The saying "hard work is its own reward" can seem self-evident at times. Like when you have lost 43 in a row.
Yet Lock Haven, 0-24 overall, is an example that sometimes it's not all about the left side of the W-L column.
Only three teams in NCAA men's basketball — from a field of 1,021 — are without a win (i.e., tangible reward) this season, Lock Haven and a pair of tiny Division III schools, Franciscan (0-24) and Principia (0-25).
"I honestly have never been through a season like this, and (my players) haven't either," first-year coach Mike Nestor said. "It takes a lot out of you. You work hard and compete, and you never have a win. I can't even comprehend how difficult (it is for the players) to come in each day."
But there's no quit in the team. It took No. 13 Indiana (Pa.) to the brink Wednesday before losing, 61-53. It led Edinboro by three with 80 seconds to play and led Clarion by nine with less than eight minutes left, but it couldn't get the elusive win.
Lock Haven, which has gone nearly two decades since its last winning season (1992-93), will close out the season against visiting Mercyhurst on Saturday. It's Senior Night, except, as Nestor noted, "We don't have any seniors."
The steady losing is new to many of the players. Freshman forward Julian Bond, the older brother of former Pitt commit and current Texas freshman Jaylen Bond, played two years ago for Plymouth-Whitemarsh's 30-2 PIAA Class AAAA title team.
"A couple of our guys come from winning programs, and we try to keep that mentality going and keep that positive spirit," Bond said. "Someday, it will come around."
Lock Haven's Sharon Taylor, recently reassigned after 23 years as athletic director, remains proud of the coaches and players.
"I have no idea how (Nestor) has kept this team together this season," Taylor said. "It has been a remarkable thing and a wonderful thing to watch from my perspective. It has been a lesson for any of us."
District schedule
MEN
10-Marquette at West Virginia
When/where: 9 p.m. Friday/WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va.
On air: ESPN/WVAQ-FM (101.9), WBGG-AM (970), Mountaineer Sports Network
Records: Marquette 23-5, 12-3 Big East; West Virginia 17-11, 7-8
Favorite: West Virginia by 1 1/2
Series: Marquette leads, 6-4
Of note: WVU is coming off a 71-44 loss to Notre Dame, its most lopsided defeat since 2005.
Players to watch
Marquette: Jae Crowder, Sr., F — Reigning Big East Player of the Week averaged 28 points in wins over Connecticut and Rutgers.
West Virginia: Kevin Jones, Sr., F — One of only five players in WVU history with 1,000 career rebounds.
