Cementing History on the Hardwood

Written By: Ian Silvester

Men’s basketball returned to a conference tournament for the first time since 2021-22, its first appearance under Zane Gibson’s three years as head coach.

“We had a very good year. We started out 13-0, which tied the school record for best start, and finished with a 20-win season for the first time since 2017-18,” Gibson said. “We were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation and were ranked in nine consecutive national polls.”

The Lions ended the regular season with their best record in nearly a decade (20-9), becoming one of the top five squads since becoming a D-II program, and punched their ticket to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) tournament, coming up just short of an NCAA Tournament berth.

Gibson thanked fans and the community for supporting this year’s squad. He said that there was a “buzz in the Stubblefield Center” over the final stretch of home games, where more than 1,000 people were in attendance for three of the last four games.

UAFS set a school record in 2017-18 with a 24-6 record. That season, Gibson was an assistant coach for the Lions. It was also the last time UAFS earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

• Tags:
• The Bell Tower Magazine
• Men's Basketball
• Athletics