It was close throughout, but the OUAZ men's basketball team survived to win 92-89 and pull to .500 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. With the win, the Spirit improved to 6-3 in games decided by six points or less.
Five out of seven players scored in double figures for the Spirit (12-5, 2-2 GSAC), led by
Jayce Catchings' 22 points with four rebounds and four assists.
Bryce Fitzgerald added 16 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Neither team had more than a nine-point lead at any point in the contest.
OUAZ dominated down low as they doubled up Life Pacific (7-7, 0-5 GSAC) 50-24 in the paint.
LPU leaned heavily on their three-point shooting as they were 16-of-40 from behind the arc. Austin Cook led the Warriors with 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 6-of-13 from behind the arc.
It wasn't looking good for OUAZ as they were trailing 88-81 with 4:06 to play in the game. But a pair of layups and a fastbreak three by Catchings in a 100-second span turned a seven-point deficit into a tie game.
With 1:47 to go, LPU split a pair of free throws. Forty seconds later, Fitzgerald sank both of his free throws for OUAZ to give them a one-point lead.
With 20 seconds to go, Catchings took a pass from Fitzgerald and had a beautiful layup with the entire defense collapsing on Fitzgerald.
OUAZ will play the delayed game from November against Justice College on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Faith Arena. Get your tickets on the Hometown Ticket App or by clicking here for the ticket page.
