OUAZ closed out the 2023 portion of its schedule by defeating Benedictine University-Mesa 73-72 on Saturday afternoon inside Faith Arena. 

Bryce Fitzgerald led five Spirit players who scored in double figures with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Also in the double-figure club were Alex Villi (14 points), McKay Bundy (13 points), Jacob Henry (11 points), and Elijah Simmons with 10 points coming off the bench. 

"I believe that we have yet to play our best basketball this season," head coach Matt Keeley said after the game. "We are still finding ways to win.  It excites me to think how much better we can get, but we better figure it out quickly.  Our locker room is full of talented and good people. That gives me the most belief in us." 

OUAZ (10-3 overall) came out hot, jumping out to an eight-point lead less than three minutes into the game.  Eventually, opening that up to a 14-point lead just past the 10-minute mark of the first half.  The Spirit's largest lead of the day was 15 points with 3:48 to go in the first half. 

At the break, the Red Hawks (7-5 overall) had closed to within 10 points. 

In the second half, BenU went on a 28-10 run over the course of ten minutes to take a 67-60 lead with five and a half minutes. 

Over the final five minutes, BenU only managed five points as the Spirit defense forced them into some bad shots. 

OUAZ will now turn it's attention to GSAC play that begins next week when they travel to Jessup on January 4th.  The team will return to Faith Arena on January 11 to host 18th ranked The Master's at 7:00 p.m.  Get your tickets on the Hometown Tickets App or by clicking here.