Men's Basketball 12/7/2022 2:14:00 PM

2022-23 Men's Basketball Notes -- Week 6

THE WEEK AHEAD
The OUAZ men's basketball team will make the short trip to Glendale on Thursday to face No. 3 Arizona Christian in the team's final GSAC game of 2022. The rivals will tip at 7:30 p.m. from the ACU Events Center.

Fans can watch the game online at OUAZSpirit.com/watch or on the GSAC Sports Network via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, or Roku devices.

OPENING TIP
The Spirit will take a 6-3 overall record into Thursday's game after splitting a pair of games at home last week. They are 2-2 in conference action, which has them in sixth place. OUAZ has gone 1-1 in road games, and 2-2 in all games played away from home this season.

OUAZ averages 85.4 points per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. They lead the GSAC in free throws made (15.8) and attempted (22.8) per game to rank 33rd and 25th in the NAIA, respectively. The Spirit is recording 15.8 assists per game with a 0.93 assist-to-turnover ratio.

At the defensive end, OUAZ is giving up 77.4 points per game, with the opposition shooting 42.6 percent overall and 39.0 percent from three. In forcing 15.6 turnovers per outing, the Spirit gets 8.0 steals per game. They lead the conference – and rank 14th in the NAIA – by blocking 4.6 shots per game. The Spirit sit second in the conference at 40.6 rebounds per game, with their 11.9 offensive rebounds ranking 36th 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 108.6 while having an in-game rating of over 100 seven times and in five straight.

ON THE BOARDS
Devin Collins and Josiah De'laCerda are the top rebounding duo in the NAIA, with a combined average of 19.0 rebounds per game. The two have grabbed 47 percent of OUAZ's rebounds this season and 25 percent of all available boards.

HE'S ON FIRE
McKay Bundy has been on a tear of late shooting the ball, leading the NAIA with his .795 field goal percentage. He has been nearly perfect inside the arc, shooting 87.5 percent on 2-point field goal attempts.

Bundy has scored in double figures in four straight games – including twice posting 19 points – and he has gone 25 of 29 (86.2%) from the field during the stretch.

SPIRIT LEADERS
De'laCerda averages 16.8 points per game to rank fifth in the GSAC. He is now 61 points away from becoming the second player in program history to score 1,000 career points. De'laCerda is 11th in the NAIA, getting 7.9 defensive rebounds per game, and 36th nationally at 8.9 total boards per contest. He also leads the GSAC with 13 blocked shots.

Keshawn Bruner has three 20-point scoring games, and he is 12th in the GSAC by averaging 14.3 points per game. Bruner shoots 57.0 percent from the field and is fifth in the conference by shooting 82.5 percent at the foul line.

Alex Villi is giving the Spirit 14.1 points per game with a team-best 26 made threes. He scored 36 points with an OUAZ record 10 made 3-pointers at The Master's on November 17. Villi averages 2.9 makes from beyond the arc per game – fourth in the GSAC – and shoots 42.6 percent from deep.

Kolten Hitt scores 10.6 points per game with five games in double figures. His 2.1 steals per game is good for fourth in the GSAC, and he is second with 10 blocks.

Collins has grabbed 10-plus rebounds six times, and he is second in the GSAC and 16th in the NAIA with an average of 10.1 rebounds per game. He gets 3.9 boards at the offensive end, which is good for ninth in the country.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

#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