I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have seen a bit of that up close at the Big South Conference Championship game, while capturing photo and video content for the University’s social media on the sidelines.
I was shaking for the nail-biting final seven minutes of the game. It felt like everyone in the coliseum was collectively holding their breath.
The Bulldogs were down 66-52 just under the 8-minute mark, but then Tajion Jones scored 16 straight points to put the team back in the lead, 75-73, with just under a minute left.
Free throws from seniors Caleb Burgess and Drew Pember sealed the win for the Bulldogs -- 77-73.
The celebratory energy in Bojangles Coliseum was infectious. In the aftermath of the clock winding down, there were a few moments I witnessed that stood out to me.
One of the team’s interns went straight up to Jones, a sixth-year member of the team, and emphatically said to him, “I told you so! I told you so!” Jones later said he had been waiting for a championship ring since middle school, and I am so glad the wait is over for him.
The other memorable moment was seeing former high school teammates Trent Stephney and Drew Pember celebrate together. The two had won a state championship together in Tennessee, so I can only imagine how amazing it was for them to do it again at this level.
It was also heartwarming to see that once Nick McMullen had gotten hold of the championship trophy, he immediately took it and held it up to the crowd.
The way the Bulldog community came together for the team throughout the season was wonderful to see.
There was a great turnout of Bulldog faithful at the Tournament Championship game, the Selection Sunday party, the March Madness watch parties on and off campus, and we even had a contingent travel to Sacramento.
I’m also glad to go to a school where the response to the outcome of the team’s March Madness game was overwhelmingly one of positivity and respect–I saw a lot of comments saying how proud people were of them, and how this one loss didn’t take away from the accomplishments of the season.
While I can only imagine how they must have felt afterward, I do hope they know how true the latter sentiment is, and that they look back on the season as a whole with pride, and look forward to the possibilities next season has to offer...especially since we’ll have four of five starters returning for another season.
I look forward to rooting for the program long after I turn my tassel in May, and again, I am so grateful to have been along for this journey.
Go Bulldogs–now and forever.
(You can keep up with our men’s basketball program here.)
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