The Golden Eagles are in a tight battle with Aquinas and Davenport for the WHAC regular season championship, and tomorrow’s game with Davenport could play a decisive role in crowning the next conference champion.

The last time these two teams played on Jan. 21, Cornerstone lost a heartbreaker on the final shot of the game, and the team is not about to let that happen again.

“That was the worst that I have ever felt in a Cornerstone uniform after a loss,” Captain Matt Kingshott said. “It was a really frustrating game. They played a solid game against us and we just weren’t exactly all that ready for it. We just weren’t ready to match up with their intensity level.

“We battled the whole game. It’s tough having them win on the last second shot after we battled so much.”

It’s would have been easy for the team to look ahead to the next game with Davenport, but instead Cornerstone has been redeeming itself on a game-by-game basis without looking ahead to any big games down the road.

“Every game is a big game for us,” Kingshott said. “We realize that these last few games are all we got. If we want to go to nationals we got to definitely play several great games of basketball here. We have a do-or-die game each time out.”

That level of focus has driven the Golden Eagles to a 13-2 record since mid-December, and they haven’t lost in over three weeks since playing Davenport.

 That includes a ground-breaking win at Aquinas on Jan. 28, which was the first time Cornerstone had won a regular season game at Aquinas in nearly four seasons.  After dominating the first half, the Golden Eagles battled in the second half to squeeze by with a 73-69 victory, which highlighted Cornerstone’s recent success and has motivated the team to finish strong.  

“It was a huge confidence booster,” Kingshott said of the win. “We know that we’re a good team and can go out on any given night and play the game the right way and play with almost any team in the country. That brings the spirits up of the guys and raises the confidence, and we know what we can do both at home and on the road.

“We got a lot to build on there. We’re excited about where it’s going.”

Now the rematch with Davenport is knocking at the door, and Cornerstone’s patience has paid off. This time around the Golden Eagles know what’s at stake: the WHAC regular season championship and a bid to the national tournament.

“We really gelled together,” Kingshott said. “We’ve had a lot of guys stepping up and we still need more guys to step up. We’ve definitely come together so far with the WHAC season. But one little slip up now and that could cost us a trip to nationals.”

One thing’s for sure: The Golden Eagles will be zoned in for their highly anticipated rematch with Davenport tomorrow at 4 p.m.

“When that game does come we’ll be more amped to beat them because they already got us at their place,” CU forward Caleb Simons said about tomorrow’s game with Davenport. “We will be very focused. It’s a must win. We know we can’t lose, so we’ll do anything we can to win. It’ll be a battle.”