Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

OUAZ Athletics

MBB_01/23/25
MBB_01/23/25
62
OUAZ OUAZ 7-13, 0-6 GSAC
66
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 16-4, 4-2 GSAC
OUAZ OUAZ
7-13, 0-6 GSAC
62
Final
66
Arizona Christian ACU
16-4, 4-2 GSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
OUAZ OUAZ 28 34 62
Arizona Christian ACU 29 37 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Jas Singh

OUAZ Drops Complete Nail Bitter to Rival ACU

Glendale, Ariz- In its 5th conference game OUAZ loses a tough game to a competitive Arizona Christian. The Firestorm (16-4, 4-2) pulled away in a stunner 66 to 62. The loss will put the Spirit at (7-13) and (0-6) in conference play as they continue the fight in an extremely tough GSAC conference featuring several top teams.

The Spirit fed off a big game from impact player Zeke Viukola, who led all scorers with 26 points along with seven assists. Viuhkola with perhaps one of the craziest shooting nights of the season shot all of his field goals from beyond the arc sinking 8 of 13. Reggie Orr coming off a GSAC Defensive Player of the week continues to shine with 11 points and 2 steals. Orr on a nightly basis has proved to get it done on both sides of the ball. Sharpshooter Hunter Richardson also added 9 points as well as a block, and a steal on the defensive end.

The team battled all night after starting the game only down one point at halftime. After struggling from the field in the first-half shooting 36%, the Spirit made it up defensively, holding a high powered Arizona Christian offense to only 40% shooting in the first half. The Spirit protected the perimeter well, holding the Firestorm to a mere 30% from three, but struggled to protect the paint giving up 34 points. Offensively, the Spirit scored most of their points from three, adding on 13 three's on 36% shooting. Zeke Viukola kept the game within reach in the last 2 minutes of the game, even draining a three at the 2:20 minute mark giving the Spirit a lead at 59-58. With less than a minute left Viuhkola yet again drained a three after an ACU three that pushed the lead to 4. However, the Spirit fell short down 1 after the Firestorm drained the clock, then grabbed their own offensive rebound after a missed three point attempt at the 22 second mark. This forced the Spirit to foul after an ACU timeout. After 2 made free throws, the ACU lead was 3 at 65 to 62. CJ Reed then narrowly missed a game tying three that would have forced overtime.

The Spirit continue their battle in GSAC conference play against Benedictine Mesa University on Saturday, January 25th at BenU PEC. The game will be streamed on the GSAC Sports Network. 

 
Print Friendly Version