Despite a 1-3 record in the Northeast Conference, Mount St. Mary's still has a path to qualifying for the league tournament.
The Mountaineers (4-8 overall) are tied with Sacred Heart (5-6, 1-3) and Wagner (4-7, 1-3) for fourth place in the conference, which gives the top four teams spots in the tournament. It's a welcomed departure from last year's squad that went 1-5 in the league and barely factored into the race.
"It's very exciting that we're not playing for pride, and our guys know this," coach Tom Gravante said Thursday afternoon. "That was my goal for the 2015 season. I wanted to play for the playoffs. So I'm grateful that we still have an opportunity.
"It's really surprising that there is a three-way tie. That's kind of bizarre in a sense, that it's actually worked out like that. And we still need things to happen, but we are in control of our own destiny. … The best way in is just to win, and our guys know that. We haven't pointed out this scenario to them, and I'd rather be 3-3 going into this tournament than 2-4. Winning this Saturday would take us a step closer."
Mount St. Mary's could strengthen its case with a victory over Bryant (5-8, 3-2) at home on Saturday. But even a loss wouldn't doom the team if Sacred Heart were to defeat Wagner on Saturday. In that scenario, if the Mountaineers beat Hobart (7-4, 4-0) and Wagner loses to Robert Morris (2-10, 1-4), they would qualify for the conference tournament no matter the outcome of Sacred Heart's home game against St. Joseph's (8-5, 4-0) because they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Sacred Heart.
But Gravante said he would prefer to avoid any reliance on league rivals.
"I would rather win out, but it has to start with his game," he said. "This is a must-win. The only opportunity we get if we don't win this game is that Sacred Heart win, and I don't want to rely on another team to get us there. I know that's how it goes sometimes, but I want our guys to win and move forward and gain confidence and win again because that's what we're going to need moving into the playoffs."