Lions 2020-2021 Basketball Season Recap
The men's Lions basketball team completed the 2020-2021 season with many accomplishments, records, and awards. They finished the season with the best record that the men's basketball team has seen in over 15 years, 21-10.
The Lions had a slow start to begin the season with five defeats. However, once they got their victory over Free Lutheran Bible College on December 4th, they would only see 2 more losses during the rest of the regular season.
One of these losses was to NAIA school Dakota State University. The Lions took the game to overtime and fell short only by 2 points. This is the first time in TBC history that the Lions have taken a team of this competitive level into overtime.
Before entering the regional tournament, the Lions had an incredible 9 game winning streak. One of these wins was against the nationally ranked team, Kansas Christian College.
Going into the NCCAA North Region Tournament, the Lions were seeded #1. They sealed a victory in the first two rounds to make it to the championship game, but fell short to Calvary Bible College, 72-80. This would take the Lions to the ACCA National Tournament to finish their season.
The Lions sealed a solid win in the first round of the ACCA National Tournament against Free Lutheran Bible College, 102-84. Again, they beat Kansas Christian College in the second round, 88-79. The Lions were unable to get a victory for the last two games of the tournament, finishing 4th overall.
It was junior Khalil Bolden who was the top scorer for the Lions with 573 points. Following close behind him was freshmen Marcellus Mencarini with 498. Logan Klitzke, a senior, led the team in rebounds with 186. Bolden also led the team in both assists (206) and steals (93).
During the season, the Lions had two athletes who broke TBC records. Logan Klitzke broke the record for most 3's made in a single game (13) and most 3's made in a career (312). Khalil Bolden joined the 1000th Point Club and also broke the TBC record for most assists in a single game (15).
The Lions also received several awards at the end-of-year tournaments. For the NCCAA North Region Tournament, Khalil Bolden was named 1st Team All-Region and North Region MVP, Logan Klitzke and Marcellus Mencarini were named 2nd Team All-Region, and Thomas McIntosh was given Honorable Mention. Coach Jordan Nowell received the North Region Coach of the Year Award.
For the ACCA National Tournament, Khalil Bolden received 1st Team All-American, Marcellus Mencarini received 2nd Team All-American, and Logan Klitzke received Honorable Mention.
To finish off the year, Coach Jordan Nowell also received the incredible honor of being named the NCCAA National Coach of the Year.
Coach Jordan Nowell had this to say about the season,
"This group was so talented! They worked hard to craft their skills throughout the year and really played good basketball. We went 21-10 on the season which is a tremendous accomplishment! It was a fun group of guys, and I am excited to see what the next couple of years hold. We are young, so we definitely have the building blocks to continue to improve from here. We will really miss Thomas and Logan. They've done a lot for this program, but the guys that return will be able to continue moving Trinity forward to newer heights! I can't wait to see what this team can accomplish next year!"
