Vanguard men’s basketball has always been a staple in the Athletic Department from the early Southern California College days. It is the sport with the most HOF members, now with four individuals and two teams. The 2013-14 edition becomes the second team to join the list after winning a national title.
With 11 returning players and five newcomers, not much was expected from the Lions entering the new campaign. After all, VU was not ranked in the NAIA coaches’ preseason poll. But Head Coach Rhett Soliday had picked the right mix of new talent to join his veteran roster.
Starting Golden State Athletic Conference action in 2014, VU was unstoppable for nearly a month, winning seven conference games in a row. The pollsters took notice of VU’s winning ways, as the team went from being unranked to steadily climbing among the NAIA heavies – 21st, 20th, 23rd, 12th and then 9th on February 4. VU then went 3-3 over the next six GSAC games to slip to 10th in the nation.
The Lions swatted aside San Diego Christian to conclude the GSAC regular season and did so again to open the GSAC Tournament. Identical 90-80 victories over Westmont and Hope International would complete the first GSAC Tournament title for VU, providing automatic entry to the NAIA Tournament.
Chris Gorman and Preston Wynne were named to the All-GSAC team and Soliday earned the GSAC Coach of the Year award.
Arriving at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., ranked 8th in the country, VU squared off against Life (Ga.) and began the event with a 103-94 triumph. The Lions then handled Benedictine (Kan.), in front of a flock of hometown Raven fans and students. Georgetown, the reigning national champ, was next for the Lions but five VU players scored in double figures to forge a 93-85 victory.
VU steamed past Saint Gregory’s with a 20-point victory in the semifinals. In the title game, Emmanuel College (Ga.) awaited and the two slugged it out with the Vanguard student-body watching inside The Pit. In a battle of the Lions, VU and Emmanuel exchanged leads in the defensive-oriented first half, but Lions would lead 29-25 at the break. VU had held Emmanuel to its lowest first-half tournament point total. The Lions increased their lead to 10 points in the second half and held off Emmanuel, the buzzer sounding with Vanguard on top 70-65. The Red Banner came home to Costa Mesa. Wynne led all players with 20 points and Gorman had 18.
Wynne and Gorman were named to the All-Tournament Team and Wynne was named the Chuck Taylor Tournament MVP. Coach Soliday was named the NAIA Rawlings Coach of the Year. Wynne was named a First-Team All-American and Gorman was placed on the Second Team.
The 2013-14 team holds the record for most points in a season at VU with 3,089. The team also ranks first in field goals attempted (2,470), free throws attempted (998), free throws made (723), rebounds (1,483), and total minutes (7,728).
Roster: Zach Allmon, TJ Burke, Swing Chuang, Jordan Diandy, Logan Fougnies, Chris Gorman, Selle Hann, DeAngelo Jones, Noel Larkins,Levi Seekins, Keith Mason, Nuno Muandumba, Kirk Sheplay, Myles Smith, Brandon Wiehe, Preston Wynne, Tino Zaragoza
Coaches: Head Coach Rhett Soliday, Assistant Coaches; Brian Roberts, Brad Davis, Kevin Heenan, Shacolby Randell, George Tuttle, Student Assist; Richard Solte
