NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team (16-13) saw their turnaround season come to an end in the 2024 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Quarterfinals. The second-seeded Walsh University Cavaliers (22-5) held off the Trojans with a buzzer beating basket to advance to the semifinals with a 66-64 victory at Alumni Hall.
Trevecca, the tournament's seventh seed, actually tied for sixth in the league after being picked 11th in the Great Midwest Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Walsh improved to 11-2 in the all-time series with Trevecca. This was the first meeting in the postseason for the two teams. The Cavs are on a four-game win streak in the series and are 8-0 at home vs. the Trojans.
TURNAROUND TROJANS
This season, the first in the
Kevin Carroll era, will long be remembered for being the year the program turned the corner in a dramatic and exciting way. It is the season that made Moore Roar Again.
This season, Trevecca men's basketball equaled the most wins in the NCAA era with 16. The 16-13 record gives the Trojans their second winning season in the D2 era. The 2015-2016 team went 16-15 overall and 8-4 in the league, advancing all the way to the Great Midwest Finals. The 11 conference wins this year are the most by a Trevecca team since the 2009-2010 team notched a 11-5 mark. The 2007-2008 team went 14-6 in the TranSouth Conference, the last team to win more than 11 conference games in a season.
Trevecca won just two games last season, one in conference play. This year the team went 11-9 the league. The Trojans had the lowest per game scoring average (55.7) among NCAA Division II schools, but this season finish with a 78.8 points per game average, second best in the Great Midwest conference.
BREAKING IT DOWN
The Trojans came out on fire, taking it to the second-seeded Cavs on their home floor. Trevecca opened the game with a 12-0 run, hitting 4-of-6 from the field with
Caleb Terry and Jamal Cannady each scoring four points in the run. With 9:41 to go in the half, Trevecca led 26-16. A 9-1 Walsh run cut the Trojan lead to two (27-25) with 6:55 to go before intermission. Trevecca didn't wilt, they pushed the lead to 34-27 (3:32) with a 7-2 run behind five points from
Tommy Gankhuyag. The Cavs closed the half on a 5-0 run to make it a 34-32 TNU lead at the break.
After a layup from
Jalen Page, putting the Trojans up 36-32, to open the second half, the Cavs buried back-to-back three-pointers to take their first lead of the game (38-36) with 17:47 to go in the game. The two three pointers started a 25-6 run that put the home team up 57-42 with 9:28 to go. It appeared to almost everyone, the game was over. Not the Trojans. Trevecca made another run, this time a 22-7 run that tied the game at 64-64 with :22 left in the game. Trevecca hit 10-14 in the run with
Tommy Gankhuyag pacing the Trojans with eight points. Lawrence Brazil drilled the game-tying three-pointer with :22 seconds to go. Unfortunately, the Cavs had one more shot and they made it count as Garrison Keeslar hit the game winner with just two seconds remaining. The Trojans were not able to answer, falling by two.
KEY PLAYERS
Tommy Gankhuyag led Trevecca with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The freshman hit 8-11 from the field.
Pete Lambesis added 12 points and eight rebounds, going 2-5 from three.
Jalen Page scored nine with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Jamal Cannady and Lawrence Brazil each scored nine. Cannady led the team with four assists
TEAM TIME
Trevecca shot 46.4% (26-56) from the field and outrebounded the Cavs 40-30.
GREAT MIDWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
This was the seventh and final appearance in the Great Midwest Championships for the TNU men's basketball team. This was the first appearance in the Great Midwest Championships for Trevecca since the 20-21 season when the Trojans exited in a loss to Hillsdale in the first round. Trevecca is 4-7 all-time in the G-MAC Championships.
UP NEXT
The Trojans head to the off-season with the focus now on building on this season through recruiting and off-season training.
