Jennifer Hoffer – Sports Editor
If the Owls didn’t have enough excitement going on already, they are on their way to Evansville, Indiana to compete for a NCAA Division II Championship, along with the Blue Crew of Southern who has shown their support for the Owls all season.
The Owls set up a send-off party with pizza in the main lobby of the Moore Field House right after the Owls’ last practice home. It was a time for the fans and team to get together and get pumped up for both their road trips to Indiana.
That’s right, Southern has scheduled a bus trip for students to travel to Indiana who want to continue to support and cheer on the Owls.
The Owls solidified a spot in the Elite 8 after beating Saint Anselm 78-72 at home, extending their 19-game winning streak.
The team is heading to play their first playoff game away from home court, but because of the support that the Owls are getting from the students, Donnelly said it will be just like they’re right at home.
“I know for a fact playing home has helped us,” Donnelly said. “And that’s the reason why we’re going to Indiana; because of the crowd. These teams that we play are really good teams. They have to go shoot the second half with the blue crew and that especially affected Saint Anselm in our last game. “
Donnelly said that Saint Anselm is one of the best three-point shooting teams in Division II, and said they shot the worst they have all year against the Owls that night.
“I know for a fact it’s because of the students screaming and yelling and getting loud,” Donnelly said. “They’ve been a big support.”
Sophomore guard Deshawn Murphy said the reaction from teammates because of this last minute send-off for the team, just amped the team up even more as they make their way down to Evansville.
“Me and the guys are really excited about it,” Murphy said. “Anytime we could get time with our fans and get pumped up together, is a good experience for everybody. It’s a good experience for the team good experience for the school.
Murphy said the more support the better.
“Blue Crew, Owl Nation all day,” Murphy said. “We know we have people cheering us on. We know we have people behind us. That always gives us a push because we always want to do well for our fans, and do well for our families.”
As for Donnelly, he said he’s really excited to travel with his team because it’s something they haven’t done before.
“I was just telling my assistant, of course we want to win and we want to advance,” Donnelly said. “But what I am really looking forward to is taking time traveling as a group because I know these guys are going to be a lot of fun to travel with.”
As far as the support goes, Donnelly said that of course it’s helped the team during this playoff run, but said that it’s also a new environment for the team and because of nerves, he said he knows they haven’t played their best yet.
“Offensively I know we’re just a little bit off,” Donnelly said. “It could be nerves, it could be the magnitude of being on stage and playing these big games. We’ve really been tough, and we’ve been resilient. All those things have been great, but I know for a fact playing home has helped us and that’s the reason why we’re going to Indiana.”
The Owls haven’t played anybody outside their region since Donnelly has been here, so he said he’s looking forward to getting out there to see how the team stacks up.
“It’s going to be good and really fun to watch how this team competes against the best,” Donnelly said.
For Murphy, he said he’s excited to play new teams, and get a feel for how teams play outside the region.
“This is big,” Murphy said. “They don’t know us, we don’t know them and that’s the best competition, in my opinion.”
Murphy said the team is treating this game, just like the past playoff games, just like any other regular season game. He said even during the regular season, those games are big to the team because everyone in the conference is good.
“We don’t look down on any teams,” Murphy said. “We take every team seriously. But our main focus is always on us because I know if we stay together, we play defense and we work hard when we play, we can beat anybody.”
Donnelly said the team was a little caught off-guard by the send off party just because of all the emails they were getting, but the hype didn’t affect their preparation. Donnelly said preparation as far as practicing before this game has been a little different than past.
“Normally we won’t really start getting into our opponent until a day or two before the game,” Donnelly said. “But due to travel and circumstance and the time we are playing, we had to start talking about Central Missouri a couple of days ago. Tuesday we have an early practice and then we do the scouting report at night. So, we have pretty much everything all with these guys. We’re ready to go.”
Donnelly said the team is blown away by the support by the students and fans.
“I know that they’re very grateful, thankful and appreciative because that’s how they are,” Donnelly said. “This send-off and support is above and beyond, in my opinion. Especially on a Sunday for people to come out, is just amazing.”
Donnelly, Murphy and the team will get ready, and being the trek down to Indiana tomorrow to prepare to take on Central Missouri on Wednesday.
Before every game, Murphy said the team gets in a huddle and yell, “Let’s eat.”
So the Owls continue to stay hungry as they make their way down to Indiana in hopes to bring a championship back to Southern.
