United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - 2006-2007 Season Review

The Coast Guard men’s basketball team finished the season 14-14, nothing spectacular, but what they did when it counted made for one of the greatest stories in the history of Coast Guard Academy athletics and a magical run which will not be soon forgotten.

The Bears struggled all season long in conference play, losing close game after close game and finished dead last with a record of 2-10 in league play and 11-13 overall at the end of the regular season.

However, Coast Guard won three straight games in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament including a 71-66 win at top-seeded WPI, the # 13 team in the nation, to win its first ever NEWMAC championship and become the first ever seventh seed to not only win a tournament game, but win the championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The berth in the NCAA’s was just the second in school history and first since 1979. The Bears lost to Rhode Island College 64-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a hard fought game in which the Bears led 49-41 with 9:25 left.

Junior Grant Johnson got the team started as he hit a school-record nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 33 points in the 70-66 win at second-seeded Babson in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament.

Junior Jeff Prebeck had 20 points and 15 rebounds and classmate Al Sowers scored the game winning basket with 24.7 seconds left as the Bears beat sixth-seeded Wheaton 62-60 to reach the school’s first ever NEWMAC championship game.

Sowers led the Bears with 23 points in the championship game while freshman Eric Hudson, who was shooting just 47 percent (26 of 56) from the foul line in the regular season, went 4 for 4 in the final 30 seconds to give the Bears the championship.

The Bears started the season with a 5-1 record before dropping two of three to end the first semester at 6-3.

Coast Guard beat New London rivals Conn. College and Mitchell in back-to-back games in mid January to improve to 10-5 overall, however the Bears would win just one of their final eight regular season games. Seven of the 13 regular season losses were by a combined 13 points.

Prebeck, who led the team with 15.8 points and was second in the nation with 12.3 rebounds per game was named first team All-conference after earning second team honors as a sophomore. Prebeck, who also scored his 1,000th point during the season, set the single-season school record with 344 rebounds breaking the record of 326 set by Mark Harris in the 2004-2005 season.

Sowers, who also joined the 1,000 point club during the season, was second on the team with 15.1 points per game and led the team with 95 assists, was named second team All-conference for the second straight season.

Johnson (12.6 ppg.) set the single-season school record with 83 three-pointers passing the mark of 76 set by Jim Hiltz in the 2000-2001 season. The team set the single season school record with 203 three-pointers breaking the mark of 197 set in the 2001-02 season.

Coast Guard had just one senior, Ryan Burgess, who played the best basketball of his career in the second half of the season, so look for the Bears to build upon this magical season and make some noise again next year.