2008-2009 Season Wrap-Up

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When the Patriots started practice in October, there was a lot of nervous excitement in the air. They had just lost three experienced players in the program from last year, but there were a lot of old faces mixed in with some new ones. One of the old faces was head coach Don Butcher whose aggressive defense and up-tempo offense would allow the Patriots to reach new heights.

The Patriots opened their season with a big win over Indiana University Southeast, 80-58. They rode that momentum to a 10-0 record in the beginning of the season. In that stretch, the men had a big victory over Mountain State University at the time ranked #3 in the nation. After the Mountain State victory the Patriots jumped to # 2 in the nation in the polls. Then on December 8, 2008, the Patriots moved into the #1 position in the national rankings. Consistently ranked among the NAIA’s Top 25, the #1 ranking was the first #1 ranking the Patriots had earned since the 1986 season when they entered the NAIA National Tournament as the #1 seed.

After being ranked # 1, the men hit a rough patch in the schedule losing two games in a row against NCAA D-II Bellarmine University and NCAA D-1 Marshall Univerisity. At Christmas, Cumberlands welcomed to their roster one transfer with great promise. Going 2-1 after the break, the only loss at the time was to #1 Mountain State on the road; it was time for the MSC games to start. The Patriots started out with a tough loss at Georgetown College, but continued to push forward and won their next two games against St. Catherine and Johnson Bible College, a non-MSC opponent. The Cumberlands suffered a tough overtime loss at West Virginia Tech University, but then rallied off 5 straight against the likes of Pikeville College, Campbellsville University and Lindsey Wilson College. The streak ended when the Tigers of Georgetown College came into the O. Wayne Rollins Center. The loss against the Tiger didn’t discourage the Patriots as they won their next five games to close out the season and MSC play.

With an overall MSC record of 9-3, Cumberlands earned a second place finish in MSC play and a bye into the second round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament. Fortunately, the third time was the charm for the Patriots as they tipped off against Georgetown in the championship game after having defeated Lindsey Wilson 75-56 in tournament play. Defeating the Tigers 60-57 on a last second shot, the Patriots captured their first MSC Tournament Championship since 1998.

With the big win the Patriots earned them their 19th trip to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship Tournament in Kansas City.

In the first round of the NAIA Tournament, Cumberlands defeated Jarvis Christian 81-65 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen to take on Westminster College. Unfortunately, the Patriots' season came to an end as they were unable to pull through in a close game 67-62, ending their season with an overall record of 27-7.

With the great season the Patriots had, there were many successes as a result. The Patriots found themselves in the national rankings 13 times throughout the season, ending the season ranked eleventh after being ranked as high as #1 during the season. The Patriots also led the Mid-South Conference in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents at 23%. Also, they led the MSC in team assists with 573.

Individually, there were many standouts that contributed to the team's success. Luke Fitzgerald was Player of the Year in the MSC and an NAIA First Team All-American. Also, there were two other members who earned MSC First Team All-Conference honors including Josh Phillips and Chad Byron. These three players were also named MSC Player of the Week during some point of the season. Fitzgerald earned the honor four times and was also named a NAIA National Player of the Week as well. Byron and Phillips also earned the MSC Player of the Week honor once a piece. Other Patriots receiving honors were Terrance Asmond who was MSC Honorable Mention and for their efforts off the courts and in the classrooms, Doug Waldon, Matt Daniels, Rodney Jones, Chad Byron, and Nathaniel Mitchell earned MSC All-Conference Academic Honors.

The Patriots will be graduating four seniors this season in Luke Fitzgerald, Josh Phillips, Maurice Brown, and Terrance Asmond. Yet, they hope to return next season with a lot of confidence after having an outstanding season and another trip to the Big Dance.