SURPRISE, Ariz. – The OUAZ men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday night as they took down Benedictine Mesa 90-84 in the Spirit's home opener.
 
OUAZ (1-4) earns a season split with the crosstown foe after falling in Mesa earlier this month. The Spirit used a 21-8 run during a seven-minute stretch of the first half to build a nine-point advantage. During the run that gave OUAZ a lead they never relinquished, they made 8 of 12 shots and got eight points from Brian King Jr.
 
After trailing by 14 early in the second half, Benedictine Mesa (6-2) started to chip away at the deficit and pulled within 67-66 at the 8:18 mark. The Spirit answered with 12 of the game's next 15 points to push the advantage back to 10 where they were able to keep the Redhawks at bay the rest of the night.
 
King finished the night with 22 points on 10 of 15 shooting. That came after he tied a school record with 37 against Mesa in the first meeting. On Tuesday, King added eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
The Spirit ended the night shooting a season-best 53.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc with nine makes. They held the visitors to 43.5 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers that they turned into 17 points.
 
Dimetres Moore continues his strong play of late by scoring a career high 21 points. His first career 20-point outing came on 7 of 11 shooting with four 3-pointers on six attempts. Tanner Riley added 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals with Marcus Williams getting 11 points and four assists.
 
Benedictine had 40 points in the paint and 25 points from 17 OUAZ turnovers. The Redhawks won the rebounding battle, 39-37, with 11 points from 12 offensive rebounds.
 
Jordan Mitchell scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Redhawks.
 
The Spirit are now off from competition for nine days before opening Golden State Athletic Conference play on November 29 against No. 1 The Master's at Willow Canyon High School.