Men's Basketball Season Recap
The men's Lions basketball team finished with a successful 2019-2020 season. They continued to build throughout the year, peaking at the end for the post-season tournaments.
The Lions started off the season on a high with two homecourt wins against Canadian Mennonite University. The rest of the first semester was a battle as they were unable to seal a win against the tough competitions that they faced.
Early in the second semester, the Lions finished with a victory over Providence University College, a Regional team, winning 81-80. This win propelled them as they began to find their stride later in the season. The Lions found themselves continuously finishing on top which gave them the momentum they needed to pull a huge upset against Dakota College at Bottineau. With the help of Logan Klitzke's 43 points, the Lions were able to beat DCB on the road, 96-86. This win is what gave them the confidence they needed to compete at such a high level in the approaching post-season tournaments.
For the NIAC Conference Tournament, the Lions were matched up against Turtle Mountain Community College. They had previously lost to this team twice in the regular season, so they had their work cut out for them. However, the Lions came ready to play and beat out TMCC in the first round, 102-87. Although they fought hard, the Lions were unable to make it past the second round, losing to Sisseton Wahpeton College.
The NCCAA DII North Regional Tournament would be the highlight for the Lions' season. With the advantage of hosting the tournament on their homecourt, the Lions came in with high expectations despite being seeded #6. The Lions were first matched up with the #3 seed, Central Christian College, and came out with an exciting win in overtime, 108-103. But they didn't stop there. The Lions pulled out another upset in the second round against Calvary Bible College, the #2 seed, winning 95-84. This would earn them the privilege of playing in the North Region Championship game against the #1 seed, Faith Baptist Bible College. Although they fought to the end, the Lions were unable to come out with a win and finished 2nd place in the NCCAA North Region.
The final tournament for the season was the ACCA National Tournament, held in Joplin, MO. After losing in the first two rounds, the Lions were able to finish their season with a solid win against Free Lutheran Bible School, 101-86.
The Lions also had some great personal achievements on their team throughout the year. The top three scorers for the season were Logan Klitzke, Khalil Bolden, and Austin Molan, with 704, 574, and 515 points, respectively. Logan Klitzke's three point percentage helped greatly with his overall scoring as he finished the season scoring on 104 of his 257 three point attempts. This statistic earns him the Trinity Bible College record for most three points scored in a single season.
Klitzke also led the team in rebounds with 259, followed closely behind by Parker Stemen with 256 total rebounds. Khalil Bolden was on top in both assists, 173, and steals, 107.
Coach Jordan Nowell had great things to say about this team,
"I can't say enough good things about this group of guys. They were a great group to coach. They worked hard and wanted to get better. We showed a lot of improvement from the first to second semester and started to realize our potential. We got our stride at the right time but came up one game short of the National Tournament. I'm excited for what this group can accomplish next year! The pieces are all there for a special year!"
