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In 1997-1998, the Crusaders men’s basketball team completed a 24-8 season in epic fashion, winning the seventh national championship in program history as they claimed the NSCAA Championship.
Leading the way for the squad was Hall of Famer Mitch Naylor, who averaged over 17 points and six rebounds per game and earned NSCAA First-Team All-American honors. Burdy Smith (16.3 ppg) and Bill Wagner (11.8 ppg) garnered All-American Honorable Mention.
The 1997-98 team set a school-record with 318 steals, a mark which has stood for 24 years. The squad also averaged 91.4 points per game on the season, the second-highest total in school history.
Other members of the 1997-1998 team included Ryan Brummett, Dax Bryant, Bryan Cooper, Justin Corey, Jeromy Green, Mark Holmes, Mike Kosmicki, Aaron Papendieck, Keegan Smith, and Paul Wright.
The fifth-seeded Crusaders went 4-0 at the national tournament. Opening against Florida College, the team claimed a 70-64 victory to advance to the quarterfinals, where they cruised to victory behind 25 points from Burdy Smith.
In the semifinals, NCC took down top-seed California Christian (Fresno, Calif.), 77-75, behind a pair of game-winning free-throws from Justin Corey in the final five seconds. Corey was also instrumental defensively, holding the leading scorer in all of collegiate basketball to just two points in the contest.
A storybook comeback fueled the championship game victory over Philander Smith (Little Rock, Ark.) Trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Crusaders stormed back to tie the game at 62-62 at the end of regulation. Trailing by three points in the final minute of overtime, Wright and Naylor hit back-to-back jumpers to claim the championship.
Hall of Fame Coach Dave Lipp was the captain of the ship, assisted by Greg Gittins, Nick Sage, and the late Charlie Roberts. Dave Gomez served as the team manager.
Lipp and Sage went on to be selected to coach an NSCAA All-American team on a goodwill trip to Japan that summer. The team included Naylor and Wagner who played with other All-stars from around the country against Japanese semi-professional teams. The NSCAA team was able to pull off a stunning 85-57 victory over a team sponsored by Toshiba that included several talented American professionals on the roster.
