As the shot clock ticked down toward zero, the Hope College men’s basketball team needed one play to put the game away and extend its season.
Up three, Marcus Wourman drove into traffic and kicked the ball out to Brendan Cargill who was well beyond the 3-point line.
The freshman guard launched it and as the buzzer sounded, the ball swished through the net and sealed a 72-65 win over Trine for the MIAA Tournament championship on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Olivet.
Hope won the tournament title for the fourth time in the past five years and earned the MIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Oh, and they did it without their best player.
Parker Hovey was injured in the semifinal win over Calvin and did not play Saturday.
The supporting cast picked up the slack.
Cargill nailed two late 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, while Orion Yant, Justice Mims and Brady Miller – who didn’t play at all in the semifinals – each had 14 points.
Hope hit five 3-pointers in the game, but the last three were crucial. Up 57-52, Mims nailed one from the corner. The next possession saw Cargill step-back for one.
Trine wasn’t finished, rallying within 63-60 with 2:17 to go.
Marcus Wourman scored and Trine answered with 39 seconds to go, setting up Cargill’s shot clock beater.
Trine was led by Jayden Bradshaw with 24 points and nine rebounds.
In a season where four teams were MIAA contenders, only one will advance.
Olivet, the regular-season champion, lost on its home floor to Trine in the semifinals. Calvin lost to Hope a week after beating its rival to keep Hope from hosting the MIAA Tournament.
Hope did OK on the road – and without Hovey.
Pattern continues for Hope
Hope has won four of the past five MIAA Tournament titles, but has only won one regular-season title in those five seasons, which included a loss in last year’s final.
Coach Greg Mitchell continues to load up the non-conference schedule with tough opponents, who put the Flying Dutchmen through a gauntlet every year.
The gauntlet has been so much most of the time that Hope would have to win the conference tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA tourney because of all of the losses.
But then Hope has risen to the occasion every year and with the exception of a narrow lost in last year’s final, continues to make the strategy work by playing the best basketball at the most important time.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope College men’s basketball beats Trine for MIAA title without Hovey
