Ryan Chell
Staff Reporter
All good things must come to an end.
And on Saturday, McDaniel’s historic season came to an end, as the Terror dropped its Centennial Conference semi-final matchup against the Gettysburg Bullets, 79-58, at Franklin and Marshall last Saturday.
The Terror(18-8, 13-6 CC) had four players in double-figures, most notably T.J. Odunlami and Chad Arrington, who were playing in their final games at McDaniel. However, the Gettysburg trio of Andrew Powers , Corey Dorsey, and Dan Capkin combined for 59 of the Bullets’ 79 points, and helped their team gain a 30-point advantage midway through the second half, and advanced to play the winner of F&M and Muhlenberg.
It was the biggest loss Coach Kevin Curley’s squad has suffered this year, and is the second time McDaniel has lost to Gettysburg in as many games. They lost to the Bullets 53-48 in their regular season finale, which put the Terror as the #2 seed in these playoffs.
Curley knew that this game was going to be no easy task, and he knew that Gettysburg was going to “bring it” in the playoff game.
“I think we’re ready to play.” Curley said last Thursday. “It was a tough game last Saturday, and I think it’s going to be another tough game this Saturday.”
And to anyone who might think that the Terror were looking ahead to the game on Sunday, and wanting that opponent to be top-seeded Franklin and Marshall, Curley had this to say regarding the even-play of the two teams on the other side of the bracket.
“We’ll play whoever is there. I think anybody can win. Certainly, we would like a chance to play in the championship game.”
But there would be no opportunity for the Terror because they couldn’t take care of their own business. But that does not mean this season was a failure by any sense of the word, and recognition did come toward the team’s efforts in the regular season. And while a conference trophy will not be in Gill this year, several other awards were handed to several members of this year’s squad.
Curley, in only his second year on the sidelines, was recognized by the entire Centennial Conference for his success this year, as he was named the 2008-2009 Coach of the Year. Curley guided the McDaniel squad to a team-record 18 wins, and yet another chance at the conference title, which seemed to elude this program for decades.
“It’s a nice honor, and I’m happy about it,” Curley said. Over the past week, he has received a lot of phone calls and congratulations from students, his players, and coaches from many of his Centennial Conference brethren.
Also receiving honors were upper classmen Josh McKay, a fifth-year senior, and junior guard Miguel Jones, who were both named to the Centennial Conference 2nd team. McKay led the team in scoring with 10.6 ppg, while Jones was right behind McKay with 9.4 ppg. Curley loved the way these two players played for him this year, and said that a lot of other guys on his team could have gotten recognition as well.
Curley talked about how excited his team would be to win the conference title, and to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully, with Curley not experiencing a sophomore slump this year, it may be in the cards for this team next year.