Sweet victories for men's and women's basketball

The men's and women's basketball teams finished the regular season with two convincing blowouts over Misericordia at home.

These games were sweet because they enabled the Cabrini fans to BRIAN O'CONNELL come out and see the seniors on both teams play their last regular season game of their career.

The women had the first game of the double-header. Sophomore Erin Crawford was unconscious pouring in 32 points to lead the Lady Cavs to a 21 point victory. What was greater than the victory was the tribute to seniots Erin Barney and Jackie Pierangeli from coach Dan Welde. There was so much to say about these two, their dedication, commitment and work ethic to the basketball team over their four years.

Then the game began. Cabrini took the lead in the first half and never looked back. Crisp, accurate passes only helped the offense as the Lady Cavs put on a three-point clinic. Late in the second half, Welde decided that with a double digit lead, he could clear the bench and give some first-year students some playing time. There was a huge roar from the crowd when Barney and Pierangeli left the floor for the last time for a regular season game. Both played brilliantly and could not have been happier with their perfonnances.

At the conclusion of the women's game, the men's team took the floor They had suffered only one Pennsylvania Athletic Conference defeat at the hands of Alvernia College last Wednesday. They looked to rebound from that loss and absolutely obliterated Misericordia from the start, The Cavs jumped out to an early lead that was not comfortable enough for them. Misericordia kept it close in the first half, but Cabrini put on some full court pressure which resulted in several Misericordia turnovers.

The victory was great for the Cavs, who have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. On the season, they have captured the PAC regular season title and suffered only one loss in league play. However, one must not forget the play of seniors Randall Simms, Tim Anderlonis, Jim McTamney, Tom Gorman and Ron Realer. These five seniors have contributed so much to Cabrini during their career. Coach John Dzik gave a magnificent tribute to these fine seniors who played their last game and will be missed. One senior who was much talked about was big Randall Simms. When Coach Dzik gave his tribute to the seniors and announced Simms' name, the crowd let out a huge roar. McTamney, Anderlonis, Gorman and Realer gave everything they had during their four years and Cabrini. Their hard work and dedication will always be remembered by everyone who saw them play.

It was an emotional night at the Dixon Center. Two great games were played with Cabrini coming out on top. There was no better way to end the season for both teams. But, most importantly, it was great to say congratulations and thank you to the seniors who gave so much of themselves over their years here at Cabrini.