The annual Andrews Cardinal alumni basketball games, which took place Saturday night, Sept. 27, in the Andreasen Center for Wellness, remained a popular campus event during the 2025 Andrews Homecoming Weekend. This year’s games returned to their traditional format of having the current men’s and women’s basketball teams face off against a team of alumni that used to don the uniforms for the Cardinals and Lady Cardinals. Both matches were competitive despite the results matching the trend of the alumni coming out victorious every time in recent years.
The first game of the night between the Lady Cardinals and the women’s alumni was a much-anticipated event after the Lady Cardinals’ one-year hiatus, after not having a full roster for the 2024-25 season. This year hopes to be a competitive one, with coach Kia Williams' new roster having 13 players, 11 of whom scored during the alumni game. Leading the team in scoring was Braelyn Isidro, who tallied nine points, including one of two three-pointers for the game from the Lady Cardinals. Mikah Nyamongo was second in scoring, contributing seven points.
The women’s alumni team got its scoring predominantly from former stars Maci Chen (17 points) and Nadira Cousins (12 points), who played with quick pace and high energy throughout the contest. The score remained close during the game, with both teams trading baskets in the fourth quarter. The game came down to the last few possessions, as Sarah Bandish cut the alumni team’s lead down to three points after making two free throws with only four seconds left in the game. After getting intentionally fouled, alumnus Riley Hicks missed both of her free throws, allowing Isidro to shoot a desperation half-court shot to tie the game, which barely missed after hitting the back rim, giving the alumni a 43-40 victory.
The men’s game was also highly entertaining, as the current Cardinals attempted to end the streak of alumni victories in recent years. Like their female counterparts, the Cardinals spread out the scoring responsibilities with nine of the 14 rostered players contributing points. Mari Nichols led the team in scoring with an impressive 19 points. Preston Flowers contributed 16 points, including three three-pointers in the second half, which helped cut into the men’s alumni team’s late lead.
The alumni men featured several familiar faces, including Michael Nixon, former Andrews vice president of University Culture and Inclusion, who coached after playing in the game in past years, and Shane Anderson, lead pastor of Pioneer Memorial Church, who played, despite jokingly described his basketball abilities earlier in the week to students at a chapel program as “entertaining” to watch, rather than actually good. Leading the alumni team in scoring was another familiar face, Cardinals assistant coach Nantenaina Mazava, who tallied 16 points against his players. Nate Tchamba also scored 14 for the alumni in a very physical game.
The men’s game also came down to the final few possessions, as the Cardinals had the ball down two points when, after a missed three-pointer by Duane Darrett, Noah Fitzpatrick got fouled trying to go for a put-back shot to tie. Fitzpatrick ended up missing both free throws, the second of which Flowers put back into the basket with a mid-air acrobatic move, which would have tied the game. However, the basket was controversially waved off by officials after they deemed Preston committed a free-throw lane violation.
After the alumni men successfully inbounded the ball and Maxwell Dronen got fouled, Nichols, who was on the bench at the time, got called for a technical foul for getting off the bench and saying something the nearby referee deemed inappropriate. This technical foul would end up being costly for the Cardinals, as it gave Dronen an extra two free throws to put the game out of reach. He ended up making one out of the two technical free throws, making his first regular free throw, and intentionally missing the second after getting the alumni team’s lead to four. A clock malfunction allowed Damarion Travis to make a buzzer-beater three-pointer to end the game with a score of 76-75, another victory for the alumni.
Both current basketball teams will turn their attention to their upcoming season. The Cardinals will start their campaign at home against Commonwealth Basketball Group (CBG) Prep on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. in the Andreasen Center for Wellness. The Lady Cardinals will start their season on the road at Great Lakes Christian College on Monday, Nov. 3, before having that week, Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. at Kuyper College in the Andreasen Center for Wellness.
To watch the livestream of both games, you can visit the Andrews University Student Association (AUSA) YouTube channel. To learn more about Andrews University Athletics and upcoming games and events, please visit their website.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.