PNW men’s basketball season started Oct. 28 against Michigan-Dearborn in the Domino’s Tip-Off Classic Tournament, winning 82-67.

Torrance Johnson, forward, and Max Clifford, guard, scored 18 points while Clifford Spring, guard, scored 17 points.

The PNW men’s basketball team returned with six players from the 2015-2016 season, including Shereff Knight, senior, who played for PNC last season. He averaged 10.4 points per game and 4.4 assists per game while at PNC.

New players include international student from Slovakia Lukas Vilkovsky, freshman, and freshmen Hunter Smith, Brandon Cory, Mike Vukas and Franklin Nunn.

Matt Bush, PNW men’s basketball head coach, is the former head coach for PNC men’s basketball. While at PNC, Bush tied the PNC record for most men’s basketball wins in a season with 15. With 39 wins, he’s also the all-time PNC win leader.

For the upcoming season, Bush will implement a different style of play and help the team improve in game-to-game process.

“We will play an up-tempo style of play, with an emphasis on an aggressive, attack-oriented defense,” Bush said.

The PNC men’s basketball team finished the 2015-2016 season with an overall record of 15-15-2 and a conference record of 8-13-1. PUC finished with an overall record of 12-18 and a conference record of 5-16.

Mike Williams, senior communications major, said that the team is focusing on advancing further into postseason.

“Hopefully we’ll win the conference and qualify for the national tournament,” Williams said. “We aim to win the national title. That’s what it’s all about.”

Williams said that the members of the team have s been working to improve themselves in all aspects of the game and that they’ve been specifically working on perfecting defensive schemes.

“Defense is something that we try to pride ourselves on,” Williams said. “We try to improve on it every day as well as trying to play defense in a tough, gritty style.”

Bush said that Knight, Johnson, and Chandler Springs are key players for the team and that he is counting on big contributions from Nunn and Vilkovsky.

Bush hopes to have the team compete in the conference tournament and win a bid to the NAIA tournament.

“Our guys have been working hard and are ready to get the season started,” Bush said.