The Augustana men’s basketball team hosted their season opener against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Falling just short to win, the team looks forward to improving on defense and is excited for what’s to come in the season. 

“I thought it went well. We scored a lot of points, they scored a lot of points,” said senior and co-captain Matt Hanushewsky. “It was entertaining for all the fans, but we still need to work on our defense.” 

The first game of the year is always good to see where the team is and what they need to work on. The Vikings lost by a score of 90-95, a close battle in which the lead changed nine times throughout the game.

Even though the team saw a defeat in their first match, the team kept battling through the entire game and never gave up. Motivation is one of the keys to a team’s success, and the Augustana men’s basketball team has that mindset. 

“The game was right there, no one could really get a big lead, and it just came down to us being unable to get enough defensive stops in order to win the game,” co-captain Daniel Carr, senior CCIW student-athlete of the week, said. 

In terms of expectations for this year, the Augustana Vikings are going to be in the mix to fight for the conference title. The team’s main goals for this season are to be as competitive as they can, end with a good farewell for the seniors and keep developing the program with the new additions of the team. 

“Our goal is still to go to the CCIW every year. There are four other teams that are in the same boat as us,” Hanushewsky said. “It’s my last year of playing basketball, I have to give all I have and enjoy this last year.”

Hanushewsky was also excited about bringing back the basketball culture Augustana used to have. As a senior, he has seen how the program has changed throughout the years and how the direction of the team has focused. The team has seen some coach changes these past few years and the program is working to get where it was in the past. 

Carr addressed bringing back the culture by breaking it down to being a connected team and focusing on three specific areas; defending, rebounding and running. These principles are what made the Vikings team successful for so many years, and the team wants to continue working on them to make sure those are the pillars and foundation of the program. 

“We’re working on getting back to that foundation, and just knowing that those principles are what win games and what made this program so successful for so many years,” Carr said. 

The team’s roster has seen some good new additions to the program. Team bonding is essential towards the team’s confidence and chemistry inside the court. Carr and Hanushewsky are doing everything to bring the team together and leave the program in good hands. 

“As leaders of the team, you try to make communication happen among teammates. We feel like we’ve accomplished that, and the team is as close as it can be with the same mentality of winning,” said Hanushewsky.