Teamwork yields championship and success in Moraine Valley men's basketball season

Teamwork is the best way to characterize the Moraine Valley Community College men’s basketball team’s 2015-16 season. From court strategy to an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference co-championship, this group worked tirelessly as a cohesive unit.

A string of early losses and injured players gave question to whether the Cyclones could repeat as conference champs, which they won outright in the 2014-15 season. With the unknown of how the talented recruits would work out along with the performance of top returner, Ermias Nega (Wakefield), the Cyclones had a few kinks to resolve. Early in the season, players had to sacrifice individual goals for the betterment of the team that yielded results.

“This team challenged me, and I tried some unorthodox things midway in the season. I had every player play every game, which is uncommon. When the coaches sat down to talk about the team and how to get them motivated and on the same page, we decided they all had to play every night. It made every guy feel just as important,” said head Coach David Howard, who finished his third season at the helm. “The team is greater than the sum of its parts. They worked harder because they knew they’d have the opportunity to play. This got the guys engaged and eventually a conference title.”

There were a few up and downs, especially in topping the conference, and a below .500 record for the first half of the season (5-8). A few times this year, the Cyclones endured three-way ties for the top spot. They briefly held it solo before securing a 10-4 Skyway record and tie with Elgin Community College for the title. Although they won their quarter-final game, they faltered in the semi-finals (Feb. 28) with an 82-76 loss. They finished overall at 16-15.

This team mentality pushed the players to work hard and improve all season-long. Several guys, however, stood out. Guard/forward Nega was the team MVP with nods to the All-NJCAA Region IV and All-Conference first teams. He also was ranked #4 in the NJCAA Division II for points (648 total), #5 for points per game (22.3) and #7 for field goals (222-428). Following behind him with key plays was freshman guard/forward Tommy Demogerontas (Sandburg), who had eight double-doubles for the year and was named to the All-Region second team and All-Conference first team. Big shots also came from freshmen guard David Gray (Oak Forest) and forward Luke Hook (Andrew). Hook shined from beyond the three-point arc where he ranked #4 nationally (53.4 percent/39-73). He was named to the All-Conference second team.

Visit www.morainevalley.edu/athletics or follow the Cyclones on Facebook at morainevalleycyclones and Twitter @MVCyclones.