- Good Morning NAIA Hoops Nation! The best part of games this time of year is the fight that teams have, knowing that they are fighting for a championship, or at-large bids for National Tournament, or even for their season/career!
- Jumping right into our game recaps from last nights circled games, we highlighted a game with Sooner Athletic Conference playoff seeding implications as Oklahoma City beat Southwestern Christian 103-78. It was a BIG win for Oklahoma City, as the win gives them a game and a half lead over Langston for that final spot in the SAC Tournament. It also puts them a half game back of the 6 seed. Anthony Davis led 6 Stars in double figures, with 19 points in the win.
- In our other DI circled game, The Master’s defeated Hope International 70-69. The Master’s haven’t made things look pretty as of late, but a win is a win, especially for a team that needs them! The win moves them a half game ahead of William Jessup for 4th place in the GSAC. and just a game out of 2nd place. They have a very favorable schedule left, and get #4 Westmont at home on February 22nd. Jordan Starr led the way last night with 20 points.
- In our 1st DII circled game from last night Lincoln (IL) got a nice 69-68 Aii conference road win at College of The Ozarks. Lincoln had built up a lead early, but Ozarks chipped away and made it into a great finish! Lincoln hosts this years Aii Tournament, and has strung together a nice 10 game win streak with just one game left before the tournament. Christian Romine, and Trayvon Tyler each paced the Lynx with 15 points apiece.
- #5 Marian picked up their 5th straight win last night when they beat #9 Bethel (IN) 90-81 in Crossroads League action. The win keeps them just 1 game back of Indiana Wesleyan for a Crossroads League title. The craziness of the the CL right now means that the loss sends Bethel into 6th place in the standings. There are 7 National Tournament worthy teams in this league, and it will be interesting to see if they all get in, or who gets left out if they don’t.
- Part of the reason that Bethel moved down to 6th place was the BIG 82-81 win by Spring Arbor over Grace. The defending National Champs got a game winning basket by All-American Brandon Durnell as time expired. Durnell drew a big charge with 23 seconds left, to get SAU the ball back down 1! Two BIG plays by Brandon as Spring Arbor continues to fight for a spot in the National Tournament.
- The late night game was also a thriller, as a shorthanded #12 Oregon Tech squad willed themselves to an 82-78 win over #8 Southern Oregon. With Seth Erickson out for the season, Mitchell Fink has had to up his scoring efforts, and had another great night with 28 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals. The Owls win actually gave College of Idaho at least a share of the Cascade regular season championship.
- Some more tickets were punched into the River States Conference Tournament last night:
- Pretty big night for the Taylor Trojans last night! Congrats to ALL 3 on a historic night!
- In case you missed the story yesterday, a NAIA Hoops Report special contributor, Harry Cummins, wrote another great piece on the career of Justin Martin!
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