LEWISTON, Maine — For the first time in team history, Bates College men’s basketball has been invited to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Bobcats received one of 20 at-large berths Monday in the 62-team tourney, which begins Thursday.
Bates (19-6) will face St. Vincent College (22-6) of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in a first-round matchup on Friday at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. Tipoff time is yet to be determined. The winner of the game will face the winner between Stockton and Endicott College on Saturday.
Bates senior captain Graham Safford of Hampden said it’s a day he knows he’ll never forget.
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the last week and a half or whatever it’s been. The day went real slow. I was just waiting for 12 o’clock,” he said in a news release. “And finally we were all in the room [watching the selection show], and when our name got called, it was just the release of a lot of emotions all coming out at once. It was awesome to share with these guys.”
Bates is one of eight first-time participants in the tournament, a group that includes New England Small College Athletic Conference rival and NESCAC tournament champion Wesleyan. St. Vincent is making its third appearance. The Bobcats are one of four NESCAC teams to make the field, along with Wesleyan, Amherst and Trinity.
The Bobcats have the second-most victories in team history and a tough schedule that aided their berth.
“This has been the longest 10-day stretch of my coaching career, because we didn’t know our destiny,” Bates coach Jon Furbush said. “I was really guarded, because I didn’t want to get these guys too excited about playing, and then not play. It’s been tough for these guys. It’s not a fun feeling to not know what your destiny is.”