When the 2006/2007 basketball season tipped off, the Warriors of Wesley College were barely a blip on the radar of anyone outside the Florence Mississippi area. For that matter, few outside of those who inhabit the modest forty acre campus just off of highway 49 knew that Wesley even had a college basketball team. That was soon to change.

The First Upset Victim: Belhaven Blazers

Belhaven was not the FIRST team on Wesley’s 2006/2007 schedule, but they were the first team to be a certain loss for the Warriors. Belhaven – a private Christian College offering a variety of degrees – has an undergraduate student body of over 1400, and competes in NAIA Division I. That means that their players are scholarshipped athletes. Meanwhile, Wesley’s team is made up entirely of non-scholarshipped athletes majoring in Bible related fields. The fact that Wesley had won their first four games by an average of 110 to 63 was not lost on everyone, and some predicted a close game. Few expected the Warriors to dominate the more experienced and deeper Blazers 95-84 on their home court.

Big Win #2 – Southeastern University

Anytime Wesley College plays against a school with “University” in their name, it is worth taking a look. Wesley is a diverse and growing institution, but it is still very small. The total enrollment at Wesley College is considerably less than most other Christian Colleges, much less a “university.” Southeastern University of Lakeland Florida has a student body over twenty times larger than Wesley and was the defending NCCAA D2 national Champion. Final score: Wesley 75 – Southeastern 72

Belhaven was the first setback

Playing Belhaven twice in seven days was probably not a good thing, especially since they remembered the first game. Wesley slipped to 5-1 with the loss.

The Perfect Storm

Following the loss to Belhaven, Wesley notched two more victories over much larger programs, within just a few days. First to fall was NAIA D1 foe Tougaloo. Next up was NCCAA Division I Pensacola Christian. The contrast between Wesley and PCC is startling with PCC having an erollment over thirty times that of Wesley. Still, nobody was really taking notice, and nobody expected what was about to happen.

Nobody expected tiny Wesley college to give Mississippi College much of a test. The broadcast radio team from MC feigned respect in the pregame, but it was obvious that they held little hope for an entertaining game, much less a challege for the MC team that many had predicted to compete for the NCAA Division 3 championship. Listening to their broadcast replay is entertaining. In the early going, they comment about the “10 or 15″ Wesley faithful cheering on their team. During the overtime period, they mention the “40 or 50″ who made the drive over from Wesley College. MC finished the regular season ranked #3 in the nation in D3 with a 25-2 record. Wesley was one of the 2, handing MC just their 2nd home loss in 37 home games,84-82.