Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian was standing beside the court before practice on Feb. 12, talking about the Mountaineers' potential for a late-season resurgence.
"Our road is going to be different from everyone else's, but it doesn't mean our destination can't be where we want it to be," he said. "They've really bought into the journey."
Set to play in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game at LIU Brooklyn tonight, the Mountaineers (18-13) have had quite a journey - figuratively and literally.
Seeded fifth in the eight-team tourney, the Mount traveled to Smithfield, R.I., and beat fourth-seeded Bryant 75-69 last Wednesday. Then it was straight to Moon Township, Pa., where the Mountaineers upset top-seeded Robert Morris 69-60 on Saturday. After a quick stopover back home in Emmitsburg, it was on to Brooklyn for tonight's final at 7 (on ESPN2).
That's about 1,500 miles and some 30 hours aboard a charter bus in just more than a week. Not ideal, perhaps, but just another part of the journey and another opportunity for team bonding, Christian said.
"It's been great for me. I've been stuck on the bus with these guys, my family, watching film," he said. "It's a great opportunity for us. We just added on to the things that have gone against us this year."
The latest thing going against a team that was once a mere 2-6 in the NEC but has won nine in a row heading into tonight's game is a key injury.
Point guard Julian Norfleet sprained his right ankle during the second half Saturday. He said after that game it was unlikely he'd be able to play tonight, but a statement released by the school said he's feeling better.
"It hasn't seemed that anything this year will go all right for us, but we just kind of use that as more fuel for the engine," Christian said. "Hey, you know what, we're going to try to do something that no one's been able to do.
"No one's played Bryant at their place, won there, traveled nine or 10 hours to play the [No.] 1 seed, done that, and then played in the championship game. We're trying to create our own history."
No fifth-seeded team has ever won the NEC tourney (although the Mount won as a sixth seed in 1999 when the event was held at a neutral site). No team has ever won three road games en route to the title.
Of course, for a team that went 8-21 last season and didn't appear likely to even make the eight-team NEC tourney field as recently as late January, it's all just another challenge to embrace.
"Our guys always rally around one another and just keep finding a way," Christian said. "They just keep believing and being scrappy and being gladiators on the road."
The Mountaineers have won five in a row on the road. They'll be trying to unseat the two-time defending champion Blackbirds (19-13), who are seeking an unprecedented third consecutive NEC title.
"They're so talented and right now they're so focused and so driven to get that third chance to dance," said Christian, whose team split with LIU during the regular season.
Coming off two upset wins that included rallying from a seven-point halftime deficit at Bryant, the Mountaineers won't be intimidated or rattled.
"One thing we do preach is to stay confident," said leading scorer Rashad Whack. "Everything we do, make a mistake on offense or defense, we've just got to erase it and go on to the next play."
Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole clearly thinks the Mountaineers have a shot.
"I said before we played these guys last time how talented I thought they were. I said last week that I thought they were playing the best of any team in our league," Toole said. "That's an extremely talented team. They had some hiccups early in the year that were actually surprising."
The Mountaineers have been unbeatable once they got over the hiccups. In fact, since Christian fully committed to a four-guard lineup and made Sam Prescott a starter on Feb. 9, the Mount is 9-0. That's the third-longest winning streak in MSM's Division I history.
What their lineup will look like tonight is in question, however. If Norfleet is unable to play, Christian will have several options.
NEC Rookie of the Year Shivaughn Wiggins, a high school point guard, could move from shooting guard to the point. Prescott, a guard-turned-power forward who has become the team's top rebounder, could run the point. Or former starter Josh Castellanos, who had played a total of one minute in the past eight games before contributing 13 key minutes after Norfleet's injury on Saturday, could play.
Perhaps all of the above lineups will be used at various times as the Mount will likely continue using a style of play Christian describes as "mayhem" - full-court pressing, fast-breaking and hoisting 3-pointers throughout the game.
"We always talk about next man up. We have enough ballhandlers to get through it," said Christian, who did concede that "any time you lose a player like Julian ... having a season like he's having, it's going to hurt your team."
The Mountaineers are vying for their fourth NEC championship and trip to the Division I NCAA tournament, their first since 2008.
The notion of this happening probably seemed laughable to most a month ago. But after quite a journey - both the figurative and literal kind - it's all now one win away.
"The biggest thing is, our team has decided to fall in love with our team," Christian said. "And to do whatever it takes to find the will to win."
