Men's Basketball 1/14/2021 2:00:00 PM

OUAZ Set to Open GSAC Play with Two-Game Series at Life Pacific

OUAZ SPIRIT (5-1, 0-0 GSAC) at LIFE PACIFIC WARRIORS (0-0, 0-0 GSAC)
Game Details	Friday, January 15 • 6:30 p.m. (Arizona) • San Dimas, Calif. • Mehl Court Saturday, January 16 • 2 p.m. (Arizona) • San Dimas, Calif. • Mehl Court
Video Stream	ouazspirit.com/digital
OTT App	NAIA Network (Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku)
Live Stats	ouazspirit.com/sidearmstats/mbball
Game Notes	OUAZ (PDF)

SPIRIT NOTES
•   Having already played a pair of games this week, the OUAZ men's basketball team will now head to California to open Golden State Athletic Conference play with a two-game series at Life Pacific. The teams will open the series on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (AZ) before tipping at 2 p.m. (AZ) on Saturday. Both games will be played at Mehl Court in San Dimas, California.

•   Each of the weekend games will be broadcast live on the OUAZ Digital Network. Fans can view the game online at OUAZSpirit.com/network or on the NAIA Network app on Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku devices.

•   Live stats will also be available during the games with a link will be available on the men's basketball schedule on the OUAZ website or at OUAZSpirit.com/live.

•   The Spirit will begin GSAC play with a 5-1 overall record, having played three games in the past six days after playing the first three games over a 40-day span. They are 7-3 in the past 10 games dating back to last season. OUAZ will play a true road game for the first time this season on Friday and they are 2-0 on a neutral court.

•   Last season, OUAZ finished 6-12 in conference play to finish tied for seventh in the final conference standings. The Spirt have lost three straight GSAC road games.

•   The "Play Fast" offense of the Spirit has been in full effect this season. They have scored at least 80 points in five of the six games played with three games in the 90s. OUAZ is currently 26th in the NAIA in scoring average at 87.50 points per game.

•   That high scoring attack has been anchored by the efficient shooting of the team. Six games into the season OUAZ is ninth in the nation by shooting 52.6 percent from the field. The Spirit has shot at least 50 percent from the field five times.

•   The 58.3 percent shooting in the season opener against Park Gilbert is the second-best shooting night in program history. That was followed by 57.6 percent against Randall, including 71.9 percent in the second half.

•   OUAZ has added the long ball into its repertoire this season, setting the program record with four straight games with at least 10 made threes to start the season. The team is 36th nationally by making 9.83 triples per game and they rank 16th in shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.

•   For good measure, the Spirit is shooting 75.2 percent from the foul line which places them 23rd in the country.

•   Kam Malbrough has scored a team-best 101 points and is averaging 16.8 points per game on the year. He had a 25-point outing against SAGU on December 10 during which he set the program record with 14 made free throws.

•   Malbrough has scored in double figures in all six games this season and he is 27th in the NAIA at 5.00 assists per game while ranking 34th in shooting 87.0 percent at the foul line.

•   Kolten Hitt has also scored in double figures in every game this season and is currently averaging 14.50 points per game. Hitt has gone 14 of 21 from distance to currently rank second in the NAIA with that 66.7 percent clip.

•   Marcus Williams is averaging 11.5 points per game and he has gone 16 of 42 from beyond the arc on the year. He had his school-record streak of 19 consecutive with a made 3-pointer snapped on Wednesday night. During the run, Williams averaged 3.47 makes from beyond the arc per game and shot 44.0 percent.

•   Quentin Guliford has come on strong since joining the lineup in January. In his three games played, Guliford is scoring 13.7 points per game and shooting 56.0 percent from the field.

•   Guliford is coming off a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds against Benedictine Mesa on Wednesday. For the season, he is shooting 92.9 percent from the foul line and grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game.

•   According to the poll of the league's coaches released on October 17, OUAZ was projected to finish eighth in the league this season. The team received 26 points from the coaches

•   The GSAC released an updated 2020-21 schedule of conference games last week with the league playing a 10-game GSAC schedule starting on January 15.

•   The 2021 conference schedule will feature two separate pods. There will be no crossover games scheduled by the conference. Representing Pod A will be Hope International, Vanguard, and Westmont. Pod B will feature Arizona Christian, Life Pacific, OUAZ, San Diego Christian, The Master's, and William Jessup. Menlo has decided to opt-out of men's basketball competition this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

•   There will be no GSAC Basketball Tournament conducted in 2021. The conference's two automatic berths will be represented by the two pod champions. Should a tie occur in either pod, the two tied teams will play a championship game on February 27.

•   The 2020-21 NAIA basketball season marks a return to one division for the first time since the end of 1990-91. That also changes the NAIA National Championship from a 32-team field to a 64-team field.

•   With the change, 16 schools will host a four-team Opening Round bracket with those winners advancing to the final site at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Marcus Williams: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#23 Quentin Guliford: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#14 Kolten Hitt: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#2 Kam Malbrough: G; 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#0 Marcus Williams
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#23 Quentin Guliford
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#14 Kolten Hitt
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#2 Kam Malbrough
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G