Following a last-minute practice of drills and exercises, the CMS men's basketball team departed Tuesday evening for first-round play in the NCAA Division III Championship playoffs in Portland, Oregon, where they'll face the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers, the Northwest Conference champions.
Having clinched the SCIAC Conference championship in their win against Whittier last week, the Stags will appear in their first playoff game in six years. They now look to add to their SCIAC title after finishing a challenging season that saw several games decided in the last seconds.
At Tuesday's practice, Coach Ken Scalmanini guided the players through their final rounds before leaving for Portland, focusing on improving technique and methods to attack Lewis & Clark's game.
"Coach always does a good job preparing us," said senior forward Dave Cann. Along with the other seniors on the team, he is looking at a golden ending to his college basketball career.
A win in Portland will advance the team to a second round game against Mississippi College on Saturday. "It's exciting to be representing the school and conference," said senior guard Bobby Donlan. "It's going to be a battle."