Lofty expectations, championship aspirations fueled Falcons

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[When Mamadou Seck is announced to the home faithful, fans are introduced to the player who hails from Dakar, Senegal.

So, why did the 6-foot-7-inch forward make the trek all the way to Southeastern Illinois College?

"I came here to win something," Seck said as he and his teammates celebrated Sunday's 79-67 win against Wabash Valley College. "When we started conference and it didn't go well for us, I didn't feel crazy but now I'm really happy where we are."

Southeastern Illinois went from not feeling crazy about its chances to erupting in a frenzied celebration in Ina.

Seck scored 15 points in the 12-point victory, which punched SIC's ticket to Hutchinson, Kansas where the NJCAA Tournament awaits.

In early February, only a dream scenario would have placed Todd Franklin's team in the national tournament. Southeastern Illinois was 13-9 after an 82-64 whipping at the hands of Wabash Valley College on its home court.

Franklin said the team was not playing up to the program's standards, and being only two years removed from a 28-7 season in which the team reached the national quarterfinal round, the prospects of a return trip were dim.

For all intents and purposes, Franklin awakened a sleeping giant when he scribbled "Are we dead?" on the team's whiteboard before the team's game against Kaskaskia. In the nine games since the loss at Wabash Valley, Southeastern Illinois has yet to be defeated.

Sophomore forward Isaac McClure said the team needed to find itself

"We had to find our core team, the people that cared," McClure explained. "The people that go in day-in and day-out and people who are willing to go through the hard times and keep going."

Southeastern Illinois witnessed an early season exodus as players such as freshmen Antwan Bosier and Anthony Oquendo, among others, left the team once they realized they were not a good fit for Franklin's puzzle.

With the departures in the team's collective rearview mirror, what remained of SIC gelled over time and put on what might be the single greatest in-season turnaround in Southeastern's history.

"Us not giving up and not caring about individuals: that's what made us champions," McClure said.