FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville Tech men’s basketball has announced its schedule for the 2021-22 season.
The Trojans, who are coming off their second straight season with a Region 10 Tournament quarterfinal appearance, return to the court for a traditional slate after playing a delayed and shortened season in the spring.
“We’re excited about the level of talent we’re going to get to play against this season,” head coach Brian Hurd said. “We’ve got a bunch of young guys who will get to play against strong competition quickly.”
The Trojans are coming off an up-and-down year in which they knocked off two nationally ranked teams, including then-No. 1 Davidson-Davie CC, during the regular season en route to a run to the NJCAA Division II Region 10 quarterfinals. They finished 8-8.
The Trojans, whose current 23-man roster features 19 freshmen, have four scrimmage dates scheduled for October before starting the regular season on the road against NCAA Division III opponent Methodist’s JV team.
From there, the Trojans head into a conference schedule front-loaded with home games. The team plays eight of its 12 home games before the winter break, hosting seven Region 10 Division II opponents in that time on the Trojans’ home court at Reid Ross Classical School.
The team then moves into a jam-packed January, with eight games scheduled for the month.
The Trojans’ final home game is set for Feb. 1, leaving the team to end the regular season on a five-game road stretch. Hurd said the late-season travel was an intentional choice as the team eyes another postseason run.
“Late in the year we have a long road stretch, and that’s really to prepare us to play in the tournament,” Hurd said. “We’ll have to play away from the house, if we’re fortunate enough to make it that far again this year.”
The Trojans will participate in the inaugural Wake Tech Holiday Classic, a tournament Dec. 29 and 30 that will feature both DI and DII teams from Region 10.
“We’ll be playing against some Division I teams like Brunswick CC and Caldwell with high levels of talent,” Hurd said. “That’ll get us ready to compete in the meat of our league play schedule.”
Along with a return to the traditional calendar, this season will feature the return of several Region 10 teams that opted out of last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wake Tech, Pitt CC, Johnston CC and Southwest Virginia will all be back.
“You’re talking about teams that have practiced for the whole year and didn’t play, so you know they’re hungry,” Hurd said. “We’ve let our players know that these guys are coming for you, because they didn’t have the privilege of playing last year.”