CHANDLER, ARIZ. – The new era of OUAZ men's basketball got off to an exciting start on Tuesday as the Spirit took control of its contest against Justice College and never looked back. Tyler Ojanen earned his first-career victory as the program's head coach with an 81-68 final over the Lions.

The Spirit came out firing offensively, shooting 60% as the team took an a 16-point lead into halftime. OUAZ finished with a 50% shooting effort while also putting in 10 threes.

Everyone in a Spirit uniform brought the defensive intensity as well, holding the Lions to just 43.8% shooting and caused 13 turnovers. OUAZ had six steals, and also held the rebound advantage.

"The first thing we worked on Day 1 was our defense," CJ Reed said. "It's the thing we're going to hang our hat on during the season."

Reed would lead the game with 21 points in 24 minutes, making eight of his 13 field goal attempts and hitting a trio of threes. Reed was also perfect from the free throw line, and was one of four Spirit players to finish in double-digit scoring.

Jack Galiardi was one of those players, getting 10 points to go along with his team-leading seven rebounds. Tramane Lee also had 10 points while pulling in six rebounds, and the two newcomers each shot 50% or better on the night.

The Spirit will take a week to prepare for the Abe Lemons Classic, taking part in three games in Oklahoma City. Their trip to the Sooner State starts with a contest against host Oklahoma City University on Thursday, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. AZT.