Men's Basketball 12/13/2022 10:00:00 AM

2022-23 Men's Basketball Notes -- Week 7

THE WEEK AHEAD
It's a busy slate of four games for the OUAZ men's basketball team before Christmas break. The stretch begins on Wednesday against Benedictine Mesa before playing three times at the Cactus Classic in Chandler.

The Spirit opens the annual holiday event against Rocky Mountain on Friday afternoon. They will play No. 23 Carroll on Saturday evening before a final game against Providence on December 20. The three Cactus Classic games will be played at the Coyote Center on the Chandler-Gilbert Community College campus.

Tuesday's game at BenU can be watched on the Redhawks streaming portal and the NAIA Network on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, or Roku devices. The Cactus Classic games will be on the University of Providence YouTube page with a link at OUAZSpirit.com/watchmbb.

OPENING TIP
OUAZ goes into the four-game run with a 6-4 overall record and looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Spirit is tied for sixth at 2-3 in GSAC play. They have a 1-2 record in road games while going 1-1 on a neutral court.

OUAZ averages 863 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. They lead the GSAC in free throws made (16.0) and attempted (23.3) per game to rank 20th and 17th in the NAIA, respectively. The Spirit is recording 15.1 assists per game with a 0.89 assist-to-turnover ratio.

At the defensive end, OUAZ is giving up 76.6 points per game, with the opposition shooting 42.7 percent overall and 37.0 percent from three. In forcing 15.5 turnovers per outing, the Spirit gets 8.2 steals per game. They lead the conference – and rank 11th in the NAIA – by blocking 4.6 shots per game.

The Spirit sit third in the conference at 40.2 rebounds per game, with their 12.0 offensive rebounds ranking 33rd in the NAIA.

NATIONAL POLL
OUAZ was awarded 105 points in the NAIA Coaches' Poll released on November 30. That put them as the first team listed as receiving votes, not in the top 25. They are the second-highest-rated team from the GSAC.

PLAY FAST
It is no secret that the Spirit likes to push the tempo, which has led to five games this season where they scored at least 80 points. In the program's history, the Spirit has a 44-20 record when scoring at least 80 points in a game while winning 17 straight.

OUAZ currently has an offensive rating of 107.1 while having an in-game rating of over 100 seven times in five of the last six outings.

ON THE BOARDS
Devin Collins and Josiah De'laCerda are among the top rebounding duos in the NAIA, with a combined average of 18.1 rebounds per game. Only MidAmerica Nazarene has a pair of players that average more rebounds per game than the Spirit combo.

Collins and De'laCerda have snagged 45 percent of the team's total rebounds and 24 percent of all available rebounds.

HE'S ON FIRE
McKay Bundy has been on a tear of late shooting the ball, leading the NAIA with his .805 field goal percentage. He has been nearly perfect inside the arc, shooting 88.2 percent on 2-point field goal attempts.

Bundy has scored in double figures in four of the last five games – including twice posting 19 points – and he has gone 27 of 31 (87.1%) from the field during the stretch.

SPIRIT LEADERS
De'laCerda averages 15.8 points per game to rank eighth in the GSAC. He is now 54 points away from becoming the second player in program history to score 1,000 career points. De'laCerda is 11th in the NAIA, getting 7.7 defensive rebounds per game and 48th nationally at 8.7 total boards per contest. His 1.7 blocks per game are tops in the GSAC and 35th in the NAIA.

Alex Villi is giving the Spirit 14.3 points per game with a team-best 28 made threes. He scored 36 points with an OUAZ record 10 made 3-pointers at The Master's on November 17. Villi averages 2.8 makes from beyond the arc per game – third in the GSAC – and shoots 42.4 percent from deep.

Keshawn Bruner has three 20-point scoring games, and he is averaging 13.7 points per game. Bruner shoots 52.2 percent from the field and is fourth in the conference by shooting 81.8 percent at the foul line.

Jayce Catchings has been in double figures four times and is scoring 12.8 points per game. He shoots 70 percent at the foul line to rank 15th in the conference.

Kolten Hitt scores 10.4 points per game with five games in double figures. His 2.0 steals per game is good for fifth in the GSAC, and he is fourth with 10 blocks.

Collins has grabbed 10-plus rebounds six times, and he is second in the GSAC and 25th in the NAIA with an average of 9.4 rebounds per game. He gets 3.7 boards at the offensive end, which is good for 12th in the country.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Keshawn Bruner: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#11 McKay Bundy: F; 6' 5"; Senior

#21 Jayce Catchings: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#5 Devin Collins: F; 6' 5"; Senior

#35 Josiah De'laCerda: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#3 Kolten Hitt: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#10 Alex Villi: G; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#23 Keshawn Bruner
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#11 McKay Bundy
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#21 Jayce Catchings
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#5 Devin Collins
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#35 Josiah De'laCerda
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#3 Kolten Hitt
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#10 Alex Villi
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: G