Fighting Bees Look for Repeat Performance with Experienced Unit

Coming off of their 9th trip to the NAIA National Tournament, the Fighting Bees roll into the 2003-04 season with even higher expectations. Coach Ray Shovlain will begin his 21st season as the Fighting Bees head coach and this year’s team has the chance to be one of the finest he has ever coached. Last season the Fighting Bees won the Midwest Classic Conference championship and finished with a 20-14 record, including a 10-3 record in their final 13 games. The Fighting Bees lost leading scorer Tom Pavljasevic off of that championship team, but they will return nine of the top eleven players, including four starters.

"We return a lot of quality players, but we hope they are not content with the success from last year, said Coach Shovlain. "We are consciously optimistic for another solid season."

This group will provide a vast amount of experience with eleven returners who saw significant playing time last season. This year’s edition of Fighting Bee basketball will also be filled with plenty of leadership, as the team returns eight seniors including four returning starters.

"We will look to our seniors’ for positive leadership and work ethic. We expect them to improve each game and be a better overall team by the end of the season, which is our goal every year, " said Shovlain.

First-team All-Conference performer Matt Fitzpatrick will guide the Fighting Bees offense at the point guard position. Fitzpatrick is coming off of an outstanding 2002-03 campaign in which he averaged 14.5 ppg and 4.5 apg. Fitzpatrick provides the Fighting Bees with a tremendous scoring threat combined with great passing ability and will be a candidate for MCC Player of the Year along with being an All-American. Chad Tancil returns at shooting guard for the Fighting Bees. Tancil came on strong last season, as he averaged 7.7 ppg. Tancil brings great outside shooting ability to an explosive offense.

Brett Jacobs will start at small forward for the second straight season. Jacobs’ numbers have improved each season and he will try to build off of his 8.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg performance from last season. The other forward spot will be up for grabs in the preseason.

First-team All-Conference player Karl Petersen rounds out the starting lineup at center. Petersen transferred in last year and gave the Fighting Bees a dominant big man, as he averaged 13.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg last season. Petersen has the ability to take over a game inside on both ends of the floor.

Once again, the St. Ambrose bench will be a very deep unit. Seniors’ Curtis Clark, Cory Daniel, Freddy Lofombo and Reggie Zorg will provide the Fighting Bees will valuable minutes this season. Curtis Clark, who averaged 5.2 ppg and 3.7 rpg last season, provides the team with great strength inside and has the ability to score in the paint and play tough defense. Daniel can play multiple positions and gives the Fighting Bees another shooting threat coupled with his rebounding skills. Lofombo provides great athleticism and is a strong rebounder. He averaged 2.6 ppg and 2.7 rpg last season. Zorg played a limited role last season, but is one of the best athletes on the team and may see time. 

Juniors’ Ryan Johnson, Nick Ferreira and DJ Brown add to the Fighting Bees offensive attack. Johnson and Ferreira both have played key minutes in big games in their first two seasons and will see a lot of action this year, while Brown saw limited action last season. Johnson averaged 4.0 ppg, while Ferreira averaged 3.5 ppg last year. Sophomore’s Jon Digmann, David Burke, Justin Farrell and David Ingle will all get some experience at the varsity level.

This season’s schedule provides some tough non-conference and MCC opponents. The Fighting Bees will host the St. Ambrose Classic and Pepsi Challenge and will travel to play in The Franciscan University Tournament, St. Xavier Tournament and College of the Ozarks Tournament in Point Lookout, MO. On December 3rd the Fighting Bees will take on rival Augustana in Rock Island, IL, and will also play Division I opponent Chicago St. in Chicago. Like always, the MCC will provide some fierce competition. Iowa Wesleyan, Mt. Mercy, William Penn and Viterbo will all be in the running for the championship again this season. The Fighting Bees will tip off the season on November 8th in Lake Forest, IL, against Barat to begin their quest to repeat as MCC champions and advance to the National Tournament in Point Lookout, Missouri.

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