LMC Men’s Basketball looks to build off win streak, push to the top of the Northeast-10 conference

While most dolphins were home relaxing for winter break, the Le Moyne Men’s Basketball team has been climbing to the top of the Northeast-10 rankings, and building what may be one of LMC’s strongest teams in years.

After a loss on January 7th to St. Michaels, the Dolphins stood at a middling 7-7, and faced an arduous climb toward the top of the NE-10. But since then, Le Moyne has played exemplary basketball on both the offensive and defensive ends, giving up only 62.4 points per game while outscoring their opponents by over 10 points a game during that stretch. The team also pulled out a five-game winning streak, the longest streak since 2010. These wins have led the dolphins to second place in the Northeast-10 conference Southwest Division.

Evans says that improving is the name of the game for this team, and they plan to keep rising with every game.

“Our goal is to keep on getting better every day. The guys are buying into and believing the system we have put in place.”

One key factor for the Dolphins in this span has been the play of senior guard, Nate Champion. He has been averaging 14 points and just over six assists a game in those five games, but what might be more impressive is his quality of play even while playing a high quantity of minutes. In 11 of the team’s 20 games, he has played every minute of the game, including one double overtime game versus Pace and two single overtime contests.

While hustling through every minute of every game may wear some players out, Evans says he sees no end to what Champion will take on when he gets on the court.

“In all of my years of coaching, there’s never been a player in better shape,” Evans said. That confidence in Champion allows for an increased freedom in running the team’s offense as Evans feels comfortable in his playmaking ability.

“Our team this year is different than years past because of the resiliency and mental toughness we play with,” Champion added. “We also have a great chemistry on this team that in years past we haven’t had.”

Champion isn’t the only player pushing the team to the top. Also contributing heavily for the Dolphins has been junior forward, Nate Gause. Since becoming eligible on December 19th, Gause has stepped in to becoming a key scorer off the bench. He has brought double digits to the scoreboard in 10 out of his 12 games, and has been become a reliable 3-point shooter, which allows for more open scoring lanes for his teammates.

Sophomore forward, Connor Mahoney, is another key player during the season. In the Dolphin’s win over Southern New Hampshire on January 25th, Mahoney keyed the Le Moyne victory with a career-high 18 points. He followed that performance with an 11 point effort in a 68-65 win over Stonehill.

As Evans mentioned, this has been a complete team effort and all team members have contributed both in practice, and in games.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, their attempt to extend their winning streak fell short Saturday against Franklin Pierce. The Ravens came into the game at the top of the NE-10’s Northeast division with a 16-3 overall record. The 72-67 loss was just as close as the final score would make it appear with neither team holding a lead over six points in the second half.

Gause led the Dolphin charge with 17 points and nine rebounds with Champion and graduate student center Jim Janson having 13 have their own.

But despite the setback, Evans is optimistic about the team’s future this season. As he puts it, “We are not done improving by any measure.”