Battle for Atlantis Mainland Tournament

On November 24th 2017 I attended the second day of the Battle for Atlantis Mainland tournament at University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Retrievers Activities Center in Catonsville Maryland. The first game of the day was between Chicago State of the Western Athletic Conference, and Presbyterian of the Big South. This was the third place game as both teams had lost the day before. This was probably one of the lightest attended college basketball games I have ever been at as there were only 113 people there according to the official attendance, but noticeably less by my count with the naked eye. Both of these teams are ones that have experienced hard times on the court. Chicago State last year was 6-26 (1-13), and Presbyterian was 5-25 (1-17). Both teams have combined historically for one CIT appearance, and zero division one postseason wins. However, this was a tightly contested game as both teams realized the opportunity this event presented.

In the second half Presbyterian and Chicago State traded buckets switching the lead often. Ethan Kay hit a three pointer with 26 seconds left in the corner to put the blue hose put for good. Presbyterian went on to win 75-73. I was surprised to find out this was their first non-conference road or neutral court win since 2013, but this should build confidence for the team moving forward in the Big South this year.
In the second game of the day the host UMBC of the America East Conference faced off against Nichols State of the Southland Conference. UMBC’s production was extremely balanced as six retrievers finished with double digits in the scoring column. Nichols on the other hand was led by Tevon Saddler and Laffayette Rutledge. Saddler who is originally from Maryland put up 17 points and 12 rebounds in his homecoming against the hometown team. Rutledge dropped 30 points for the Colonials all of which came via the three ball. In the process he set a new school record for three pointer’s made in a single game. Their effort was not enough though, as they fell by one point. UMBC captured the battle for Atlantis Mainland Tournament 89-88.

By: Ethan Hennessy