In their first year as active members of the Gulf South Conference, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have qualified for the GSC tournament beginning in March.
The top eight teams from the conference advance to the post season tournament in the hopes of moving on to the regional tournament. The men’s basketball team is currently ranked 5th behind Alabama Huntsville, West Georgia, Shorter and West Alabama. The Bulldogs are currently 16-7 overall and 10-7 in conference play.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have several games left in the regular season with three home games left and two away games.
Pedro Faller, senior business administration major and guard for the team, is very excited about the team qualifying for the tournament in March.
“It is a great feeling for sure, but we are not satisfied with where we are,” Faller said. “We still have things that we can accomplish this year. We are excited about the tournament but right now our focus is to get better everyday in practice and to maximize our potential as much as we can.”
The women’s basketball team recently earned the first place spot in the conference with an 18-3 overall record and 14-3 record in conference. Following close behind the Lady Bulldogs is the University of West Florida with a 13-4 conference record.
The Lady Bulldogs will face off against UWF at home on Friday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
Head coach Mark Campbell said he is very pleased with how his team has grown as a whole over the course of the season and grown closer with one another.
“I feel good about how the girls enjoy one another, also the values that we have in our group and that we do not see ourselves as individuals,” Campbell said. “Everyone on our team is willing to admit fault and confront weakness head on and those things end up affecting how we play on the floor.”
Campbell said the team is going to have to continue to be efficient and not rely on mere talent in order to perform well for the remainder of the regular season and into post season play.
“Our success this year is all part of the process, if we are committed to the journey then it is all about getting better in that way and maximizing talent along the way,” Campbell said.
Final standings and the tournament bracket for both the men and women will be revealed at the end of the month with games tentatively scheduled for March 6 and 7 in Birmingham, Alabama.
