The Polar Bears adopted the moniker after last season’s 21-victory campaign ended with a playoff loss to tradition-rich Wyoming.
That bill would go uncollected as the Cowboys ended Nortridge’s postseason run once again, this time with a 54-36 decision over the Polar Bears in Saturday’s Division IV, Region 16 championship game at Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University.
But Northridge wasn’t about to let that setback fuel the narrative for the entire year, which closed with a sterling 25-2 worksheet that featured a 23-game winning streak.
“I’m pretty happy with the way things went,” Conners said. “This group — we just connected. It was all in no matter what."
Against the Cowboys (25-2), the Polar Bears hung tough early on, leading 14-13 after one frame before Wyoming took the lead for good with a 7-0 run to begin the second stanza of action.
Already ahead 28-21 at intermission, Wyoming began to pull away for good with a 12-3 spurt to open the second half, thanks in part to long-range trifectas from Darren Gray and Reid Bornoldt.
Scoring hasn’t been an issue this winter for Northridge, but it was on Saturday as the Polar Bears shot just 28.6 percent from the field, compared to 46.3 percent for the victorious Cowboys.
Still, it was quite a postseason run for the Polar Bears, who used miraculous comebacks from double-digit deficits against Taft and River Valley to make it to the regional finals.
“That was amazing,” Conners said. “Those were the best games — being able to do that with my brothers."
Said senior guard Dorryen Davis: “I’ll never forget it. That will stay with me forever.”
Sophomore Keonte Smith, who starred the entire year along with his brother, senior Deonte Smith, delivered one-half of Northridge’s points, registering 18 markers to go with five rebounds and three blocks.
Wyoming, which has won a combined 95 games over the past four seasons, received 19 points from Devin Evans and 12 more from Kellen Wiley.
“We came up a little short, but we always stuck together as a team,” Davis said. “We’ve been building toward this since we were in sixth grade. We gave it all we could. I’m proud of this team — we came a long way."
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