PIKE CREEK, Del. – When the 2010-11 men's basketball schedule was drawn up this past offseason, Goldey-Beacom College head coach Chuck Hammond immediately had one thought: “It's going to be a long pre-game on Feb. 23.”The Lightning play their regular season home finale – “Senior Night” - at the Joseph West Jones Center on Wed. night at 8 p.m. against CACC South Division nemesis Philadelphia University, coached by Hammond's mentor and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame finalist, Herb Magee.
Hammond knew even then that this night would include a lengthy, emotional pre-game ceremony, but he could not have predicted just how significant this game would be for the Lightning's season.
Wed. night's game will be an opportunity for this Lightning squad to extend its school-record 10-game home winning streak at the Jones Center and set a new school record for home wins in a season with 12. But most importantly, they can clinch a regular season CACC South Division title with a win over the Rams.
Along with an outright regular season division title and No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament at stake, is the chance for GBC to send its winningest class off in style. The 2011 senior class of Julius Cannon, Nick Mathewson, Sam McDuffie, Azeez Ellegood, Darnell Cephas, Jon Crawford, and Terrence Parkes and have been a part of a school-record 65 wins over the last four years. And when the Lightning host the CACC quarterfinal game on Tues., Mar. 1, it will be the fourth straight playoff appearance for a handful of them.
With Senior Night upon us tonight, we look back at the careers of the members of this storied 2011 class.
Cannon: Two-year player out of Seaford High. Joined the team in his junior year, and has been a very positive presence on the team ever since.
During his junior season in 2009-10, Cannon appeared in six games for the Lightning. This year, he missed half the season due to an injury.
After suffering a potentially career-ending injury this past summer, Cannon could easily have decided not to rejoin the team. He showed the resilience and dedication in his efforts to get healthy and to be a part of the team in 2010-11.
“We are really going to miss Julius's personality and commitment on and off the floor,” Hammond said. “He has a calming sense about him that rubs off on everyone around him.”
Mathewson: Local basketball star out of McKean High. After high school, Mathewson went to Delaware Tech where he led the Spirit to an appearance in the national tournament. He joined the Lightning as a junior in 2009-10.
“He has earned the respect and admiration of everyone associated with the program with his hard work, tough screens and business-like demeanor,” Hammond said. “Nick has been one of our most consistent guys, and we know every day at practice he's going to give us everything he has. We are a better and tougher team because of his efforts.”
McDuffie: The school's all-time leading scorer as of this past Sat. with 1,335 career points to-date, McDuffie has been involved in a number of memorable moments during his four-year Lightning career.
He will likely be remembered for his career-high 34-point outburst in this year's season-opener at home against Franklin Pierce on Nov. 13. Coming into this season, it was unclear who the Lightning's “go-to” scorer would be after the departure of last year's leading scorer, Kyle White. McDuffie showed he could be that caliber of player, getting to the basket and scoring at-will in the second-half.
A member of GBC's Student Athlete Advisory Committee, McDuffie said he chose to play Division II athletics here because of coach Chuck Hammond. He will finish his career the all-time leading scorer, the 3rd-leading rebounder, 2nd in blocks and 6th in assists.
“I knew when we recruited Sam that he would someday shatter all our records,” Hammond said. “The journey over the past four years has been extremely memorable and it's really going to be hard to replace him. He has added to this program in so many ways – on and off the court. I'm extremely proud of the impact he has had on our college and our program.”
“Manny” Ellegood: The team's quiet leader as the starting point guard for the past four seasons.
Ellegood, usually the smallest player on the court at 5-foot-8, has commanded respect from the league these past four years by carrying a big punch. Whether it was dribbling out of traffic with his spectacular speed and ball-handling skills, running the offense with superior intelligence and proficiency, knocking down a crucial three-point shot in the waning moments, or making foul-shot after foul-shot in the clutch to seal the deal, Manny did whatever was necessary to help his team win.
Heading into his junior season in 2009-10, he and Hammond talked about how he needed to improve his jump-shot. So that season, Ellegood went out and owned one of the best three-point shooting percentages in the region. He is among the conference leaders in that category again this year as well.
A Second-Team All-State selection in the state of Delaware in high school at Sanford High, Ellegood will finish his Goldey-Beacom career in the top-five in scoring and No. 1 in assists and three-point field goals.
“Azeez is one of the fastest players I've ever seen at this level,” Hammond said. “Although he is only about 5-foot-7, he has the heart and courage of a 7-footer. His love of the game of basketball is present in every drill we do. He has left his legacy, finishing with over 1,000 points and setting the school record in assists.”
Cephas: A role player for his first three seasons at GBC, Cephas emerged as an explosive offensive threat, a solid defender and a team leader in practice during his senior year.
Before the start of this season, Hammond was quoted as saying, “We will need Darnell to have a breakout senior season if we want to be successful.”
Cephas was more than up for that challenge as he became the team's fourth-leading scorer this year at 9.8 points per-game and second in assists with 59. He twice led the team in scoring (@ West Chester and @ Chestnut Hill), and reached double-figures 13 times. At Chestnut Hill, he posted a career-high 20 points.
He also gave a superb effort this past Sat. in the Lightning's win over Felician. Cephas scored 14 against the Golden Falcons on 7-of-12 from the field as he helped GBC avenge a loss to FC in last year's CACC Finals.
“This season Darnell really stepped up his game and proved himself to be a leader. He plays with a ton of heart and, at his best, he is as good as any guard in the league. He really grew as a player and a person this year.”
Crawford: One of the finest athletes the school has ever seen. Crawford, also a track star at GBC in the Spring, will be remembered for his hustle play and his high-flying acrobatic dunks at the Jones Center.
The 6-foot-4 athletic guard had a breakout performance in the Lightning's conference semifinal win over Bloomfield last season. His hustle play was “a huge reason we made it to the conference finals,” Hammond said.
Hammond had big expectations from Crawford this season, and Crawford did not disappoint. He is fifth on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per-game, third on the team in assists with 51 and he's come up with 69 rebounds and 20 steals.
Crawford was named CACC honorable mention on Dec. 13 after he completed an incredible week's performance in blowout Lightning wins over Wilmington and Chestnut Hill. First he scored what was a career-high 18 points against Wilmington on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and dished out a career-high seven assists. Then just days later, he topped that performance with 20 points on a perfect shooting day against Chestnut Hill: 7-for-7 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point range and 2-for-2 from the foul line.
“Jon Crawford has served many roles throughout his four years with us,” Hammond said. “He's shown he is an extremely versatile player who can play all five positions. Jon was key in our turnaround early this season. Always defending the opposition's biggest offensive threat and shutting them down. Unfortunately, that's not a stat that shows up in a boxscore, but his efforts have truly been appreciated by our team.”
Parkes: A second-year transfer from Delaware State who has re-written the record books at GBC in a short but incredibly productive two-year career.
Parkes joined the Lightning for their most successful season in program history in 2009-10 as he played a key role in the team's 19 wins and CACC Final berth. Playing through an ankle injury for the latter half of the season, he still went on to be named All-CACC 2nd Team last season and to lead the team in rebounding with 8.2 per-game. His 432 points ranked fifth on the school's all-time single-season record list and his 230 rebounds ranked second.
This season, the 6-foot-6 forward has managed to stay healthy all year and it has shown. He is one point away from tying Robert Black for second on the single-season points list with 468 and from reaching 900 points for his career. He already has 260 rebounds this season, which is a new single-season GBC record, and puts him just 10 shy of 500 for his career.
He has scored in double-figures in all 25 games this season and has 14 double-doubles. He tied his career-high scoring mark of 29 in the season-opener against Franklin Pierce (11/13), and set a new CACC single-game rebounding record with 22 boards against Virginia State (12/30).
According to Hammond: “Terrence is a guy that makes everyone around him better. He is a leader who loves the game and brings that passion to the gym every day.”
“Having Terrence out there is like having another coach on the court. He is always trying to get the best out of his teammates. He will leave here as one of our top scorers and rebounders even after just two years. But those marks do not even begin to do him justice, because he brings so much more to the team.”
Hammond also wanted to extend a personal thank you on behalf of the program to four-year manager Nitasia Dupree and devoted vocalist Edna May.
