Basketball Team Places 3rd

Conception Seminary’s Sons of Thunder Place 3rd in the
Mundelein Seminary Basketball Tournament

On Friday evening, in their first game of the tournament, the Sons of Thunder squared off against the Pontifical College Josephinum (Columbus, Ohio).  Any observant fan would notice that Conception’s team was not nearly as tall as most of the other seminaries, but what they lacked in height, they made up for with their quickness and smothering defense.  Conception got off to a slow start, trailing 7-1 in the first few minutes of play, but it did not take long for them to warm up.  They quickly rallied with a series of steals and fast breaks in order to defeat Josephinum, 38-23.  Conception played their second game of the night against St. Joseph’s Seminary (St. Benedict, Louisiana).  Again, the Sons of Thunder forced turnovers on defense and converted the turnovers into points in a 31-18 victory.

After playing two games within three hours, Conception Seminary’s team was not scheduled to play again until Saturday evening.  Call it “rust” or “lethargy,” but the same Sons of Thunder team did not show up to play in their third game against Sacred Heart Seminary (Detroit, Michigan).  Sacred Heart dominated the offensive boards and shot the ball consistently throughout the game.  Even a late rally by the Sons of Thunder was not enough to take the lead, as Conception lost in a heartbreaker, 24-19.

Though their hopes of a three-peat were dashed, Coach Skip Shear told them to finish strong in their final game Sunday morning against Holy Cross (Notre Dame, Indiana), where if they found a win, they would place third overall.  Conception shook off Saturday’s loss and came out playing strong in the final game.  More seminarians on the team made their way into the rotation from the bench and they contributed to several of the points as Conception Seminary College cruised to a 30-17 victory, successfully bringing home the third place trophy.