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OUAZ Athletics

2022 MBB GSAC Champions
78
Winner OUAZ OUAZ 23-9
77
William Jessup WJU 27-6
Winner
OUAZ OUAZ
23-9
78
Final
77
William Jessup WJU
27-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
OUAZ OUAZ 35 43 78
William Jessup WJU 44 33 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Spirit Rally for First GSAC Tournament Crown

FULLERTON, Calif. – It seemed impossible with 7:15 to play in the second half and trailing by 12, but the OUAZ men's basketball team continued to grind and show the resilience they have built throughout the season. That resulted in the Spirit earning a 78-77 win over No. 13 William Jessup to win the 2022 GSAC Men's Basketball Tournament for the first conference title in program history.

Trailing by double-digits for most of the night, OUAZ (23-9) looked lost as William Jessup (27-6) seemed to have an answer for every run the Spirit made. That was again true when GSAC Player of the Year Cashemin Williams completed a 3-point play at that 7:15 mark to get the Warriors a spark.

This time the Spirit found an answer that worked as they mounted a 12-0 run that tied the game at 71-71 with 4:02 to play. Kam Malbrough capped the rally with his own and-one conversion that had Darling Pavilion rocking.

The remainder of the game featured five lead changes, with Jessup going ahead on a layup from Tim Strijaous with 55 seconds to play. OUAZ came up empty on its next possession before forcing a shot clock violation at the defensive end to set up a final possession with 6.7 seconds to play.

With the clock winding down, Malbrough found Josiah De'laCerda, who was fouled attempting a three with 0.4 seconds on the clock. De'laCerda converted two of the three attempts at the line, and a full-court heave from Jessup was offline, sending the Spirit into celebration mode.

OUAZ would outscore Jessup 19-6 over the final 7:15 by holding the Warriors to 3 of 10 shooting. Keshawn Bruner scored 10 of the Spirit's 19 points during the stretch to finish with a team-high 21 in the game. It was his second straight 20-point scoring night after having just one during the regular season.

The Spirit shot 51.6 percent from the field with 46 points in the paint. They also connected on 8 of 24 from beyond the arc – including three in the final 7:15 – while grabbing 34 rebounds and dishing 11 assists.

Malbrough added 19 points, and De'laCerda had 14. Devin Collins notched a second straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jessup shot 47.0 percent and tied a season-high with 14 made threes. The teams combined for seven turnovers.

Williams led five Warriors in double figures with 24 points.

By winning the GSAC Tournament, OUAZ earns an automatic invite to the 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. They will learn their destination and opponent for a March 11 Opening Round game when the bracket is revealed on Thursday at 6 p.m. (AZ).
 
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