Written By: Connor Ballou
William Peace Men’s basketball season has come to an end with a season full of challenges and adversity which tested resilience and toughness. With a squad full of underclassmen players, this year’s team only consisted of two seniors, Mike Dunlin and Abou Thiam.
Mike Dunlin started 25 out of 25 games this year during his senior campaign and managed to move into second all-time points in program history. He led the team in scoring and averaged 16 points per game. Dunlin also led the team in minutes played at 792 total and 3-pointers made at 62 total.
“It means alot, it displays all the hard work I’ve been through for these past four years,”
Dunlin said when asked how he felt about moving to 2nd all time in program history scoring.
“I hope to be an inspiration to the younger guys on our team and the newcomers for years to come,” Dunlin noted about what impact he hopes he has on the younger guys.
Mike also spoke about what he will remember most about this year’s team.
“One thing that I will remember the most is hanging out with my teammates. I’ve created relationships that will last a lifetime and met incredible people over my four-year journey.”
Sully Caruso, a first-year student, who plays as a center, started 11 out of 25 games this year, averaging 14 minutes a game. He spoke about what he thought were the biggest challenges he faced this year.
“For me personally, it was hard to come into a new system after playing away that other coaches wanted me to play for so long and learn the dynamics of what my new coach wanted.I also feel it is difficult to make new friends at the start, especially when coming into a brand-new environment.”
Sully also spoke about what is one thing he learned and hopes to take into next year.
“I learned that it never comes easy. I am going to have to work hard to get what I want, whether that’s winning minutes or being a better teammate. I hope my experiences from this past season push me this off-season to be a better teammate and player for my team next year.”
“I thought this season we had a lot of growth, even if we didn’t accomplish everything we wanted to as a group. We got closer as the year went on and got better each day.”
Parker Hodgson said when asked what were his overall thoughts of the season.
“My favorite part of the season was our senior night vs SVU. We were able to beat one of the best teams in the conference and continue the streak of winning on senior night.”
Parker Hodgson said when asked about the big senior night win.
“Overall it was a long season, lots of ups and also lots of downs, being we had such a big freshman class it was a season full of growth and learning, not just as individuals but also as a team so overall the season was something I’ll never forget.
Zeke Brock, a freshman, speaking about the season and saying he will never forget it.
“My most memorable and enjoyable part about the season has to be the bonds that were made throughout the season, some of which I’ll know kow for the rest of my life, so being a part of a program that has everyone hangout together outside of being on the court definitely was my most enjoyable moment.”
Zeke brock said when asked what was his favorite part of the season.
Struggling early in the year, at one point losing 9 games in a row, the team was able to finish out the season winning back-to-back games against Southern Virginia (senior day) and Methodist. This year’s team had many close contests, including a 2-point loss against Greensboro College and a 1-point loss to Pfeiffer. Those two conference losses were by a combined 3 points.
Finishing the season off in a positive fashion, Peace won in an overtime thriller at home on Senior Day against Southern Virginia. This win continued the undefeated record on Senior Day for William Peace.
Despite SVU shooting 47% from 3, Peace was led by Mike Dunlin’s 33 points and was able to come back from a halftime deficit to win in overtime.
Peace finished the year at 5-20 overall and 3-11 in conference play.