Despite adding two games to its schedule, the Dickinson State Men’s basketball team saw those games fade away due to COVID-19.
After falling to Dakota Wesleyan 87-72 on Nov. 27, the Blue Hawks attempted to add more games to its schedule following its game against No. 21 Carroll College being a “COVID no contest."
The Blue Hawks added a game against No. 8 College of Idaho on Dec. 6 followed by a game against Montana-Western on Dec. 7 and were to finish off the weekend against Yellowstone Christian College on Dec. 8. Sadly, all three games have been canceled and taken off the Blue Hawks’ schedule.
“It’s been a wild 24 hours,” Derek Selvig, head coach of the Blue Hawks, said. “We’re not too bothered by it. It kind of is what it is at this point.”
With the schedule constantly changing, what would be deemed rare in previous seasons is now being seen as a normality for the Blue Hawks in the ‘20-21 season.
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“This is not new, pretty normal,” Selvig said. “We’re just trying to figure everything out. There just are not a lot of teams that are playing right now so that’s a little abnormal, there’s a lot of teams shut down.
“We feel very fortunate to have been able to play six games,” Selvig added. “(The team) has felt good, they’re happy and they want to keep playing if they can.”
While the constant schedule change may bring some stress to the players and coaching staff, Selvig added that the team is focused on taking the season one day at a time.
In November, The NAIA removed the Seasons of Competition/50% rule, allowing fall and winter athletes to play the current season without losing a year of athletic eligibility. Selvig said the announcement has helped his players stay calm during this season.
“These guys get their year back if they want it back and I think these guys feel comfortable with that,” he said. “I think everybody was a little uneasy before the NAIA came out with that.”
“Right now we’re just trying to get better day-by-day and figure out when we can play a game and play hard when we do and that’s kind of how we’re approaching it now,” Selvig added.
With the removal of the three games, Dickinson State stands at 3-3 in non-conference play.
Currently, the Blue Hawks next game is scheduled for Dec. 11 against Mayville State University, thus beginning its conference schedule.
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Dickinson State played the Comets earlier this season in a non-conference matchup and defeated the team 93-87.
