The men’s basketball team has two remaining regular-season games before the Northeast Conference Tournament begins next week.

The team enters its final two games at Central Connecticut State (Feb. 24) and Sacred Heart (Feb. 26) with a 4-12 record in NEC action.

The team suffered defeats at home in its last three outings, two of them last weekend against Saint Francis-Brooklyn (80-72 in overtime on Feb. 19) and LIU (81-63 on Feb. 17), yet the players’ spirits remain high entering their game at CCSU.

“We still have a good atmosphere around the team, because we still feel confident in our abilities to play anyone,” said Brendan Scanlon, a freshman guard from State College.

Injuries and Covid-related issues have made the season a challenging one. Last weekend against Saint Francis-Brooklyn, SFU was without four members of its rotation: Ramiir Dixon-Conover, Myles Thompson, Ronell Giles and Luke Ruggery.

Despite the challenges, Scanlon and his teammates are hopeful that they can get healthy and find success in the playoffs.

“I think we have a chance to compete with anybody,” he said.

Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen, who leads the NEC in field goal shooting percentage, agrees with Scanlon.

“We have the same goal in mind that we have been saying all year – win an NEC championship,” said the Lincroft, New Jersey native.