The St. Dominic men’s basketball season is coming to a close with one last stop for the varsity team…districts. In any sport, districts are a cause for more pressure and stress to be put on a team to prove how far they can go. The Crusaders will face these same obstacles as they begin their postseason prep. It has been a season of ups and downs, but this team that has learned from each other and grown closer.

“My best memories from this year are the team dinners and all the competitions we play during practice or the fun games we play during practice. Our biggest strength is our defense. It carries us through the tough games,” said forward Tyler Gamby when reflecting on the season.

The season record is 12-13. Junior Jared North and seniors Matt Hagan and Luke Niggemeier lead the team in the amount of points scored. Junior Tyler Johnson has the most assists and Hagan and Niggemeier also are head of defense with rebounds.

“I think the team’s best strength is how hardworking we are. We aren’t the most athletic or skilled team, but we work hard, which can make up for a lot. The district is wide open for us, but there are no games that we can take for granted. We need to treat every team like a threat,” said center Hagan.

As the end of the season nears, the three seniors will face the end of their basketball careers as well. Niggemeier, Hagan and Gamby have all played huge parts in this season’s success. These seniors have been through three new styles of coaching in their four years here at St. Dominic and have learned to adjust to each without objection.

“It has been pretty frustrating to have a new coach every year. Once we finally got used to one coach and how they wanted things done, there was a new guy coming in and changing things up. We did get lucky though, because Coach Roberts and Coach Vincent have a lot of the same philosophies, and they are both great coaches that I have enjoyed playing for,” said forward Niggemeier.

Districts have been seeded and the team is beginning to prepare for those in the St. Charles district. The first team the boys will face is Fort Zumwalt East. If they win, they will take on St. Charles West. On the other end of the bracket are McCluer, Liberty and St. Charles. Now that the brackets have been made, practices will be in full swing with complete focus on how to prepare.

“Preparation for the postseason will be the same as we prepare for every game. The coaches scout the opponent in person and on film, we come up with a game plan and give a scouting report to the players,” said Coach Russell Vincent.

Districts will begin February 29 and will be held here at St. Dominic. The team would love the support as they move on so make sure to cheer our Crusaders onto victory!