MISENHEIMER — Back on Jan. 11, the Pfeiffer men’s basketball team found itself with an early 1-2 record in USA South play, matching the three-game start that the team had en route to a 6-8 conference record last season.
The squad — led by eighth-year coach Pete Schoch — remained vigilant and hopeful that it could still improve after slinking to back-to-back 10-win seasons.
Just five weeks later, the Falcons (14-7, 10-2 USA South) have managed to reel off nine consecutive wins against their USA South opponents, soaring to a meteoric jump to first place in their conference standings.
The program now has a 52-46 conference record since reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division III and beginning play in the USA South during the 2018-19 season.
Pfeiffer is currently holding onto a one-game lead over Southern Virginia (18-5, 9-3 USA South) as its regular-season schedule comes to close this weekend; the team was set to host William Peace (3-19, 1-10 USA South) in Misenheimer’s Merner Gym on Tuesday night, and will now host Mary Baldwin (12-11, 6-6 USA South) on Saturday afternoon.
Beyond that, the Falcons will look to begin the upcoming USA South Tournament (Feb. 27 to March 1) with a head full of steam.
The key to Pfeiffer’s recent surge of wins and its dominance against conference opponents has been the varied offensive output on a nightly basis.
With five players who all average at least eight points per game (Daymon Beckwith, Doug Smith, Alex Cunningham, Justin Gaten, and Daniel Fulp), the shooting variety in Schoch’s Falcon squad has given the team a leg up on their competition.
The team has also turned up the heat on the opposite side of the ball too.
Even in a game like Pfeiffer’s recent road contest at Greensboro (4-19, 3-9 USA South) where the Falcons were limited to just 63 points, a tough defensive effort still gave them a 13-point victory on their opponent’s home court.
Standing in sole possession of first place in the USA South, Pfeiffer holds the keys to possibly coming away with its first regular-season conference trophy as a USA South member.
The Falcons will look to keep their winning streak going as they hope that second-place Southern Virginia comes up short in its remaining contests versus William Peace and Mary Baldwin — the same two teams that make up Pfeiffer’s closing schedule heading into the conference tournament.