Royals prepare to play in new venue

SPRINGDALE — It will be new surroundings for the Ecclesia College men’s and women’s basketball teams this season, as the Royals will be playing in a different venue for the third time in four seasons.

The Jones Center will serve as the home court for Ecclesia, who originally played home games at Springdale’s Har-Ber High School, before spending the past two seasons at Next Level Achievement Facility.

The small independent four-year school in west Springdale is in its 11th season on the hardwood, as part of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.

The women’s team is coming off of its best season ever, posting a 13-7 record last year, but first-year coach Tonya Ingram has inherited a young team that she will have to mold.

“We had a really good year last year, but we are pretty young this year, so it’s really going to be about how quickly our girls learn each other,” Ingram said. “But I’m hoping, moving forward, we can keep building on our success.”

Ingram, a Lincoln native, played collegiately at Ecclesia before graduating in 2014. She has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach for the Royals, and now finds herself as the program’s leader.

“I view this as an awesome privilege to be able to stay here and help the program grow,” she said. “And I feel I am really able to relate to these girls, because I was in their shoes not long ago.”

The Lady Royals return four players, including 5-foot-11 sophomore post Cherokee McGraw, who tallied 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds a game last season. Former Rogers Heritage standout Raquel Moore is a 5-8 sophomore forward who averaged 5.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Haley Gresham, a 5-7 junior guard, is the top returning long-range shooter with 52 3-pointers last season

“We will really rely on our hustle and aggressiveness,” an optimistic Ingram said. “Great players can come out of all levels of basketball if you are willing to put the hard work in.”

MEN

The men’s team will be led by second-year coach Al McCarron, who is in his fourth season overall with the Royals, after spending one season as the coach at Northwood University in Cedarville, Texas.

He has four players returning from last season’s 13-14 team, and hopes his fastpaced style can translate into more wins this season.

“We run a traditional motion offense, but we usually get a shot up within the first 12 seconds of the shot clock,” McCarron said with a sly grin. “We will run some sets, but mainly we are just pushing the ball up and down. We’re going hard, and the kids love to play that way — and I love to coach that way.”

The Royals will be led by 6-6 junior forward Cash Krueger, a native of Denton, Texas, who transferred in from Lyon College prior to last season. They have also added 6-9 junior Kelvinson Osondu, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, and a transfer from Yellowstone Christian College in Billings, Mont. Second-year starter, Chris White, a 6-3 junior guard from El Dorado, should also provide some productivity.

The team also includes local products Malacio Freeland, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Rogers High, who transferred in from Lyon College; Reagan Babyar, a 5-10 freshman guard from Centerton’s Life Way Christian; Andrew Elkar, a 6-3 freshman guard from Springdale; and Tukio Benjamin, a 5-8 sophomore from Springdale.

The men’s schedule is fairly stacked for a small independent school, as the Royals are set to face 15 NAIA schools, seven NCAA Division II schools, and three NCAA Division I schools — McNeese State, Texas State and Southern University — all on the road.

“My forte is really just motivating my guys to compete on the court,” McCarron said. “I just try to instill in my guys the passion to get competitive and stay active.

“We love to shoot it and attack the rim, so I think we will at least be fun to watch.”