Amongst all the festivities and events during Andrews’ Alumni Weekend, little, if any, other event has as much hype or attention as the annual Basketball Alumni Game. The yearly contest pits Andrews University alumni against the current Andrews Men’s Cardinal Basketball team. Last year, the Alumni team was victorious in a closely contested game over the 2022-23 Cardinal team with a score of 68-65, where its ending and highlights left people anticipating similar action this year. The Alumni team featured some of the top players from the Cardinals championship teams of 2011, 2012, and 2014, as well as the former Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Michael Nixon, coaching the team. They played under the championship banners they helped earn in the Andreasen Center for Wellness on Saturday, September 30.
Seeking to avoid back-to-back losses, the current Cardinals took the floor with an expanded roster and plenty of energy just before tip-off. Leading the ’23-’24 Cardinal effort in the starting lineup were guards Mugabe Munani (sophomore, nursing) and Zane Jones (senior, social work), forwards Benjamin Adjei (senior, mechanical engineering) and Elijah LeRoux (junior, wellness), and center Suvan Campbell (junior, biochemistry), all upper-classmen with at least one year’s experience on the team. Unfortunately, after a slow start by both teams, the game concluded with a losing score for the Cardinals of 79-69.
The Alumni quickly established the post-up presence on offense with some old-school techniques. The Cardinals coaching staff tried to counteract this by tapping in a starting lineup of what they believed was the best option to optimize both skill and size from their roster. Good defense and chemistry by the Alumni created a 22-16 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter proved to be the most competitive one of the game, highlighted by the Cardinals opening up their three-point shooting game with timely shots from guards Asher Odhiambo (sophomore, informatics) and Braxten Robbins (sophomore, architecture). The Alumni responded by speeding up their own offense to take more three-point shots and capitalizing on the better chemistry and passing that they had over their younger opponents. 40-33 Alumni over Cardinals was the score at halftime, and during the break, Andrews University’s Gymnics performed on the court with a flurry of flips, tricks, and trampoline dunks.
The lack of chemistry and precision on offense for the Cardinals seemed to push the game out of reach, where the Alumni outscored them 21-14, powered by the Alumni’s excellent rebounding and defense. The third quarter ended with a score of 61-47, and despite a much better offensive performance from the Cardinals with 22 points in the fourth quarter, the Alumni were able to keep their double-digit lead. Spectators and Cardinal coaching staff point to a few factors that led to the loss including turnovers throughout the entire game and lack of third-quarter scoring. They also cite a significant potential layup that Jones questionably passed up on late in the fourth quarter as a cause. Finally, an amount of open shots that turned into untimely airballs and misses from substitutes during crunch time are pointed out as contributing to the loss. Munani, who had been recovering from a brutal knee injury last school year, had an understandably quiet game of 4 points and 4 rebounds. He shared the ball-handling responsibilities primarily with Adjei, who had a good defensive game, and guard/forward Caleb Braswell (sophomore, exercise science), who came off the bench and was the Cardinals’ leading scorer with 18 points, including 4 three-pointers. LeRoux also had a respectable offensive game with 10 points and only missed one of his six shots, one of which was assisted by Campbell on a flashy play. Also helping with the scoring load was Odhiambo and forward Abe Loguerre (freshman, social work), with nine points each off the bench. Both of them contributed to important runs in the second and third quarters, which helped close in on the lead the Alumni team had built and ultimately did not lose throughout all 48 minutes of playing time.
Ultimately, this game was a disappointing start for the men’s basketball team’s season. While many had and will continue to have low expectations for the team, with the new talent on the roster and the potential camaraderie that will develop, there is plenty of reason to believe the team may put it together this year.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.