Senior Guard Keith Blassingale attempts one of his many free throws during the 2019 season. (cabriniathletics.com)
By Jake Rader
Cabrini University’s men’s basketball season came to a heartbreaking close on Tuesday night, when the Cavaliers lost in the first round of the Atlantic East conference playoffs to Immaculata University, 86-91.
This loss marked the end of an era for the program, as senior captain Keith Blassingale’s career came to a close. Blassingale was very emotional after the final buzzer, as his teammates helped him leave the court.
“Basically it’s one of those dreams that you think is never gonna end, but when it ends you’re like what now?” Blassingale said. “I love this team, I love Cabrini, I love Coach McDonald. It’s why I came back”
Blassingale left it all out on the floor tonight, but his 25-point performance wasn’t enough to propel the Cavs to a victory.
But the senior guard got off to a slower start than usual. Going into halftime, Blassingale had not registered a single field goal. That all changed in the second half, as Blassingale came out firing. The senior single handedly comprised an 8-0 run which led to the Cavs having a 12-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
This lead would not last, as Immaculata took advantage of star Cavaliers center Voshon Mack being on the bench due to foul trouble. By the time Mack had entered the game it was too late. Despite eight-points down the stretch from Blassingale, Immaculata was able to hang on for an 91-86 victory. This win means Immaculata will move on to face Wesley College in the conference tournament semi finals.
“Keith has meant a great deal to our program, as he was here a year and a half, and left for a year due to financial reasons to go to Rosemont College,” Cabrini Coach Tim McDonald said. “He came back this year, and was a huge plus for us because he added not only his scoring and ability on the court, but also that senior leadership that we really needed”
“Coming back to Cabrini I was really excited to work with this group, as I made brothers for life,” Blassingale said. “Some of these guys will probably be in my wedding, I’m glad I gained these people in my life.”
During the first quarter, Immaculata held a three-point lead with just under two minutes to play in the first half.
Cavaliers junior guard Dj Smith then proceeded to put on a clinic to close out the first half. Smith ended the half on an 8-0 run all by himself to put the Cavs up four heading into the second half.
During the first 10 minutes of the second half, it appeared that the Cavaliers would carry their momentum from the end of the first half all the way to victory. Cabrini’s two best players, Mack and Blassingale, led by example, as they helped stretch the Cavs lead to as many nine points. But, this elation was short lived, as Mack headed to the bench at the 11:54 mark after picking up his fourth foul.
From then on, it was a downhill spiral for the Cavaliers. Mack was held out of the game for a whopping six minutes. During this time period, Immaculata guard Jordan Ambrose unleashed a barrage of three pointers on the Cavaliers. Despite the heroics from Blassingale, Cabrini was unable to keep up with the high powered Immaculata attack.
McDonald acknowledged after the game that taking out Mack had a negative impact on his offensive game plan. McDonald added that they often look to get Mack the ball inside, and without Mack on the court his source of scoring disappeared for a longer period than expected during the fourth quarter.
Mack was visibly upset on the bench, as he watched his team squander away a 12 point lead, and hence their season as well.
Despite this period on the bench, Mack still managed to finish the game with 25 points, as this stat could have had a different depiction had Mack not gotten into foul trouble.
McDonald recognized that other players were able to step up in his absence from the game, but also said that it is tough to make up for his scoring production.
“I think we have a bright future. Our big freshman Malik Bailey didn’t play this year because of injuries, but he’s gonna be really good. However, we did play and start three freshman this season,” McDonald said. “The future is bright with those guys, and we are a young team and like I said we started clicking later in the year. It would have been nice if we could have got it done earlier in the year, but that is a positive going into next season.”
Blassingale said he plans on playing basketball overseas, as he believes that a 9-5 desk job is something he could never imagine doing.
“I try to treat every game the same, because when you start thinking about it too much that’s when you get in trouble, Blassingale said. “I go into every game with that same mindset, and that’s why I perform the way I perform. It didn’t hit me that my career was over until the final buzzer sounded.”
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