BU Rewind: Remembering the Historic 2016-17 MBB Team

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The Bethesda University men's basketball team made history when they defeated Cal State Northridge of the NCAA's Big West conference, 100 - 95. BU is a member school of the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association (NCCAA) and plays in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC). This is the first time that a team from the PCAC has ever won against an NCAA Division 1 opponent, let alone one led by a former NBA head coach in Reggie Theus. "It's quite surreal to be coaching against a coach of his caliber. I have so much respect for Coach Theus that I still cannot believe we were able to achieve something so historic" said Flames head coach, Leo Balayon. Despite being the underdog in this match up, Bethesda came out aggressive from the opening tip to score this decisive win. The Flames lead almost the entire time and were ahead by as much as 10 points in the second half. CSUN gallantly fought back but the fiery scoring barrage from the FLames was just too much for the Matadors. Alex Smith scored a career high of 31 points for the Flames, shooting 7 for 11 from the three-point line. Jarrel Tate chipped in 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Larry Boyd had 15 points to go with his 7 rebounds. Newcomer Travis Divita, hit two crucial 3 pointers late in the game and contributed 10 points in the win. Starting Senior point guard, Michael Walker led the team with 7 assists, while orchestrating the offense for the flames. "This was a huge win for us as a team. Everyone, stayed focused and displayed a selflessness that we have been looking for all season. We need to go into conference play in the same manner" said Balayon. After winning against a school with a student population of close to 40,000 students, Bethesda's David and Goliath story was immediately covered by media outlets across the country. ESPN, Fox Sports, and the New York Times reported on the historic win. "We are a small private Christian university so winning against such a big school as CSUN has been very exciting for everyone on campus" said Balayon. "We have always wanted to reward our school and our leadership for all the support they have given us as an athletic program. We're so happy we were able to achieve something historic for all of us" added Balayon. With the win against Cal State Northridge, Jarrel Tate was awarded PCAC Player of the Week while Balayon received Coach of the Week honors for the second time this season.

TATE RECIEVES PCAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jarrel Tate scored a total of 75 points and 23 rebounds in three games and lead the
Bethesda Flames men's basketball team to a pair of wins this past week. This includes the historic upset
win against NCAA Division 1 opponents Cal State Northridge. For his effort, he was named Pacific Coast
Athletic Conference (PCAC) Player of the Week. "We expected a lot from Jarrel when we first recruited
him. We will need him to produce like this as we enter conference play" said Flames head coach Leo
Balayon. The Flames look to be more competitive in the PCAC than in previous years. "We really
invested in recruiting talent for this season. Our hope is that we perform to our potential come
conference time" said Balayon.

LEO BALAYON NAMED PCAC COACH OF THE WEEK FOR THE 2 ND TIME
ANAHEIM, Calif. – For the second time this season, head coach Leo Balayon receives the Pacific Coast
Athletic Conference (PCAC) Coach of the Week. Last week, Balayon steered the flames past the
University of Antelope Valley in overtime as well as engineered a historic upset of NCAA D1 Cal State
Northridge (CSUN). The second-year coach had to go up against former NBA head coach Reggie Theus to
secure the victory against CSUN. "I am very happy with the wins that we were able to get this past week
and I am very thankful for the recognition" said Balayon. "I want to thank my assistant coaches as well
as our players. They make all this possible" he added.