237 ATHLETICS To kick start the 2022 season, the Harding men’s basketball team traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to play in the Puerto Rico Clasico Tournament. The team left in the morning and narrowly beat Hurricane Nicole as it hit Florida. They flew into San Juan later that night.The following day they had free time to visit the area. “We had a free day on Wednesday,” senior guard Davis Morgan said. “It was nice just to kind of get our bearings and see where we were at and have some time together.” They were able to see the Old San Juan fort and visit other attractions on their day off. “There was a cool old fortress that we were able to tour,” Morgan said. “We found some good food and ice cream while we were down there.” After their day off, it was time to put in work on the court. Junior guard Stetson Smithson said that playing basketball wasn’t any different there and that the teams were similar to ones they played previously. “I will say, the goals were definitely higher than 10 feet,” Smithson said. “We had an argument amongst ourselves trying to figure out how high it was.” The team’s first game was on Nov. 11, 2022, when they played the University of Puerto Rico- TRAVEL I NG Harding men’s basketball competes in the Puerto Rico Clasico Tournament. Rio Piedras. The following day, they played against University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón. Davis Morgan said that the language barrier between the players, the referees and University athletic director and men’s basketball coach Jeff Morgan was interesting. Jeff Morgan tried to ask the referee why they were making certain calls on the court. They had a hard time understanding one another, so fifth year guard Ramiro Santiago stepped in and helped with translation. “It was definitely something funny to laugh about after the fact,” Smithson said. “Without Ramiro they would have never listened to Coach.” After the week of games ended, the team came home with two wins under their belts. Jeff Morgan said it was a good week for the team because it gave the teammates time to bond. “It was a good time just to be together as a team and you get a good team kind of bonding, kind of family time,” Jeff Morgan said. “We had a lot of good meals together and an opportunity to get on the court and develop some team chemistry.” Written by: Jake Mooney off the court
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