Spartan Men Fall to Engineers at B-Ball Conference Tournament

Guerby Ruuska

The men’s basketball team had to win their last three games out of four to qualify for the conference tournament––and they did just that.

The Spartans took down Anderson in a close battle 90-86; they then invited Rose-Hulman to their grounds for a thrilling rivalry game. The Spartans lost that game 77-75, not knowing that they would later have to shake hands with the Engineers in the opening round of the conference tournament. 
That loss left MU needing to have to win the next two games, which is exactly what happened. Coach Jerrod Good said that his boys play better away, so it was only fate that the next two games were on the road. First there was Defiance, which MU made pretty easy work of with a 79-60 score to clinch another victory. With one more game left at Transylvania the Spartans found themselves on the inside of the tournament looking in. Transy was forced out of the way losing to Manchester 97-80. 

Then, for the first time since 2011, the Spartans found themselves in the conference tournament. Rival Rose-Hulman was there to greet them in the opening round. Manchester held the lead for much of the game but lost in the last seconds, 82-80.

Even with the loss, the players are not down. “It's a great feeling considering all the hard work that we have put in,” said sophomore Tanner Forsythe. “It’s nice to see that it all is paying off. The school was great in supporting us all season and it's an awesome feeling to give them something to be excited about again.”

“It was back and forth throughout the whole entire game,” Forsythe continued. “We had our opportunities and some things just did not go our way down the stretch. At the end of the day, we knew we had done everything that we could do and that we left it all on the floor. It was a great team to be a part of and a season that won't be forgotten.”

Although the Engineers managed to overcome the Spartans once again in the nail-biter, Coach Good is proud of his squad for setting its goals high.

“It was a tough game,” Good said. “I thought the guys did a really good job and played hard. Obviously you want a different outcome but these guys set themselves up just to play in the game and I am proud of their accomplishments.”