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OUAZ Athletics

Men's Basketball -- March 12, 2022
Richard Martinez
52
OUAZ OUAZ 24-10
57
Winner College of Idaho CI 31-4
OUAZ OUAZ
24-10
52
Final
57
College of Idaho CI
31-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
OUAZ OUAZ 26 26 52
College of Idaho CI 29 28 57

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Magical Season Comes to an End in Caldwell Bracket Final

CALDWELL, Idaho – The most successful season in the history of the OUAZ men's basketball team came to an end on Saturday night with a 57-52 loss at The College of Idaho in the NAIA National Championship Caldwell Bracket Final.

OUAZ sees its season end at 24-10 with a program record for wins and a GSAC Tournament Championship. The Spirit played in the NAIA National Championship for the first time in program history.

Facing a College of Idaho (31-4) team that hadn't lost at home since November, the Spirit fought through its lowest shooting percentage of the season to be down three with the ball in the closing seconds. And while the 3-point attempt from Keshawn Bruner was off the mark, OUAZ leaves Caldwell a different program than the one that started the season picked to finish seventh in the GSAC Preseason Poll.

They shot just 35.1 percent on the night and finished 2 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Spirit continued to guard as they held the Yotes 33.9 percent shooting – their second-worst of the season – with the difference being eight of the team's 19 baskets being threes.

C of I opened the second half with a 16-6 run that had them leading 45-32 with 12:51 to play in the game. OUAZ held the home team to just three baskets the rest of the game and were within 52-50 at the 1:35 mark of the second half.

The ensuing C of I possession ended with Tyler Robinett three late in the shot clock to extend the lead back to five. Again the Spirit continued to fight as Kam Malbrough forced a steal for an easy layup, and then OUAZ drew a charge with 16.2 seconds to play to set up the final chance from Bruner.

Josiah De'laCerda scored 13 points to lead the Spirit, with Malbrough adding 10. Devin Collins led the team with 14 rebounds.

OUAZ scored 34 points in the paint, and they added 16 points from C of I turnovers. The Yotes finished with a 43-36 advantage in rebounds.

Drew Wyman led the Yotes with 13 points by hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
 
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