Newtown, PA —- The Bucks County Community College Men’s basketball team defends their impressive season record and gains the title of Eastern States Athletic Conference Champions after beating the Knights of Central Penn College 109-87.
Before the championship game, the team had an impressive 10-game win streak which lead up to them hosting the ESAC championship game against the Knights. The Centurions and Knights faced each other three prior times in the season where the Bucks won two out of the three games.
“I was confident in our preparation leading up to the championship but also stressed,” Coach Farrad Mclaughlin the men’s basketball coach expressed. Mclaughlin is a first-year hire for the men’s team this season and also won the ESAC coach of the year award along with the ESAC championship title.
Tobias Prall, a first-year player and forward, explains how “The team’s energy was great heading towards the championship game. It was silent but it wasn’t the typical, nervous, or scared silence, but the killer silence. We were prepared for what was coming & realized that we worked hard this entire season for this very moment.”
The men quickly squashed any doubts after Jacquis Heath, a first-year center and ESAC second team award winner, assisted Joseph Brusha, a sophomore guard and also an ESAC second team winner. Brusha ignited the fire in the crowd after scoring a three-pointer and setting the Centurion’s attitude for the rest of the game within the first 30 seconds of the game.
The players and the crowd kept up the energy for the rest of the game which ended in the men’s team beating the Central Penn Knights 109-87. After the victory, the crowd came together for congratulations, pictures and the ceremonial cutting down of the net by the team.
“The team did throw water on me to celebrate as well … on a cold day in February,” Mclaughlin adds.
Yasir Rowell, a first-year player and guard, comments further on the team’s success stating “Everybody wanted to win. Our school never won a championship so we had to do what we had to do to get it done.”
Rowell has been recognized before after scoring 46 points on 62 percent shooting when the Centurions battled PSU Wilkes Barre along with his eight assists and seven rebounds. His performance beat the old Buck’s basketball record of points scored in a single game, which was held by William Davis with 40 points.
The young player was also named ESAC player of the year, USCAA scoring leader[28.6 ppg] and ESAC first-team award winner. Rowell also holds the school record for most points per game[27.7] for this season.
The Centurions finished their season with an impressive record of 16-5 with an average of 89.7 points per game. Mclaughlin says “The thing that contributed the most to the team’s success is the mindset of constantly improving. I am proud that the guys found confidence and belief in themselves through hard work.”
The victorious yet humble coach also credited those who support him and his team such as “Matt Cipriano and Justin Boroughs did a lot to make this season a great experience for the team. We received a lot of support from men’s and women’s soccer and the softball team so I look forward to us supporting these teams in the future.”