With the NESCAC fall championships coming to a close this past weekend, all eyes are looking towards the winter sports season. The Margaret Bundy Scott Field House is now packed with men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, and swim practices and workouts.
One team many Continentals fans are looking forward to watching this winter is the men’s basketball team. For the past two seasons, the team has reached the third round of the NCAA Division III basketball championship. Never in program history has the team made it to the fourth round, or the section finals. The team is hoping to build upon last year’s success and make history this upcoming season.
Four players from last year’s roster and starting lineup have graduated. Two of those graduates have continued on with their basketball careers and are currently playing overseas in Ireland; Peter Hoffmann ’19 and Michael Grassey ’19 were selected for the Sport Changes Life Foundation’s Victory Scholar Program. Hoffmann and Grassley made significant impacts to the team while at Hamilton and their contributions are certainly going to be missed. They were both 1,000 point scorers during their time at Hamilton. This season, Coach Adam Stockwell has added five first-year players who are hoping to make an immediate impact.
The player who has drawn the most attention, however, is senior Kena Gilmour ’20. The reigning NESCAC Player of the Year, Gilmour has received accolades before games have even started. He, along with only 24 other Division III men’s basketball players, was namd to the D3hoops.com Preseason All-America Second Team. Gilmour, before entering his senior season, is number 12 on the Continentals’ men’s basketball all-time scoring list with 1,406 career points. The current record is held by Cedric Oliver ’79 with 2,356 career points.
The Continentals have several non-conference games before they start NESCAC play. Their season kicks off this Saturday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 17 at the Rose City Classic in Madison, N.J. They will then return home to get ready for their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 20 against Bard College in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. NESCAC play for Hamilton kicks off on Friday, Jan. 10 at home, when the Continentals host the Williams College Ephs.
