By MILES SOUZA

Beloit College basketball started their season with a game each over the weekend. The men’s team held their home opener on Saturday against Millikin University. The women’s team traveled south to face off against Rockford University.

Both teams are looking to build off some successful seasons. Last year, both teams improved tremendously from years past and have shown upside to the Bucs basketball programs. 

The men’s team had a standout season last year, going 16-10 and 9-7 in conference. This was their first positive record in 10 years. They secured the three seed in the Midwest Conference Tournament, their first tournament bid in 23 years, where they lost a three point game to Grinnell College. 

The men’s team also only graduated two players from the 2023-2024 season. The large amount of returning talent bodes well for the Bucs going into the season.

The women’s team went 11-14 last season, 8-8 in conference play. This was a four win improvement in conference play and three overall from the year prior.

The team did lose three starters from last season, two of which led the team in scoring the last two years, and one of which joined the 1000 point club last season. The team will look for big contributions from their returners and new players this season. 

The men’s team kicked off their season in a packed Flood Arena on Saturday, facing off against Millikin University. The Bucs started off the game slow and were looking for some rhythm.

Beloit looked rusty in the first half and struggled to find openings. The Buccaneers also failed to get to the free throw line the entire first half. They headed into the locker room down 37-29. 

But the Bucs found their old form in the second half. They proceeded to outscore Millikin 41-32 in the second half, looking a lot more aggressive and racking up 15 free throw attempts. Beloit won by a narrow margin, 70-69, after a last second shot by Millikin. 

Senior forward Semaj Roy’25 led scoring with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. Scoring was spread out across the team with 10 different players scoring and 24 bench points. 

The women’s team headed down to Rockford University to face off against the Regents on Saturday night. The game also saw packed stands as it was the Regents’ home opener. 

The Bucs saw a bit of the same in their opening game, starting out slow on offense and struggling to find openings. Beloit went into the halftime break down 44-21, after a long run 16-0 run by the Regents in the second quarter.

The team did show some fight coming out of the locker room and never admitted defeat. They won the third and fourth quarters, outscoring the Regents by seven in the second half. The lead from the first half was too big of a mountain to climb, as the Bucs fell to the Regents, 64-48. Freshman guard Julia Kennedy’28, was the leading scorer for the Bucs with eight points off the bench in only 16 minutes of action.

The women’s team will have their home opener on Tuesday (Today!) against Carroll University at 7:00 p.m. Then, the two teams will have a pair of games at home on Thursday. The first will begin at 5:30 p.m., as the men’s team battles against Marian University and the second will follow shortly after, with the women’s team facing off against Aurora University.

Featured Image: Semaj Roy’25 running offense via Beloit College