Men's Basketball 3/9/2022 4:00:00 PM

Men's Basketball Notes -- NAIA Opening Round

THIS WEEK
The OUAZ men's basketball team will make its NAIA National Championship debut on Friday when the Spirit faces Tennessee Southern in the Opening Round of the Caldwell Bracket. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. from the J.A. Albertson Activities Center on The College of Idaho campus.

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. Tennessee Southern earned an at-large berth and is the No. 11 seed in the quadrant.

The winner between the Spirit and Firehawks will face the winner between No. 3 seed College of Idaho and No. 14 seed Vanguard at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Saturday winner will advance to the Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo., to face the Bourbonnais Bracket winner on March 17 or 18.

HOW TO FOLLOW
The College of Idaho will broadcast all three games 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 heads to Caldwell with a 23-9 overall record after winning the GSAC Tournament last week in Fullerton, Calif. The Spirit has won 10 of their previous 11 games while going 13-5 since the calendar switched to 2022.

This season, the Spirit has been perfect when playing at a neutral site with a 6-0 record. Over the past two seasons, OUAZ has a 10-1 record on neutral courts.

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.

Friday will mark the first meeting between the Spirit and Tennessee Southern. OUAZ is 4-0 this season against opponents they are playing for the first time. It will also be the first time the Spirit has faced a team from the Mid-South Conference.

OUAZ will enter the NAIA National Championship with a 5-1 record all-time in postseason play. 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.

The Spirit begins the weekend averaging 77.9 points per game and having been held under 70 just six times. They have gone 10-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game.

The foul line has been a pivotal component to the team's success as they enter the tournament leading the GSAC by making 15.5 free throws per game (11th in the NAIA) and by shooting 75.6 percent (10th in the NAIA). OUAZ has shot 75 percent or higher at the line 19 times, including in each of the last seven outings.
While they shoot just 46.0 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 the weekend allowing 69.2 points per game. The Spirit has held its last 12 opponents under 80 points, with six scoring under 70.

The Spirit also guards without fouling as they lead the GSAC and rank 28th in the NAIA by committing just 14.5 fouls per game.

The opposition averages 14.3 turnovers per outing as the Spirit gets 7.3 steals per contest. OUAZ converts those empty possessions into 18.1 points per game.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT
Josiah De'laCerda leads the Spirit into the Championship by scoring 17.2 points per game. The All-GSAC selection has scored 20-plus points in a game 10 times while leading the team in scoring 15 times.

De'laCerda is second on the team by averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, with 5.9 of those coming at the defensive end. He has five double-doubles.

Kam Malbrough averages 12.5 points per game while scoring in double figures 21 times. He leads the team with 116 assists and is first in the GSAC and fourth 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 207 assists. He is nine assists shy of tying the record held by teammate Marcus Williams.

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 to raise his season average to 11.6 points per game.

Bruner has now scored in double figures 19 times with three 20-point outings. He shoots 37.5 percent from beyond the arc with 18 made threes.

Jayce Catchings is scoring 10.5 points per game coming off the bench. He has scored in double figures 15 times and has 36 makes from beyond the arc.

Kolten Hitt is the OUAZ leader with 46 made threes and 59 steals. He has scored in double figures 19 times and tallied multiple steals in a game on 18 occasions. Hitt averages 10.1 points per game and is third in the GSAC at 1.8 steals per game.

Devin Collins leads the GSAC by grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, and his 282 total rebounds are 11 shy of the OUAZ single-season record. Collins has reached double figures in rebounds 10 times with five double-doubles. He also is tops in the conference in both offensive (2.9), and defensive (5.9) rebounds per game.

ABOUT TENNESSEE SOUTHERN
Tennessee Southern heads to Caldwell with a 22-10 overall record. They went 16-6 in Mid-South Conference games to finish second. They were upset by Shawnee State in the quarterfinal of the conference tournament.

The Firehawks have dropped three of their past four games, and they are 2-1 on a neutral court.

Entering Friday, Tennessee Southern ranks 147th in the NAIA by scoring 72.0 points per game, and they shoot 45.5 percent from the field. The Firehawks average 8.2 made threes per game at 35.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Adarion Hudson leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game, having scored 20-plus points in a game six times. Hudson is 16th in the NAIA by averaging 5.0 assists per game.

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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

#0 Marcus Williams: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#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

#0 Marcus Williams
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

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

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