Two teams from the opposite sides of the country saw different results on Friday night, but the message after the game was the same, “God is great.”
The College of Charleston had a roller coaster of a game against Alabama, and it ended in a 109-96 loss for the Charleston Cougars. However, Head Coach Pat Kelsey wasn’t broken up over it. Kelsey knew that his team had an incredible season, and he had one main man to thank.
“God’s the answer, he’s the reason,” he said during a press conference after the game. “Through all of our triumphs, big wins and championships, that’s all Him. That’s all God.”
Later in the press conference, Kelly leaned back onto his faith to lift up one of his players. Junior guard Kobe Rodgers went down with an injury during the game, and it didn’t look good.
“When I went out and saw him after he got hurt, the look in his eye, you could tell something was wrong,” Kelly said. “I’m not a doctor, I don’t have any report on what’s going on yet, but my heart goes out to that kid. I just pray that, if something is wrong, for a quick recovery.”
After Charleston’s loss to the Crimson Tide, it was time for the final game in round one between St. Mary’s and Grand Canyon University.
The Gaels and Lopes battled for the first half, but at the end of the night, GCU came away with a 75-66 win. It was their first-ever win in the Division I NCAA Tournament.
While the Lopes could have taken all the credit for the win, they were quick to give credit to God, especially redshirt senior forward Gabe McGlothan. He came into the press conference with a tattered Bible and a message.
“Adversity hits at random times, but you’ve got to find out what’s going to be your rock, and for me, it’s this,” McGlothan said, holding up his Bible. “Being able to have Jesus Christ as your teammate is one of the best things you could have in this world. It is the best thing.”
After McGlothan and his teammates left the room, the presence of faith was still there with Head Coach Bryce Drew. Drew had a heart condition growing up, which led him to “give his life to the Lord at a young age.” At the age of 49, the former Houston Rocket is still living a life of faith while coaching at a faith-based school.
“It’s a special platform we have at GCU. We have so many guys who come into our program and have never heard about the Christian faith, about our Lord and what he can do for them,” Drew said. “So, part of what we get to do with our program is we get to develop young men, help make them better basketball players, and we help to introduce faith to their lives.”
The Lopes will continue to show their faith on the national stage when they face Alabama at 4:10 p.m. on Sunday, March 24.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25