By Ryan Chell, Sports Co-Editor
Despite losing to the Gettysburg Bullets on Saturday, the men’s basketball team has finished their best season in recent years and will be making their first playoff appearance since 1995. Coach Kevin Curley finished his first season going 15-10 and 10-8 in the Centennial Conference.
The Terror men will be the number four seed in the Conference playoffs and will play number five seed Dickinson on Wednesday.The season was a success, but there has been a lot of drama for the team as they have limped into the playoffs.
On Wednesday, spirits were high as the Terror men faced Con?ference opponent Johns Hopkins at home. If they recorded a win, they would have been guaranteed a first-round bye, a win on senior night in their final home game of the season, and Coach Curley would have recorded his 15th victory of the season at home, a record for first-year coaches in the Centennial Conference.
“We wanted to play well for the seniors,” said Curley. “[Hop?kins] is a good team, and we knew it would be a battle.”
And a battle it was. In the last game against Hopkins, the Terror won in a close 59-56 match-up in Baltimore, where the Blue Jays missed a three-pointer to tie the game. This time the game was still 59-56 in favor of McDaniel with six seconds left. It looked as if the Green Terror would sweep the Jays and be guaranteed the number two seed in the playoffs, but this time, Hopkins hit the three.
Hopkins’ Doug Polster hit a spectacular three-pointer to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, Hopkins won 76-68.
“It was a tough game,” Curley said. “We had a slow start offensively, and in overtime, it was the same story. It was frustrating, but you can’t question our intensity.” Curley also gave Hopkins a lot of credit for making the big shot and forcing the game into overtime.
More drama occurred in this game than just the box score. According to reports from Sports Information and the Carroll County Times, an incident occurred between junior forward Chad Arrington and some of the coaching staff.
As the game progressed, senior Chris Prior, who had 22 points and 15 rebounds, fouled out. Arrington did not replace him on the floor.
Rumors floated around Thursday and Friday that Arrington may have quit, or that he was kicked off the team.
Though seen sitting in the stands, Arrington did not travel with the team in the 78-57 loss to the Bullets on Saturday, and his presence was greatly missed of?fensively, but McDaniel still out-rebounded Gettysburg 38-35.
Arrington said he could not comment as of press time, as a final verdict had not yet been handed down.
Coach Curley politely declined to discuss the situation, citing the incident as an internal affair, but a source close to the team said that, according to Curley, no action has been taken against Arrington, and a decision on his status has not been made as of press time.
The Bullets (21-3, 16-2) set a record for most wins in a season, and Dan Capkin of Gettysburg recorded his 1,000th career point in the game.
Even with the loss, it is still playoff time on the Hill, hosting Dickinson at home on Wednesday. Hopefully they will be able to correct some things on and off the court.
“It depends on who we play,” Curley said. “We will probably have to adjust on some things.”
Information compiled from Sports Information. Chris Ferrick-Manley and Garrett Eagan contributed to this article. Please direct questions to Ryan Chell at or rdc002@mcdaniel.edu.