GREENWOOD — In a season defined by trust, sacrifice and belief, Lander University’s Men’s Basketball team has done something they’ve never done before. With a roster shaped by second chances, fresh starts and unlikely paths, Lander is heading to the NCAA Division II National Championship on Sunday, April 5 – united not by individual stardom, but by the power of playing as one.
After the Bearcats did the unthinkable – beating the No. 1 seed Nova Southeastern University in the Final Four game last Friday – it’s been a time of hugs and high-fives from Lander students and friends, mixed with the demands of practice games… and that University “requirement” known as classes.
But on Wednesday, amid cheers from hundreds of fans, Bearcat players and coaches left campus for their last game of the season – the biggest game of all. Under spring’s blue skies, the crowd celebrated the March tournament play that had given way to April’s reality that only one game remained as they sent the team off to the “Natty,” the NCAA tournament final and the biggest game of the Bearcats’ lives to date.
Lander President Richard Cosentino said the University was sending its athletes to “the men’s biggest stage, the NCAA Division II Basketball National Championship. This is not just a big day for us, but a big day for South Carolina.”
The Potential for Success
The day was months in the making. Basketball Coach Omar Wattad saw the potential early, but he knew it would take intention and discipline to bring it to life. This is not a team that has played for a couple of years as a unit. Some players transferred to Lander after playing at several other schools. A couple of the players are freshmen. The team is a composite of different experiences and backgrounds.
Alongside his assistant coaches, Wattad spent the early months of November and December building the foundation of the team to refine skills, define roles and help players understand not just how to compete, but how to compete together. Those early practices, far removed from the spotlight of game-day energy, were designed with the long season in mind, preparing the Bearcats for the demanding stretch of January and February and the intensity of March, he said.
At the heart of that preparation was the team’s two core values: respect and humility. The players are “grounded in mental toughness and strong character … they hold themselves and each other accountable,” said Wattad. “As coaches, we build the potential in the early months for the potential of success in the latter part of the season. We discovered that this is a team of high character, but a team that’s tough as nails.”
The realization that the Bearcats had the skills for the NCAA Division II basketball championship came in January when two weeks of snow and ice brought games to a halt, leading to a rigorous schedule to make up games. Lander players faced a grueling schedule of five games in nine days.
They won all those games.
“Our guys never faltered. This is what tournament play is like,” said Wattad, who played professional basketball after college. “I knew then that our players were ready.”
Dreams of ‘Madness’
For the players themselves, dreams of March Madness began years ago.
“This is a dream come true,” said guard Greyson Pritzl, a junior from West Allis, Wisconsin. “I have dreamed of playing in March Madness since I was a kid.”
Pritzl, whose family and friends are coming from Wisconsin for the game, said that when the team entered the game against Nova Southeastern “none of us thought we were playing the No. 1 team. They’re basketball players. We’re basketball players. We could play against them. Now that we’ve won, that gives us the confidence that we can beat anyone.”
Players echoed Pritzl’s dreams, saying March Madness is a dream that began in high school when they hoped to play on a college team or in childhood when they held a basketball for the first time.
For freshman Jacob Daniels of St. Petersburg, Florida, March Madness is a dream of unexpected opportunity – one he never imagined in his first year of college. Daniels had committed to playing at another university when an upheaval in the coaching staff left him uncertain about his future. “One of the coaches I was close to put me in touch with Coach Wattad,” he said. “I came on a visit and met the players. It felt like home to me. I’m really blessed to be on this team.”
At the final practice on campus this week, Daniels wore a jersey with the word “humility” on the back. The shirt reflects the closeness he feels with the team. “At one of the practices, I needed a shirt. [Fellow player] Tommy Moore gave me this one and said ‘no one else has this shirt. You take it.’ Humility is a big part of our success. We look out for each other, and we hold each other accountable.”
Support from the Heart of Campus
Being the mother of a college basketball player, Dr. Amanda Darden praised the team for their willingness to eschew the spotlight of success for themselves and remaining focused on the success of the team as a whole.
“We love our men in blue,” said Darden, Lander’s vice president for student experience and quality assurance, as she referred to the Bearcats’ team colors. “I’m a basketball mom. I’ve watched a lot of games. This is the most unselfish team. They are a humble set of guys. They genuinely celebrate each other and are happy to share the spotlight.”
Braylon Barbour also was a transfer student, who like some of the basketball players found Lander to be his home. “This has been so exciting, not just for me but for everybody on campus. Seeing the team excel is amazing.”
A senior business major, Barbour said, “To see these guys thrive makes my heart happy. We’ll be waiting for the game with a lot of joy and nervousness. I’ll be at the front of the cheers. Go, Bearcats. I’ll see you Sunday.”
As the team bus pulled away from campus, leaving behind the soft colors of spring – azaleas in bloom and dogwoods lining the streets of Greenwood – it began the journey toward the bright lights of Indianapolis. Ahead of the team awaits a national stage and the promise of basketball glory; behind them is a community filled with pride.
And as the Bearcats make that journey, they carry with them more than a chance at a championship – they carry the belief, the bond and the heart of a team that has already made history.
THE GAME
INDIANAPOLIS - On Easter Sunday, the Lander Bearcats fell one win short of a men's basketball national championship, their remarkable post-season run ending on the sport's biggest stage.
Lander's 15-game winning streak ended as the Bearcats lost to Gannon University 84-61 Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Division II national championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. The game was nationally televised on CBS.
The Bearcats lost for only the second time in their last 23 games, finishing the best season in school history at 30-6.
It's the first national title for Gannon (34-3). The Golden Knights from Erie, Pa., took control of the game with a 23-6 run in the first half behind a relentless full-court press and suffocating interior defense. Their lead only got bigger in the second half.
It was an amazing season for Lander, which was picked to finish only fifth in the Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll after going just 15-14 last season.
But the Blue and Gold defied those expectations, winning both the PBC regular season and tournament championships in 2025-26 and then sweeping three games in the NCAA Southeast Regional to reach only its second Elite Eight in program history (1999).
Lander edged Daemen to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history, and then scored a double-digit victory as an underdog against defending national champion Nova Southeastern in the semifinals in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Leading this journey to the national championship game were three returning players with much larger roles this season (Greyson Pritzl, Terry Leonard Jr. and Jake Tringone), two super freshmen (high school teammates Jacob Daniels and Bobby Crawford Jr.), two key transfers (Dylan Canoville and Antewan Webber Jr.), two players returning to the team after one and two-year absences (Tommy Moore and Navaughn Maise), and a former student-manager (Breon Steele).
"Congratulations to Gannon," Lander head coach Omar Wattad said. "Well-deserved championship. They beat us proper. There was no question about that. Going into the game, we knew they would press. We knew that was a big part of their identity.
"But we really tried to hammer home how good they are in the half-court defensively," Wattad added. "I think the first half our half-court (offense) execution due to Gannon's defensive activity and physicality was porous. We made a lot of bad rim decisions. We didn't move the ball inside and out. We were a little shaky with the ball."
Wattad said he is proud of the team. "We had 30 wins. It's a very sad locker room and the reason they are sad is they put their heart out there for nine months. When you do that, you expose yourself and your emotions will come out. It's part of becoming a man."
Tringone said, "We knew what we were going to get ourselves into (against Gannon's defense). I don't think we executed our game plan in the first half. We kind of beat ourselves in the first half."
Tringone said the memories of being in Indianapolis will live on.
"This is an insane memory," Tringone said. "We are going to remember this 20, 30 years from now. It's a time you get to spend with some of your best friends. We have been extremely blessed to be here."
A big crowd came from the Greenwood community to Indianapolis to support the Bearcats.
"We have been extremely blessed to have the support of Bearcat nation. It was crazy coming out there seeing all the blue (in the stands). We really appreciate it," Tringone said.
"It was great seeing our fellow students and our families here (in Indianapolis)" Maise said. "It was really surreal. I thank them for coming out to support us"
Maise said the season was "nothing short of legendary. I love these guys. We worked day in and day out to get to this situation. I'd go to battle with these guys any day."
"We have been a close-knit group from day one," Tringone said. "It's been love and passion and an amazing journey. We're so blessed to be around such great dudes, from managers to Coach Omar and everybody in between. It's been a great ride. With great people, you can accomplish great things."
Wattad agreed with Maise's assessment that the season has been nothing short of legendary.
"I've gotten texts from former Lander Bearcats who played in the 70s," Wattad said. "I have gotten texts from people that I don't know in the community that now I do know. The outpouring of love has been amazing. Everybody is going to remember 2025-2026. It will never be forgotten. It's the best season in school history and one of the best seasons in Peach Belt history. I'm so fortunate to be the coach of these young men during this historic run."
In Sunday's championship finale, Canoville posted a double-double leading the Bearcats with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
PBC Freshman of the Year Daniels scored 11 points while leading Lander with six assists. Pritzl was held to 11 points after a sizzling post-season scoring run. Pritzl and Daniels each made the All-NCAA Tournament team.
All-American Pace Prosser had a tremendous game for Golden Knights with 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Lander forced Gannon into 0-for-8 shooting at the beginning of the game and built a 9-5 lead behind three baskets by Daniels.
But the Golden Knights used runs of 15-0 and 8-0 as they led 28-15 inside the five-minute mark. As the Bearcats fell behind, they committed multiple turnovers and missed several highly contested shots in the paint.
LU trailed 37-21 at halftime.
The first-half statistics were abysmal for Lander, which made only nine of 34 shots from the floor (27 percent) and missed all six attempts from behind the 3-point arc. Gannon had 15 points off nine LU turnovers. The Bearcats missed approximately 15 shots at the rim in the first half.
McKenzie Morgan's 3-pointer gave the Golden Knights a 43-22 advantage with 18:42 left.
Pritzl heated up with a trio of 3-pointers, including a trey which cut LU's deficit to 49-35 with 14:49 left. But the Bearcats couldn't keep up with Gannon's scoring pace as the game began slipping away.
Lucas Morgan's 3-pointer pushed the Golden Knights lead to 61-38 with 11 minutes to go. The lead grew to 66-40 with 10 minutes left.
By the time Canoville finally got his first dunk of the game for the Bearcats, they trailed 75-55 with five minutes to go.
