Schreiner men open basketball season tonight at Howard Payne

After a remarkable five-game run at the end of the 2022-2023 season, Schreiner University might have finally shown its readiness to have a breakthrough in NCAA Division III basketball. 

And with today’s tip-off to the 2023-2024 season, the Mountaineers are one of the Texas teams to beat after winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference last season. 

For coach Marwan Elrakabawy, the time is now for the Mountaineers to break through, with one of the best players in the country on the roster and a deep bench to make a return to the NCAA tournament. 

“I think they’re looking really good,” Elrakabawy said of his team. “This is an experienced team. We’re not doing anything vastly different. We’re going to keep moving forward.” 

Schreiner hits the road today to Brownwood for the season opener against Howard Payne. The Mountaineers play their first 10 games on the road, including a two-game trip to Spokane, Wash, before returning home on Dec. 15 for the SCAC opener against Dallas. Schreiner has 10 home games this season. 

The Mountaineers will enter the season picked to finish fourth in the SCAC, looking up at Colorado College, Trinity University and St. Thomas — all programs Schreiner topped en route to the conference title. 

Now in his fifth season, Elrakabawy has navigated the Mountaineers to 48 wins, a conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance. Elrakabawy’s career record stands at 48-49, but this could be the year the team overcomes the barrier of 15 wins and barely staying above .500. 

Leading the Mountaineers is Kamden Ross, now in his third year and a two-time all-SCAC player. Elrakabawy believes the 6-foot-7 junior from Cibolo should be in the conversation for all-American honors. 

Ross averaged 12.3 points per game in his first two seasons and 10 rebounds. During the Mountaineers’ end-of-season run, Ross faced ferocious double teams, especially in the SCAC final against Trinity when he scored seven points, but teams worry so much about Ross that they leave others open. Against Trinity, 6-foot-6 Christian Rodriguez turned in a season-high 16 points on seven-of-seven shooting. 

“(Rodriguez) was a player I wasn’t sure would see significant minutes,” Elrakabawy admitted. But now, the second-year player from Somerset will play a key role. 

Ross’ outsized game matches a player who is affectionately dubbed as the “mayor” by Schreiner Athletic Director Bill Raleigh. It’s common to see Ross working the arena, shaking hands and talking with people before games. 

“Kam is a natural connector,” said Elrakabawy, adding that Ross now plays a pivotal role as a campus ambassador and gives tours of the university to potential students. 

But Ross’ game is complimented by his high school teammate Beau Cervantes, who emerged as the Mountaineers point guard last season. After a messy early December loss to St. Thomas, Cervantes earned the starting nod, upping his minutes from about nine per game in 2022 to nearly 30 during conference play. 

The other emergent player was Dylan Mackey, who turned in a dominant performance in the SCAC title game by scoring a team-high 17 points, connecting on five 3-pointers. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Mackey scored 19. 

Elrakabawy said Mackey’s toughness and fearlessness was honed on the basketball court of Houston and that he expects Mackey to continue to mature as a player. 

The most significant unknown will be the impact of Jalen Ned, who missed nearly all last season after rupturing his Achilles tendon. Elrakabawy said the junior wing can play various roles and was an all-SCAC freshman pick in 2022. Ned started 26-of-27 games as a freshman and the first 11 games last season before the injury.