayers and I hope everybody is having a great break.

SeanB


December 21, 2016

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was in a sense two weeks in one. It started with finals week and ended with a seven-hour trip for two games. The week began with finals, but for most of the players on the time the week before was more difficult than this week. There obviously were a couple exams people really had to study hard for, but most of the players weren’t stressing themselves out too much because everybody was just ready to be done. I don’t know exactly why, but the week felt like it flew by. This could have to do with practice being so light and not having any games until the weekend, but it definitely didn’t feel like a regular week. Coach Estepp usually dumbs-down practice and time we have to be in the gym a lot on finals week, so that is always a huge help. I believe most people had a good finals week and will receive good grades in their classes. After finals was over the second part of our week began.

We had a seven-hour trip to Illinois in front of us where we had two games in a holiday classic tournament, but before we went we got the opportunity to practice at Butler University’s basketball arena (Hinkel Fieldhouse). It was a fun experience for everybody, and especially for the players on our team that are from Indiana (My Woldy and Jorey). Butler is a storied program which has sent many players to the NBA, and has a current 20 point a game scorer in the league in Gordon Hayward. It was a lot of fun playing on a court where you know players of that caliber played, and also seeing the Final Four banners that were hanging up.

After we finished our practice we got to go see our teammate Colton Linkous (da Brodie) which was no doubt the highlight of the weekend. Colton had a huge surgery, and we were more than happy to receive the news before we visited him that his surgery went well. There were a lot of prayers answered by God with that surgery being successful, and we were so happy to see Colt. He is one of the main players on our team, and always brings a joy to the team that is unmatched so seeing him meant more to the team than anything else. The weekend from a playing standpoint didn’t go as we wanted too, but after seeing Colton and everything he has gone through that was bigger than any win we could receive that weekend or all year. We love you and hope you recover from surgery soon Colt!

Next Friday, December 30, we have a game against Lake Erie at home (start time is 7:30 p.m.) if anybody is in town and can make it we would really appreciate the support. You can also listen online.

I hope everybody has a great break, and please continue to pray for Colton.

SeanB


December 13, 2016

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was stressful from an academic aspect. Considering it was the week before finals a lot of players on the team had final projects and papers due, and still had to study for finals the following week. It was a big help only having one game this week, so a lot of attention could be paid to classes. It can be difficult at times to be a student-athlete, and still keep up with all of your classes. Basketball can be a big time commitment, so it can be tough to find time for school. In most cases you have to make time for schoolwork or you can face a big drop off in classes. I believe it speaks to the intelligence and character of a lot of our players that our team GPA is a 3.0. Considering everybody has an excuse to just get by, and do just enough so they can play I think it says a lot that we have players that still take their studies serious.

We did have one game last week, which was an away game against Saint Joseph’s. We played a great game from tip to the final buzzer. We handled them pretty well, and had a great performance from J.C. Faubion (My Woldy) where he recorded 17 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. He also received Athlete of the Week honors in the G-MAC, and is the second player on our team to receive that honor (Patrick Bain was the first).

I hope everybody has a great finals week, and has safe travels over break. We have two games this week, and would appreciate prayers for safe travels. We play Saturday at 2 PM against Lewis University in Quincy, Illinois. We also play Sunday at Quincy University at 4:15 PM.

SeanB


December 6, 2016

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was one of the better ones that we had from a basketball standpoint. We really needed to have a good week and get a couple wins to improve our overall record. It was a week we were expected to win both games, so we needed to step up and do that. Even though we were expected to win both games they weren’t going to be easy games by any means.

Our first game was against Ohio Christian, who usually plays us well, and it didn’t help that one of our key players and emotional leaders on the team (Easton AKA Barny) was out due to injury. Since we already knew Easton was out it was understood some players on the team would have to step up due to injury and they did. It was a great team effort throughout, and I’m not just saying it was a great team effort just to say; It was truly a team effort. We had five players score in double digits that game, and these players include Dazhonetae Bennett Aka Tae Money (19 points), Justice Montgomery Aka Bice Bontgomery (14 points), Robert Okoro Aka Tez (11 points), J.C. Faubion Aka My Woldy (11 points), and Patrick Baine Aka P Bizzle (10 points). These players in particular really stepped up, and had some great games. It was fun to watch them all have great games, and it really was a great display of Cedarville basketball. We have one of the most, if not the most unselfish team in the country, so when everything is clicking it’s a lot of fun to watch. Good thing we got to see more of it in our next game.

Wilberforce is usually a game that we don’t have much trouble with, but they are a lot better this year so we knew the game wouldn’t be as easy as usual. We got out to an early lead, but Wilberforce fought back and it was a back and forth game from there on. It was a hard fought game and I believe something that was vital to us sticking together through it was Coach Estepp Aka Easy E. He really did a great job of staying positive throughout the game and encouraging the team. You could tell everybody was playing confidently, and that played a big part in how we played. In a second straight game we had multiple people score in double digits, and also got to witness a great performance from Patrick Bain. He played well on both ends the whole night. He played some tough defense and also poured in 19 points. Pat always plays extremely hard, and works even harder outside of practice on his game so it’s always nice seeing him play well. We ended up pulling away at the end, and got a much deserved win.

We only have one game this week that is away at Saint Joseph’s in Rensselaer, Indiana (Start time is 4:00 p.m. EST). Even if you can’t come to the game you can still watch online. We appreciate all the support we can get. We would also appreciate keeping us in your prayers for safe travels, and also praying for Easton Bazzoli who is dealing with an injury and also Colton Linkous who is dealing with a medical issue. All prayers are appreciated. Thank you for your continued support.

SeanB


November 29, 2016

This past week was Thanksgiving Break as you all know. Most of you probably don’t know, but campus during break is pretty much a ghost town. It can get extremely boring at times, and the amount of movies/Netflixs that gets watched is OC (out of control....An acronym brought to Cedarville by my woldy). You could imagine how old that can get after a while, but something that helps our team get through breaks is how much we enjoy spending time together. I have been on many sports teams in my life, but this team in my eyes is the true definition of a family.

If any of you remember from last year how our team got stuck on a bus for about an hour, and still managed to make it the best time of our lives. Well, that’s how breaks go for us. We really enjoy each other’s company, and spend a lot of time together just hanging out. Sometimes we will just sit, and talk for hours like a bunch of little girls at recess. Considering we talk so much there are usually a lot of developments over breaks and some of our players have been dubbed new nicknames.

One of these players is our captain and leader Easton Bazzoli. We all love Easton, and he has really been doing a great job leading us and is a two-time consecutive Barnabas hammer award winner. The Barnabas award is giving to the teammate who encourages the team, calls huddles, and rallies their team together in practice when they are struggling. He has really been doing a great job with this, so instead of Easton or E, he is now officially Barny or B.

Another teammate who has been dubbed a new nickname is Justice Montgomery who has played great all year. He also had one of his best games of the season against Findlay where he recorded 20 points, 3 assists, and played great defense the whole game. Due to this he has been dubbed the nickname Bice Bontgomery which is in honor of a great NBA point guard (Kyrie Irving) who is also known as Byrie Birving. Justice is a great player, and I really enjoy watching him play. He does a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed, but he is a vital part of our team.

From a basketball aspect, the past week for us didn’t go as good as we wanted it too. We didn’t win our games, but we are improving. We played some good teams, and are only a few plays from beating these teams. It’s encouraging that it is still early in the season, and we are playing these teams so close because in a month or so when we figure out how to win these games we are going to be a dangerous team to play. Everybody on our team is still confident in all the hard work we have put in, and we know we are going to start winning these games soon.

This week we have two games, and they are both home games. This Wednesday we play Ohio Christian (Start time is 7:30 p.m.). We also play Saturday night against Wilberforce (Start time is 7:45 p.m.).

I hope everybody had a great week, and can make it out to support us this week!

SeanB


November 21, 2016

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball was a little up and down. We had a big game against Walsh University who is historically a huge rival for us. Walsh is also joining our league next year, so we wanted to make a statement for next year. When the game started it was one of the weirder games I have seen. The crowd for the game wasn’t that big, so the gym was very quiet. The game was also on a Thursday night, which means everybody had class all day, and it’s getting to be close to the end of the semester so classes are beginning to get much more stressful. Those two factors alone probably had something to do with why both teams came out and played a little sloppy.

It’s hard to create your own energy until you can get into the flow of the game, and we struggled with that at the beginning of the game. After a little time passed we started playing much better and had a lead going into halftime. We knew we were better than Walsh and had a lot of confidence going into the second half. When we came out it was a back and forth game, and Walsh went on a run towards the end of the game. They ended up winning the game, and it was a bit upsetting to the team. We knew we were the better team and should’ve won, but we couldn’t think about the game too much because we had another game Saturday. The only thing we could do was use the game as motivation, and come out with a lot of energy on Saturday.

We played Northwood University on Saturday in Michigan. We really thought this was a game we should win going into, and was a game we wanted to win considering we lost to this team last year. We came out and took control of the game from the start. Everybody on the team had a great game, and played to the best of their ability. This game to me wasn’t about who we were playing, but more about us and how we would respond from losing on Thursday. As usual we responded well, and played a good game.

This week we have a game Tuesday night at home against Ferris State (Start time 7:45 p.m.). Anybody that isn’t going home for Thanksgiving and can come support we would greatly appreciate it. We also have a game away on Saturday at the University of Findlay (Start time is 7:30 p.m.). We appreciate your continued support and prayers.

SeanB


November 15, 2016

This past week for Cedarville men’s basketball didn’t go exactly how we wanted it to go, but it showed us just how good we could be this season. Our first game was against Truman State who is a 20-win team from one of the best conferences in the nation (GLVC), and is also a team that went to the regional final last year. We knew going into that game that it wouldn’t be easy, but from all the hard work every single player on our team put in over the summer everybody was ready to play. Not to mention it was the first game of the year, so the team knew that the stands would be full, and the atmosphere would be amazing as it is every year for the first game. When the game started we came out, and immediately behind our crowd went on a 9-0 run (when a team goes on a scoring streak). We even got to witness a nice put back dunk from Easton (AKA E, AKA Matt), which caused Truman State to call the first timeout. In basketball you never want to have to call the first timeout, especially before the first media timeout because that means the other team came out more intense and ready to play. After that it was a back and forth game, which saw many lead changes, and small runs made by each team. The game just simply came down to a couple missed shots and rebounds. We ended up losing, but it was honestly a situation where we realized how much potential this team has to be a great team. We didn’t play our best game, which is expected being that it was the first game of the year, but we were still right there at the end with a very good team in Truman State. It was nice to witness the improvement of our team just one game into the season compared to last year’s season. I don’t know if we would have been able to hang with this team in our first game of last year’s season, but this year we can and I believe if we see this team down the road we will win.

Our next game was against Maryville, and Coach Estepp (AKA Eazy E) challenged our team to improve on certain aspects of the Truman State that we struggled in and we responded. Even if you are not an athlete you know how it feels if you are doing something for your parents or a friend and you don’t preform as well as you should. You can really tell the type of person you are by the way you respond to not doing well, and being challenged by that person. Well our team definitely responded and our players off the bench had the biggest response. Colton Linkous, Patrick Bain (AKA P bizzle), Evan Kraatz, Kwenton Scott (AKA Q, My roommate), and Joey Morlan (AKA Joey Buckets) all played great games, and really lifted our team up to our first win of the year. It was really nice to see these players in particular play well because they sometimes don’t get as much recognition as they should, but are a huge key to our team success. We ended up pulling away from Maryville towards the end of the first half, and never looked back. This past weekend really got me excited to see where our team will be in a month or so because I believe it will be something special to watch.

We have two games this week. Our first game is home Thursday night (start time 7:30 p.m.) against Walsh University, and our second game is an away game Saturday at Northwood University (start time is 3:00 p.m.). Away games can still be watched online if you can’t make it out. We appreciate all support even if you can’t make it to the game. I would like to give a big shootout to the parents, students, and supporters who were able to come to the games this weekend. We greatly appreciate the support, and hope to see you all at more games.

SeanB


November 10, 2016

The pre-season this year was much different than last year’s. With only having to add three new players this year compared to eight new players last year it was much smoother. Everybody was excited to get back, and the team morale was much higher than usual coming into the school year. I believe that is contributed to the once in a lifetime trip Coach Estepp, and the coaching staff took the whole team on over the summer. We got the opportunity to go on a missions trip for ten days to Gabriel Portillo's home country of Italy, and I believe I can speak for everybody when I say it was one of the better experience we have ever had.

The whole team reported to Cedarville in July, and we got to meet Joey AKA Jorey Buckets or Jumpshot Joey who is one of our new players. We practiced for about four days and then left for Chicago International Airport. The trip was filled with new life experiences for many of the players, and this began as soon as we got to the airport. When we arrived at the airport there were some players who had never flown on an airplane before, so that was a new experience for them. The flight from Chicago to Italy was about twelve hours, so it was pretty long. Flying on a plane that long is already hard enough, but it can be a little extra difficult when you have players who are 6’6" trying to sit in seats that are made for people who are about 5’11". When we finally landed in Italy we got hit right in the face with a whole new culture as soon as we stepped outside the airport. Not to mention that the time difference between the U.S and Italy is six hours, so the jet lag was tough to deal with. Our coaches didn’t let us take a nap because they wanted our bodies to get used to the time, so we were up for about thirty-three hours straight at one point. We spent our first day in Rome, and to describe how beautiful it was there is almost impossible. The detail on the buildings, and the structures there are indescribable. Rome was so beautiful, and everybody enjoyed everything from the sightseeing, the food, the fountain, and the sideshows on the street. It was a great first day, and after thirty-three hours I believe everybody had some of the best sleep of their life that night.

The next morning, we had the opportunity to do missions work. We randomly got to serve some refugees on the street, and supply them with food and talk to them for a little bit. I believe that really put some perspective on life when we got to see how some people are living, and how blessed we are to live the way we do. It is much different to actually see what we see in real life rather than on TV. We later got to visit cities such as Venice, San Marino, and Milan. These places were a lot of fun, but I believe the best experience we had throughout the whole trip was being able to help at Gabe’s family's Church Camp. While we were there we got to help Gabe’s father Mario with anything he needed done at the camp. We got to paint, help with campers, hear Justice (Ice) sing and see everybody on our team dance (led by Easton of course), learn Italian, pass out the Gospel to complete strangers, and also eat some of the best food we have ever had which was prepared by Gabe’s lovely mother and grandmother. We also got the opportunity to worship with Gabe’s family, and the campers which was an awesome experience. Helping at the camp was the highlight of the trip for most people, and really reminded us why we were there. The next week we played four games against teams from Italy. We played well and had a lot of fun. After the games when we finally arrived back everybody was so close as a team, and ready to get the season underway.

When everybody returned to campus for the school year we got too meet our other two new players Dazhonetae Bennett Aka Tae, Tae money, T-time and Jonathan Thomas AKA Cleft the boy chin wonder. It was nice welcoming the new players we had, and everybody eventually jelled right into the team. The pre-season went much better than last year from a basketball standpoint, and we looked pretty good. Moonlight Madness was fun as usual, and all the new players enjoyed the new experience of getting to partake in the event. At this point everybody is just ready to start the season, and show everybody how hard we have been working. This year has the potential to be very special, and we can’t wait to share it with everybody in Cedarville.

We kick the season off this weekend in the Don Callan Classic against Truman State (home game / start time is 7:45 p.m.) and this game is a Black Out and also Military Appreciation Night. We also play Saturday which is another home game (start time is 5:15 p.m.) and is Honor Student Night. We would love for everybody to come out and help us get the season out to a great start!

Lastly, the whole Cedarville Men’s basketball team would like to give a huge thanks to everybody that contributed to us being able to take our trip to Italy. Your donations and prayers were much appreciated. With your help we were able to make a difference while we were in Italy, and your help played a big part in that.
 
SeanB


Sean Blackburn is a junior from Columbus, Ohio and a broadcasting and digital film major. He played two seasons with the Yellow Jackets before serving as a student assistant in 2016-17.