One and Done

Bears end disappointing season with crushing loss

Nigel Chiwaya
Chronicle Senior Writer

There will be no talk of being snubbed from the NCAA tournament this year. Men’s basketball wrapped up its 2007-08 season last wednesday with a disappointing loss to Concordia in the first round of the East Coast Conference tournament.

The loss was a microcosm of NYIT’s turbulent year. The Bears led by as many as 16 points in the first half, and held a 9 point edge in the second half. Yet they couldn’t seal the deal, becoming the only of the top three seeds to lose at home in the tournament.

The Bears (16-12, 13-8 ECC) will look back on this season as one of missed opportunities. The Concordia game was the third time the team lost a game in which they held double-digit lead. Back in January the Bears seemed poised to march into the NCAA tournament following winning six straight games , but a horrid month of February, which included back-to-back 30-point losses to Adelphi and Holy Family, put NYIT on the bubble.

With their season in danger, the Bears continued to live on the edge, going just 5-8 after posting the six game win streak. Of those 8 losses, 4 came to teams with losing records. In addition, the Bears just did not stand up to good teams. The Bears lost by 30 to Bentley, the number one team in the country, but they also lost to 16-16 Goldey-Beacom. In all, the team went just 3-7 against teams with .500 or better records.

This is a disappointing end for the Bears. NYIT entered the season as the preseason pick to win the conference. Last year, the team’s 15-5 ECC record was good for first place. However, the team was bounced in the second round of the conference tournament and then left out of the NCAA tournament. The Bears entered the year with their sights set on making up for the snub, but in the end, they may have just ended up longing for last season.