THE AGENDA
The OUAZ men's basketball team brings 2018 to a close on Saturday when they host an Arizona rival in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical in a non-conference game at Willow Canyon High School. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff and follows an OUAZ women's game against Bethesda that begins at noon.
 
Fans attending the game are encouraged to park on the south side of the gymnasium and enter the building through the west doors. Admission is free to all OUAZ home basketball games this season.
 
OUAZ will broadcast the game live on the NAIA Network and through the Spirit Game Central portal. The NAIA Network is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices by searching NAIA. Live stats will also be available during each game. Links for all live coverage is available at OUAZSpirit.com/live.
 
ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ enters its final game of 2018 with a 2-8 overall record after dropping a pair of games at the Cactus Classic on December 14-15. The Spirit began the classic by falling to Rocky Mountain 97-73 and then they dropped a 91-79 decision to Providence (Mont.). OUAZ is 2-2 at home this season and 7-3 in their past 10 games at home.
 
Through the first 10 games of the season, OUAZ is scoring 76.7 points per game by shooting 41.0 percent from the field. The Spirit have scored 70-plus points eight times this season and they are 2-1 when scoring 80-plus points in a game. They are averaging 7.6 made 3-pointers per game by shooting 31.0 percent from beyond the arc. OUAZ distributes 11.7 assists per game with a 0.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
At the defensive end, OUAZ opponents are scoring 88.3 points per game and shooting 45.1 percent from the field. Eight times this season the opposition has scored 80-plus points with teams scoring 90-plus on four of those occasions. OUAZ is allowing 8.2 made threes per game at 33.1 percent. The Spirit grab 37.8 rebounds per game while giving up 46.2 to the opponents. Spirit opponents are committing 15.8 turnovers per game with OUAZ averaging 7.2 steals and getting 1.8 blocks per game.
 
Brian King Jr. continues to lead the Spirit in scoring at 18.6 points per game. That has him ranked sixth in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). King is coming off a 33-point performance against Providence in which he set a school record with eight made 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures nine times with one 20-point game and two 30-point outings. King is also second on the team with 60 rebounds and 16 steals.
 
Tanner Riley is averaging 15.2 points per game – 11th in the GSAC – and he has scored in double figures eight times. Riley shoots 41.9 percent from the field while leading the team with 21 steals. He has grabbed 51 rebounds and has 19 assists and three blocked shots.
 
Dimetres Moore is providing the Spirit 14.3 points per game with seven straight games in double figures. During this stretch, Moore had a run of three straight games with 20-plus points that featured a career high 27 against Westmont on December 1. He shoots 43.3 percent from beyond the arc and has collected 36 rebounds and 12 steals.
 
ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
Embry-Riddle will make the trip from Prescott with a 7-7 overall record and 1-4 in road games. The Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-68 home win over Doane on December 20. Nick Johnson leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game with Gilbert Ibarra adding 12.0 points per outing.
 
The two teams have met on one other occasion with Embry-Riddle claiming a 95-69 win in Prescott on November 10, 2017.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
OUAZ will leave Arizona for the first time since mid-November next week as they head to southern California for a pair of GSAC games to begin a stretch of four straight road games. The first of the weekend trip hits on January 3 against a currently undefeated Vanguard team. The Spirit then play at San Diego Christian on January 5.