Men's Basketball: Hastings relishes its chance

When coach Lance Creech got the call from senior Jeremiah Slough that Hastings College had landed a spot in the NAIA men’s basketball tournament, he was lucky he didn’t drive off Interstate 80.

“I about did, probably,’’ said Creech, who was returning home from a recruiting visit. “I was pretty excited.’’

The Broncos will play Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in the first round on Thursday night at 9:15. Bellevue University is the other local team that qualified for nationals in Point Lookout, Mo.

Creech said he was nervous about securing an at-large bid after the Broncos lost three of their last four games. But most of the league favorites won, and the No. 24 Broncos slipped into the 32-team field for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

Although he had a few anxious moments at the end, Creech said he felt from the start that the Broncos were capable of qualifying.

“I thought we had enough talent to get there,’’ he said. “You never know how things are going to come together. After a 3-3 start, once we got going our kids responded well. We were playing really good games in long stretches.’’

The Broncos finished 23-8 and second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. He said those losses at the end were against some quality teams, including tournament qualifiers Dakota Wesleyan and Sioux Falls in overtime in the GPAC tournament.

Cardinal Stritch is a lot like the Broncos, Creech said. It will shoot a lot of 3s, is athletic and can score in bunches.

Creech said the key to winning the opener is cranking up the defense and producing offensively. Waid Vontz leads the Broncos with 18.8 points a game followed by Slough with 17.5 points and a GPAC-leading 6.3 assists.

This will be Creech’s first game at nationals. When asked who was more nervous, he or his players, he said no contest.

“I would assume me,” he said. “By far.”

Contact the writer:

444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com

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