We expect athletes to play through some aches and pains. But, what Point Loma Nazarene University senior forward Kaden Anderson did on Monday night? That defies description.
Anderson suffered what's likely a high ankle sprain in the opening minutes of the NCAA Division II West Regional Final against Cal State San Bernardino. That injury, the same one Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered in the playoffs, is extremely painful.
Kaden's desire to compete was greater than the pain.
"All the fans, everybody there, everybody that came out to show support ... I just wanted to give it my all," says Anderson. "If this was going to be my last game then I was going to go out fighting."
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Anderson came back throwing haymakers. He got the ankle re-taped and only missed a few minutes before returning to the game. Often limping up and down the floor, scored a game-high 27 points, making all five of his 3-point attempts against the 6th-ranked team in the nation. The fact that PLNU lost 89-83, snapping their 25-game winning streak and ending their miraculous season, is almost a footnote to Anderson's awe-inspiring performance.
"What he did tonight just doesn't happen," says senior guard Tobin Karlberg. "People don't play on ankles that were completely folded over. I mean, that's the toughest thing I've ever seen."
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It needs to be stated that the rest of the Sea Lions roster was phenomenal. Karlberg turned in an incredible performance of his own with 20 points while another senior guard, Shamrock Campbell, added 12 points while freshman guard Jake Lifgren dished out 10 assists.
Head coach Matt Logie might have turned in his best coaching performance of the year. With Anderson hobbled, Logie asked his guys to play zone defenses they hadn't used in a game all season long.
"We've got a really smart team. That's one of the reasons we've had so much success this year. We made a couple of tweaks to our rotations in our normal matchup zone then tried to take some zone concepts and implement them into our man-to-man defense just to give them different looks and keep them out of rhythm," says Logie.
It nearly worked.
The Sea Lions overcame a 12-point deficit in the 2nd half and tied it at 81 on a corner 3-pointer by Lifgrin with 2:17 to play. Alas, the Coyotes had a substantial size advantage and used it to finish on an 8-2 run to win the West and head to the Elite Eight.
Given the effort of the entire roster, coach Logie had but one message to share.
"I've never been more proud of a team that I've coached. What they did tonight was unbelievable. I know every single Point Loma fan, student, family member, coach, alum can hold their head up high and have peace of mind that they've given it all."
