Men's Basketball
Basketball at BenU started in 1919 with its first victory against DeLaSalle with a final score of 36-16. Back then, the team was nicknamed “The Cagers” by the writers of The Procopian News. Although the team played against other schools, they weren't recognized as a varsity sport on campus until 1926. The team started to make a presence in tournaments with their appearance in the March 5th 1937 All Star Jr. College Tournament where they placed 4th. They continued to build their reputation by playing in the Jr. College Tournaments in February from 1940-1942. Varsity basketball was disbanded during the WW II, but like football, intramural basketball continued and was the highlight of the 1943 winter season. Intramural play continued to highlight the winter season until 1948 with the varsity team’s return. Three years later in March of 1951 the SPC Cardinals were crowned the N.E.C.C. Champions.
1965 was the magic year for the SPC Eagles to return to national tournament play with their first appearance in the NCAA tournament during Coach Tony LaScala’s first year. The Eagles returned to the NCAA tournament in 1991 when they hosted the first round game against U.W. Plattsville. The Eagles advanced to the sweet sixteen but fell before the Final 4. Recently the Benedictine Eagles swept the 2009 Grand Canyon Classic, won the 2009 NAC South Division Title, were the 2010 Blue Jay Classic Champs, 2011 NAC South Division and NAC Champs, and made their third appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Here are some interesting statistics:
The SPC Eagles' only undefeated season was in 1925 with a record of 4-0.
Their best win-loss percentage was in 1965-66 at .818 with a record of 18-4.
The oldest standing record in the BenU’s basketball history is Most Points in a Game (130 points against Northwest College) from the 1958-1959 season.
To see more records visit Benedictine Basketball Record Book here: http://www.benueagles.com/documents/2011/1/12/pages6-727.pdf