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OUAZ Athletics

Kolten Hitt -- March 11, 2022
Liza Safford
67
Tennessee Southern UTS 21-11
90
Winner OUAZ OUAZ 24-9
Tennessee Southern UTS
21-11
67
Final
90
OUAZ OUAZ
24-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Tennessee Southern UTS 29 38 67
OUAZ OUAZ 44 46 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Spirit Deliver Impressive NAIA Championship Debut

CALDWELL, Idaho – Playing its first game in the NAIA National Championship, the OUAZ men's basketball team went wire-to-wire for a 90-67 win over Tennessee Southern in the Opening Round of the Caldwell Bracket on Friday night.

OUAZ (24-9) opened the game on a 13-5 run behind a pair of threes from Keshawn Bruner. Midway through the first half, the Spirit scored nine consecutive points to push its advantage to 28-11. The lead remained in double digits the remainder of the night and eventually reached 28 late in the second half.

The Spirit were clicking at each end of the floor, shooting 58.3 percent with a season-high-tying 13 threes while holding Tennessee Southern (21-11) to 39.4 percent shooting. OUAZ scored 42 points in the paint, and they tallied 22 assists.

Josiah De'laCerda finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spirit in each category. He made 10 of 14 shots with a pair of triples to go with two assists and a blocked shot. Kolten Hitt added 14 points, with Bruner scoring 12. Kam Malbrough scored 11 points and had seven assists.

OUAZ got a big lift off the bench with 28 points. McKay Bundy had 11 points and eight rebounds, with Jerry Johnson hitting 3 of 3 from beyond the arc for nine points.

Tennessee Southern scored 23 points from the 17 Spirit turnovers, but OUAZ held a 39-31 edge on the glass with eight offensive rebounds resulting in 13 points.

Kavion Hancock scored 23 points to lead the Firehawks.

The win advances the Spirit to the Caldwell Opening Round Final, where they will face The College of Idaho on Saturday at 7 p.m. That winner will advance to the Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo., to meet the Bourbonnais Bracket winner on March 17 or 18.
 
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