For the past two months, suspense and excitement have been building as the basketball season draws to an end. The question harboring Spurgeon College has been: will we make history this season? From the beginning of the season, the answer has been a resounding yes, finalized last Thursday when the Knights became the regular season champions. We now look at other major victories that paved the way for our season #1!

On January 25th, Spurgeon College took on Martin Luther College, NCAA Division III opponent, in New Ulm, MN. The contest was fierce. The lead changed several times in the first half, with neither team gaining more than a five-point advantage. At halftime, the Knights held a three-point lead. Spurgeon took advantage of the break and opened the second half on a 20-1 run, growing the lead to 67-45. With only a few minutes left in the game, Martin Luther trimmed the Knights' lead to 10, but it was not enough. The Knights won the game 94-80, bringing their season record to 11-5. The Knights were led in scoring by Drew Middleton with 22 points and Jude Warren with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knights returned to their home court on February 2nd, facing off against the Thunder of Manhattan Christian College. The game had high stakes in the Central Region. Manhattan got on the board first before Spurgeon scored five straight to answer. Manhattan grabbed a 14-12 lead early in the game, but it would be the last time they led for the remainder of the game. They tied the game up at 20 before The Knights pulled away, going into halftime up by eight, 39-31. The second half opened like the first. Manhattan hung around until it was 46-50, partway through the second half. Then, Spurgeon extended the lead, which did not fall below five points again. The Knights pulled off the 15-point win, 76-61. The game brought the Knights to a 12-5 record on the season and a 4-1 record in the Central Region. Jude Warren led all scorers with 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Tyler Smith added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

On February 5th, the Knights faced another regional opponent at home, The Barclay College Bears. The Knights scored first, followed by a 3-point shot by Barclay. This gave Barclay their only lead in the game. The Knights jumped to a 30-17 lead midway through the first half. Maintaining that spread throughout the rest of the first half, Spurgeon led at halftime, 59-45. Quickly, in the second half, the Bears narrowed the lead to 10, 62-52. Then, the Knights pulled away yet again, growing the lead to 23, 80-57. The Knights' command of the court continued for the rest of the game, finishing 116-91. This was the third game won in a row, bringing the Knights' season to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the region. Six Knights scored in double figures, led by Michael Berry with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jude Warren with 18 Points and 11 rebounds.
 
Just five days later, on February 10th, the Spurgeon Knights faced off at home against their third regional opponent in a row, Central Christian College of The Bible. The teams started hot, scoring rapidly on both ends. But as CCCB cooled off, The Knights were only heating up. Spurgeon College scorched the nets with a staggering 63 points in the first half. This became the second game in a row that The Knights scored at least 60 in the first half. Leading 63-37 at halftime, The Knights rolled into the second half, extending the lead to 30 points, 71-41. Spurgeon kept the point differential throughout the rest of the game, winning by 33 points, 117-8. Winning their fourth game in a row, Spurgeon College matched the school record for the most wins in a season as they moved to 14-5 and 6-1 in regional play. The Knights were led in scoring by Drew Middleton with 24 and Jude Warren, who made a triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists.

For the fourth consecutive game, the Spurgeon Knights played a regional opponent, the Warriors of Calvary University, on Feb. 13th. The game started neck-to-neck, with neither team making an early lead. The Knights gained some traction and pulled way to a 25-12 lead midway through the first half. The 13-point differential would be the trend of the first half, with Spurgeon going into halftime up 47-34. The second half painted a different picture. Spurgeon College wasted no time, scoring the first 11 points unanswered to take a 58-34 lead early in the second half. Calvary tried to claw back into the game but could not break back within 20 points. The Knights continued to extend the lead and pulled away to a 95-63 victory, marking the most wins in School History with a record of 15-5 and a regional record of 7-1, extending their winning streak to 5 games. Jude Warren led all scorers with 23 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Michael Berry with 20 Points.

The Knights took on the Lions of Trinity Bible College at home on February 16th. The Lions took the lead at the start of the game, making the score 21-17 midway through the first half. Then the Knights scored 16 unanswered to go up 33-21. The Knights held the lead for the rest of the half, leading 42-38 at halftime. Trinity pulled the game to a one-point game at 45-46 but could not get the lead back in their favor. Spurgeon extended their lead to 28 points 91-63 before winning the game 103-84. This game marks seven wins in a row for the Knights and brings their record to 16-5. The Knights were led by Jude Warren, who had a monster game. Warren put up 30 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and 8 steals. He was followed by Malikih Gillum with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The next day, February 17th, Spurgeon College faced the Faith Bible Baptist College Eagles. The Knights jumped out to an early lead, leading 7-0, but Faith kept the game close throughout the first half. The game was 30-25 toward the end of the half before The Knights pulled away to go into halftime up 56-41. The offense was hot in the second half. The teams combined for 119 points between them (66 Spurgeon's). The Knights won 122-94, bringing Spurgeon's winning streak to seven and their overall record to 17-5. The Knights were led in scoring by Jack Chamberlin with 27 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Michael Berry with 22 points.

With this winning streak, your Knights head into the Central Region Tournament as the number one seed. As the number one seed, they get a bye in the quarterfinals and will host the semifinals at home on February 29th. Provided they win on the 29th, they will host the championship game in the Mathena. Your Knights are also positioned as the number three team in the country in the latest Coaches Poll and as the number one team in the nation in all three National Power Ratings.

Coach Livezey had this to say about his red-hot team, "We are excited by the way we are playing as a whole collective group, but the scary part is, we haven't played our best basketball yet. I am excited to see if we can choose hard as a team in our next couple of practices as we prepare for our best. I believe this team still has some growth to be had and that excites me as their coach. These men have worked hard all year and it's a blessing that they get to see some of that fruit show as we head towards the finish line. The Lord has been kind, and we are just thankful for the opportunities in front of us now."