By Aaron Heller
The Hood College men’s basketball team is headed down to Greensboro, North Carolina, after being selected as an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blazers were unsure if they would be able to continue their season after an early exit from the MAC Conference playoffs to Eastern University.
But their 19-6 season bolstered their chances, allowing them to take on the 24-4 Penn State Harrisburg on Friday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m.
The Blazers departed from Hood College Thursday at 7:45 a.m. and make the six-hour venture to Greensboro.
Senior guard Trumaine Strickland said he excited and prepared to travel down to North Carolina.
“It’s a blessing,” Strickland said. “This is my first time traveling to North Carolina, and to be able to do it with this group of hard-working guys, makes it that much more special.”
Graduate student Justin Gielen is no stranger to the NCAA tournament.
Before attending Hood, Gielen won a national championship with the Maryland Terrapins as a member of their soccer team.
“I’m beyond excited to compete in my first basketball NCAA tournament,” Gielen said. “I can’t wait to take part in and make our mark on the biggest tournament of the year.”
The Blazers will face the top teams in the country in D3 basketball.
“Our goal is always to beat anyone we play against,” Gielen said. “We know that if we’re locked in and playing our game, then we are good enough to beat anyone in the country.”
Strickland added, “The goal coming into this tournament is to go as far as we can…We know people are going to have us written down as an underdog, but if we play our game, we going to make history.”
The Blazers are out to prove to both the MAC Conference and the entire D3 basketball division that they are a top team in the country.
“We want to go all the way and bring a natty back to Hood,” Justin Gielen said.
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