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The Drexel Dragons are going dancing for the first time in 25 years.
Drexel clinched its first NCAA men's tournament appearance since 1996 with a 63-56 victory over Elon in Tuesday's CAA championship game. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports noted "it's been so long, Drexel's last appearance came when it was in a league that no longer exists (North Atlantic Conference)."
The Dragons were anything but favorites heading into the tournament as the No. 6 seed.
However, they upset third-seeded Charleston in the quarterfinals, stunned second-seeded Northeastern in the semifinals and benefited some from Elon's previous upset of top-seeded James Madison. Elon was the No. 8 seed in the tournament.
The Dragons used a strong defensive effort to clinch their bid and held the Phoenix to 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from three-point range. They also had a balanced offensive attack with seven players scoring at least six points and nobody scoring more than 14.
Mate Okros led the way with those 14 points off the bench, while Xavier Bell added 11 points.
Camren Wynter, who led Drexel in scoring during the regular season, scored eight points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field, but his team overcame his struggles by locking in on the defensive side of the floor.
Drexel will surely be outmatched in the first round of the NCAA tournament if it lands a No. 15 or 16 seed, but it played the role of underdog quite well in the conference tournament and will try to shock the world at the Big Dance.
Former UNC-Wilmington men's basketball assistant coach Matt Lynch came out on Friday in an article he wrote for Out Sports.
"I'm gay. Those are two words that 10 years ago I wasn’t sure I was ever going to admit, let alone say out loud," Lynch wrote. "I always thought I would 'die with the lie.' That is how I approached so much of my life, to keep it a secret, to never let anyone know that side of me, to hide and bury all those feelings."
Lynch wrote that he threw himself feet first into coaching, all at the expense of his personal life:
"So as I chased the dream of becoming a basketball coach, I found myself getting lost in my work. I didn't think about being gay or that part of me as much. I didn't date, I didn't talk about it, and it got to the point that I almost began to believe that I could shut that side of my life 'off.'
"I became very good at what I do. When other coaches on the staff would go home at night to their wife and kids, I would stay at the office. I would keep working, keep learning. This helped my career, but I didn't realize the negative effects it would have on my mental health."
Lynch noted that as he continued to suppress his sexuality, he "built up a sort of self-homophobia" and would become depressed once the basketball season ended.
But eventually he began telling people, and when he told one of his closest friends and coaching colleagues, that coach "smiled, got up and gave me a hug, then slapped me on my butt and said, 'You probably like that don't you?' We erupted in laughter. He didn't care, which gave me an enormous amount of confidence to be myself."
Lynch said that coming out publicly was important, to help normalize being gay for other coaches and people in his position who are afraid to do so. He wrote that "the goal isn't to come out of the closet, it's to eliminate the closet."
While that closet still exists, other LGBTQ coaches have also shared their stories publicly. In February, San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers became not only the first woman but also the first out gay coach to appear in the Super Bowl.
She spoke about her own decision to come out in 2017 with Out Sports:
"No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are. There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation. The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day."
As for Lynch, the basketball staff at North Carolina Wilmington was let go this offseason, leaving him currently without a job. He previously held assistant coaching gigs at Edinboro University, with the women's basketball team at Miami of Ohio and at Youngstown State.
The Colonial Athletic Association announced Thursday an official who worked during the 2020 CAA men's basketball tournament has tested positive for the coronavirus:
Hofstra won the event, which took place from Saturday through Tuesday at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
The conference didn't provide further information about the official or what game(s) they worked. There were nine contests played across four days.
Hofstra scored a victory over Northeastern in Saturday's championship game. The Pride were in line to make their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in program history and their first since 2001, but the NCAA announced Thursday that March Madness has been canceled, along with all other winter and spring championships.
All 10 of the CAA's teams were in D.C. for the postseason tourney.
Jamiel Lynch and Paul LeBlanc of CNN reported Wednesday that Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency in the nation's capital because of the coronavirus.
In addition, the city's health advisory recommended all future "non-essential mass gatherings, including conferences and conventions, be postponed or canceled" at least through the end of March.
