A Season To Remember - 2020-21 run concludes in NAIA Final 16

KANSAS CITY, MO. - A career that few can rival in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' coaching lore concluded with a theme that Morningside College men's basketball teams had learned in each of head coach Jim Sykes' 17 years at the helm.

A gritty, never-say-die attack on both ends of the floor and being there for your teammates in every situation.

Sykes' penultimate sideline steering of the Mustangs that led the program to 14 winning records, ten 20-win marks, eight national tournament berths, seven Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season titles, and three league postseason tournament championships wrapped up on the Municipal Auditorium floor with his 2020-21 team battling seventh-seeded Southwest Assembly of God University to the wire before falling 90-85.

"Hey, both teams made a lot of plays down the stretch --- they just made a few more," Sykes said afterward. "I couldn't be more proud of our guys. They fought their tails off for 40 minutes and gave it everything they had.

I'm sure all of the emotions will hit me later, especially when spring workouts begin and so forth," he added. "I do know this --- the program has some great things in front of it. This team did so much this year, winning the conference title for a fourth straight year against strong competition every night and then making the most of the postseason and getting to Kansas City for the Final 16. Our staff always asked them one thing --- to play for each other --- and they did just that."

The two sides went back and forth throughout the Round of 16 battle. Sykes' squad managed to hold the lead with an early second-half run to as large as five points at a few stages, as regulation whittled down. However, SAGU's long-range shooting prowess shown by Cody Farmer and Isaiah Boling, coupled with the inside play of Joel Polius, managed to the deficit back and allowed enough breathing room for the Lions to move into national quarterfinal round action.

Freshman guard Aidan Vanderloo (FR/Sioux City, IA) (Sioux City, Iowa) registered a career-high 24 points thanks to a splendid six-of-eight effort from outside the arc to lead the Maroon, who concluded the season at 21-6. Senior center Trey Brown (SR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) went toe-to-toe with SAGU's Polius throughout the night for post play dominance, winding up with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Fellow senior Zach Imig (SR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) flirted with a triple-double from his wing spot with 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Sophomore Will Pottebaum (SO/LeMars, IA) (LeMars, Iowa) rounded out another balanced stat sheet compiling 11 points.