There was quite a contrast in my basketball travels last week.

At North Allegheny Wednesday night, parking sports were hard to find for the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal game between Butler and Gateway.

The game was a low-scoring thriller, the packed house creating an intense and energetic atmosphere.

One night earlier, Slippery Rock University traveled to Mercyhurst for a PSAC men’s basketball quarterfinal game.

Again, the game was a low-scoring thriller with plenty of key moments.

But parking spots were plentiful and the gym wasn’t even half full. The crowd was laid back and a playoff atmosphere practically was nonexistent.

Why?

Granted, SRU was the road team and folks can’t be expected to travel that far to see a game. But even the home stands were pretty empty and Mercyhurst was a 20-win team ranked third in the Atlantic Region.

Does fan interest in college basketball really drop off that much from high school?

In Division II it does.

And that’s a shame.

SRU’s 51-45 win at Mercyhurst was the 20th victory of the year for The Rock. It also marked the program’s second PSAC Tournament win in three seasons under coach Kevin Reynolds.

This was a basketball program that had been dormant for a decade, going nine years without a winning season or a league tournament appearance before Reynolds’ arrival.

He took a career record of 56-29 into Friday night’s PSAC semifinal against Cheyney, putting together three consecutive winning seasons.

He had the nation’s assist leader in Kyle Camper two years ago. He also had perhaps the league’s best player in Denell Stephens.

This year, Maron Brown became only the fourth player in SRU history to generate 1,200 points and 800 rebounds in a career.

You would think those positives would generate excitement and plant fannies in the Morrow Field House stands.

They haven’t.

Reynolds owns school records for most wins by a men’s basketball coach in his first year, in his first two years and in his first three years.

The man has connections throughout the college basketball world and likely will continue to put winning teams on the floor as long as he’s here.

The question is how long will that be?

It’s only a matter of time before Reynolds leaves SRU to climb coaching ladder.

Maybe SRU will continue to win. Maybe it won’t.

Butler County sports fans — and numerous SRU students — are missing out on a pretty entertaining and talented team in the meantime.

When Reynolds does leave, he’ll be scratching his head over the lack of fan support his program received.

He — and his players — deserve better.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle