Point Loma Nazarene University’s men’s basketball team wrapped up its third straight winning season after a 74-68 loss to the Concordia Eagles in the semifinal round of the Golden State Athletic Conference playoffs March 3.
“We were disappointed that we didn’t win the game and make it to the national tournament. Overall we had a tough schedule, I believe the second toughest this year, so we played hard against tough teams,” senior Tim Kruge said.
But the PLNU basketball program has been headed in an upward direction since head coach Art Wilmore’s arrival in 2002. He led the Sea Lions to the conference semifinals for the second straight year and posted a 19-13 overall record in his fifth season.
“We have a great group of guys. They are good kids that don’t give up, which is why we’ve been able to build a consistent program,” Wilmore said.
Wilmore took over a 5-27 team and led it to the NAIA tournament his first season. The team struggled through a difficult 7-25 year in 2004 but has led PLNU to records of over .500 in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The Sea Lions even reached the conference semifinals in four of five seasons.
“Thanks to my staff and the addition of Ethan Hamilton two years ago, we’ve been able to get solid candidates and have some good kids coming in, so we are very optimistic about the future,” Wilmore said.
Wilmore’s biggest task in the off-season will be to replace the core of his team, which includes eight seniors (Matt Benson, John Clarke, Brian Graham, Tim Kruge, Jeff Kuhn, Xavier Lopez and Brandon Wilcox). Juniors Craig Austin, Nick Corso, Brian Ormon, Casey Ortiz, Josh Sanderson, Hylas Smith and Greg Spencer will stay on.
“Our juniors “¦ will be returning, and we’ll be able to show the new recruits how nice our campus is so they can see what Point Loma is all about,” Wilmore said. “We’ll also be trying to place a couple of our seniors overseas in Germany and England.”
One of the team members who might be playing in Europe is Kruge.
“It is always tough when you play your last season,” he said. “I still remember after high school I knew that I would be going to play basketball in college … I’d like to play overseas but it depends on how my injuries heal.”
Kruge has played a key role in PLNU’s success in recent years and feels the team is in good shape for next year. He pointed to juniors Sanderson, Austin and Orman as hopefuls for the coming season.
“We’re losing some great kids, but we have some new kids coming in so we’ll continue to get better,” Wilmore said. “Hopefully, next year we’ll be able to get past the semifinals and be able to compete for the conference title and make the NAIA tournament.”