The Baron men’s basketball team enjoyed a successful 2021-2022 season by winning their first playoff game since joining the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in 2020. Picked to finish ninth in the PAC, the Barons finished the regular season with a 10-16 record and punched their ticket as the seventh seed to a first round PAC playoff game against the Bethany Bison.
With home-court advantage, a raucous, overflow crowd, and led by the stellar play of senior guard Sean Hickey ’21, MBA ’22, the Barons jumped out to an early 10-point lead, extending it to almost 20 points by halftime. The eventual 108- 89 playoff victory was well-earned, said head men’s basketball coach Joe Wallace.
“The season was all about resiliency, character, and virtue. We battled through injuries, and COVID postponements that had us play a grueling 15 games the final month of the season.”
While the Barons lost the quarter-final match 73-88 to Chatham University, it was not for want of effort or fan support.
“Even though we were playing an away game, the Baron crowd was larger and louder than the home team’s,” said Wallace, thanking the students for their “sixth-man” support throughout the season.
The key Baron player was Hickey, who became the alltime leading Franciscan scorer in the NCAA D-III era, along with most career three-pointers, most games played, and most wins.
Most impressively, Hickey finished his basketball career as the third all-time leading scorer in both eras of Baron basketball by surpassing Jim Garrigan (1970-74) with 1,692 career points.
Hickey credits his personal success to coaches, parents, and teammates who helped him refine his shooting skills.
“I had a passion for basketball since I was a kid. I grew up in Cleveland and would shovel snow to shoot in the driveway for hours,” he said.
He credits the team’s success to the chemistry that developed from playing three games a week and from incorporating faith and virtues into each practice and game.
Sean Hickey led the Barons to their first PAC playoff victory.
