Men's Basketball 3/12/2022 8:00:00 AM

Men's Basketball Notes -- NAIA Opening Round Final

THE GAME
Fresh off a win in its first-ever game in the NAIA National Championship, the OUAZ men's basketball team will face The College of Idaho on Saturday night in the Caldwell Opening Round Final. Tipoff at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho, is scheduled for 7 p.m.

OUAZ is the No. 6 seed in the Naismith Quadrant of the 64-team NAIA bracket, and they qualified by winning the program's first GSAC Tournament Championship in its first appearance. College of Idaho is the quadrant's No. 3 seed and qualified by winning the Cascade regular-season title.

Saturday's winner will advance to the Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo., to face the Bourbonnais Bracket winner on March 17 or 18. That final is between Olivet Nazarene and Grace.

HOW TO FOLLOW
The College of Idaho will broadcast Saturday's game of the Caldwell Bracket on its Game Central Portal and through the NAIA Network app. You can download the NAIA Network app on all Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku devices.

Live stats will also be available during each game. Links for the live coverage during OUAZ games can be found at OUAZspirit.com/live.

STORYLINES
OUAZ enters the game with a 24-9 overall record after claiming a 90-67 win over Tennessee Southern on Friday evening. The Spirit has won 11 of their previous 12 games while going 14-5 since the calendar switched to 2022.

The Spirit has a 7-6 record in road games this season. They have found more success on the road of late by winning three of the past four away contests.

OUAZ is not a stranger to Caldwell and the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. The first game in program history was in the facility on October 27, 2017, against Eastern Oregon. OUAZ recorded its first-ever win the next night by defeating the College of Idaho 67-66.

That win over C of I on October 28, 2017, is the only previous meeting between the two programs.

OUAZ is now 6-1 all-time in postseason play with Friday's win. The team made its postseason debut at the 2021 NCCAA National Championship, where they lost in the championship game to finish with a 2-1 record. The Spirit then went 3-0 to win this year's GSAC Tournament and added the win on Friday.

The Spirit brings a scoring average of 78.3 points per game into Saturday and has been held under 70 just six times. They have gone 11-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game. OUAZ has scored 90-plus points three times in the past six games played.

The foul line has been a pivotal component to the team's success as they lead the GSAC by making 15.2 free throws per game (13th in the NAIA) and by shooting 75.4 percent (13th in the NAIA). OUAZ has shot 75 percent or higher at the line 19 times, including during seven of its last eight outings.

While they shoot just 46.4 percent from the field, the Spirit average 10.5 offensive rebounds per game to rank second in the GSAC. Those extra chances result in 11.1 second-chance points per game.

OUAZ started its late-season push by getting things going at the defensive end. They enter Saturday allowing 69.1 points per game. The Spirit has held its last 13 opponents under 80 points, with seven scoring under 70.

The Spirit also guards without fouling as they lead the GSAC and rank 28th in the NAIA by committing just 14.4 fouls per game.

The opposition averages 14.3 turnovers per outing as the Spirit gets 7.2 steals per contest. OUAZ converts those empty possessions into 18.1 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
In its's 90-67 win over Tennessee Southern on Friday, OUAZ shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the field. It was the fifth time this season the Spirit had scored 90-plus points.

They also tied the season-high with 13 makes from beyond the arc. The 22 assists were the second-most this season and the fourth time they tallied at least 20 in a game.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT
Josiah De'laCerda leads the Spirit into the Saturday by scoring 17.3 points per game. The All-GSAC selection has scored 20-plus points in a game 11 times while leading the team in scoring 16 times.

De'laCerda is second on the team by averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, with 6.0 coming at the defensive end. He has six double-doubles, including the one on Friday.

Kam Malbrough averages 12.4 points per game while scoring in double figures 22 times. He leads the team with 123 assists and is first in the GSAC and third in the NAIA by shooting 91.0 percent at the foul line.

Malbrough enters the week as one of five players in program history with 700 career points and second at OUAZ with 214 assists.

Keshawn Bruner has his best two-game stretch of the season in the team's last two games of the GSAC Tournament. In those contests, Bruner scored 26 and 21 points. He now averages 11.6 points per game.

Bruner has now scored in double figures 20 times with three 20-point outings. He shoots 39.6 percent from beyond the arc with 21 made threes.

Jayce Catchings is scoring 10.4 points per game coming off the bench. He has scored in double figures 15 times and has 37 makes from beyond the arc.

Kolten Hitt is the OUAZ leader with 48 made threes and 60 steals. He has scored in double figures 20 times and tallied multiple steals in a game on 18 occasions. Hitt averages 10.2 points per game and is third in the GSAC at 1.8 steals per game.

Devin Collins leads the GSAC by grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game, and his 286 total rebounds are seven shy of the OUAZ single-season record. Collins has reached double figures in rebounds 10 times with five double-doubles. He is also top in the conference in offensive (92) and defensive (194) rebounds.

ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO
College of Idaho defeated Vanguard 97-78 on Friday to improve to 30-4 on the season. The Cascade regular season and tournament champions have won 11 straight games.

The Yotes are 19-1 at home, and they haven't lost in the J.A. Albertson Center since November 17, winning 17 straight.

C of I averages 78.8 points per game – 68th in the NAIA – while holding its opposition to 63.7 points per game, ranking eighth nationally.

The Yotes also dominate the glass where they are the NAIA leader with an 11.2 rebounding margin.

Ricardo Time leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while Drew Wyman adds 11.5 points per contest.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#2 Kam Malbrough: G; 5' 9"; Junior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#2 Kam Malbrough
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

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

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