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OUAZ Athletics

MBB_02/20/25
Richard Martinez
MBB_02/20/25
76
Park-Gilbert (AZ) PARK-GIL 6-20, 3-11
87
Winner OUAZ OUAZ 10-18, 3-11
Park-Gilbert (AZ) PARK-GIL
6-20, 3-11
76
Final
87
OUAZ OUAZ
10-18, 3-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Park-Gilbert (AZ) PARK-GIL 31 45 76
OUAZ OUAZ 35 52 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Jas Singh

Spirit Outlast Park-Gilbert in Season Finale and Senior Night

Surprise, Ariz- OUAZ men's basketball picks up a big win on senior night and the team's season finale against Park-Gilbert. The final score was 87-76 putting the Spirit's season record at (10-18) overall and (3-11) in GSAC conference play.

The night started on a somber note with the remembrance of OUAZ basketball player Wesley Rosa, who tragically passed away last spring. Rosa was a bright soul who was well known on campus not just for his play on the basketball court, but his caring and friendly personality. He was an amazing person that was taken too early from us. He will forever remain in the hearts of our community and his impact will always be imprinted into this school and program.

Tonight was not only the season finale, but the final collegiate game for our two outstanding seniors Eljiah Goodwin and CJ Reed. Both were honored before tonight's thrilling victory and praised for their amazing contributions to the program. We are so proud of both of them and excited to see what they do in their extremely bright futures.

The Spirit saw an all around team performance tonight as 4 players hit double figures. Zeke Viuhkola led all scorers with 19 points on a solid 6 of 13 shooting night. The junior, Westmont transfer has been among the best in the conference all season long and looks to have a huge senior year. He ends the season averaging a team high 16.4 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. CJ Reed, in his final collegiate game ended on an absolute bang. The Newark native put up an outstanding 17 points on 6-13 shooting including three from beyond the arc and a tied team high 7 boards. Reed, who has an extremely deep bag put that on display all season long and was considerably one of the best defensive guards in the conference. Jack Galiardi, also had quite the night and has come on to his own in the final stretch of the season. The junior big-man dropped a steady 11 points with 6 boards and a block. Reggie Orr, who has sneakily been one of the best newcomers in the conference, did a lot of the dirty work in tonight's game. The hard nosed guard put on quite the defensive clinic with 2 blocks and 2 steals. Orr will be a big part of a returning core next year for the Spirit and will certainly continue to make noise as one of the top guards in the conference. Freshman Deuce Lloyd has continued to impress as he provided some quality shot making off the bench scoring 14 while also dishing out a team high 8 assists. Lloyd also had 7 rebounds showing his hustle down low. The underclassmen will look to continue this amazing play in the next Spirit campaign. Off the bench, Shemar Moore dropped 8 points with a rebound. The junior guard will play a vital role in next year's impressive backcourt.

The Spirit were hot all night long shooting a dominant 48% from the field and an amazing 57% in the second half alone. Defensively, the Spirit held the Buccaneers to a minimal 16% from three and also caused 11 turnovers. The team who only had a 4 point lead at half completely pulled away in the second half. Coach Ojanen's offense started the second half on a impressive 15 to 6 run. The Buccaneers were never able to pull the game close as the Spirit kept them on their heels all night, scoring on all cylinders. The largest lead of the night was 17 around the 4 minute mark after a stellar CJ Reed three.

Coach Ojanen and company end the season on an extremely high-note. The Spirit will see several key starters and bench pieces return next winter. One of the best second half team's, in the conference will look to not only be an offensive juggernaut, but get it done defensively as we seen many times this year. The Spirit will return to action next winter with the same goal we have seen them achieve countless times. A huge shoutout to all the staff, players, and fans on an incredible season!
 
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