Men's V-Hawks ousted from conference tourney

For the first time in over a decade, the Viterbo University men's basketball team can call itself conference champions. The V-Hawks are out of the conference tournament after losing to William Penn on Feb. 26 with a score of 68-75.

The team earned itself a claim to the conference crown with a 75-63 victory over William Penn on Feb. 20. A trio of seniors—Nick Stilwell, Scott Buschman, and Eric Ambrose—powered the V-Hawks with a combined 47 points on the day. Buschman and Stilwell also provided a combined 23 rebounds, much to the delight of a raucous Viterbo student section. 

Viterbo shares conference championship honors with Grand View University. It's the program's first conference title since 1998, and current coach Wayne Wagner's first. 

After finishing the regular season, the V-Hawks moved on to MCC tournament play, with the winner being awarded an NAIA national tournament berth. 

As the number two seed, Viterbo faced off with Waldorf in the first round. The V-Hawks were dominant from the opening tip, leading by 17 at halftime and notching an 87-56 win. Ryan Ambrose led the way with 22 points, and Scott Buschman contributed 18 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Hanold also had a big game off the bench with 13 points and three assists. 

In the tournament semifinals, Viterbo once again faced off with William Penn. This time, however, the Statesmen picked up the victory by a 75-68 margin, ending Viterbo's season in the process. Chris Millner had a monster game for William Penn, with 32 points that included seven three-pointers. Eric Ambrose had 17 points and five assists for Viterbo, and Scott Buschman added 15 points and 10 rebounds. 

The V-Hawks finish the year with a 14-15 record overall, 11-5 in MCC conference play.