For basketball fans at Loyola, this Halloween will offer up more than just candy, costumes and scares.

The men’s basketball team is back at it, taking on Carver on Oct. 31 at the Den. Last season, Loyola beat Carver in a 78-59 opener. The team hopes to follow a similar path this year.

“Our players will be ready for our home opener,” said Michael Giorlando, men’s head basketball coach. “We need to keep focused and improve on the small details of the game.”

While practicing during the pre-season this fall, the team was hit with some setbacks.

“We have been challenged with a few early injuries,” said Giorlando. “But others have stepped up and are making the most our of the presented opportunity.”

Finance senior Roco Gandara believes that the team’s intense practice regimen will play a substantial role in the success of the season.

“Preparing for the season is a long process,” Grandara said. “We start our preseason early with morning conditioning on the track. Throughout six weeks, we push our limits of endurance and mental toughness. We build on that base, leaning the plays, our defense, and everything else to get ready for the first game.”

The players, who have recently been honored with the National Association of Basketball Inaugural Team Academic Excellence Award, are looking forward to the start of a new season.

“As a senior, I’m most excited for my last year playing basketball,” Gandara said. I hope that we as a team can achieve things that the program has never done before.”

Mass communication senior Cameron Hill said that the basketball team strives to get better every day. The players focus on improving both athletically, and in overall sportsmanship.

“We have built our team around respect for ourselves as well as our opponents and to not take anyone for granted,” Hill said.

Hill attributes much of the team’s preparedness to head coach Michael Giorlando.

“He doesn’t want us to settle for being good,” Hill said. “We push each other to our limits everyday and I feel that we are improving and moving forward.”

The start of the new basketball season will offer unique challenges for the team.

“Expectations are extremely high this year, and I understand that every night we will get the other team’s best performance,” Hill said. “I’m excited to chase after winning another championship for the Wolf Pack.”

Giorlando encourages all students to cheer on the Wolf Pack on Oct. 31, whether in costume or not.

“We would love to have a great student section for our home opener against Carver College on Halloween Night,” Giorlando said. “Our fans are a big reason for our past success and we will need that extra push from our fan base this year more than ever.”

Cami Cruz Thomas [email protected]