The top two teams in The Sun Conference battle it out tonight. Warner can lock up The Sun Regular Season Title with a win tonight. It would add to an already great week for the Royals, as they made their 1st appearance into the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week as well. This Ave Maria team has won 7 of it’s last 8 contests. The two teams have combined for SIX Conference Player of the Week winners this season already including the last 3 weeks in a row. This should be a fun contest with a lot on the line!
20 Tx A&M Texarkana @ 19 LSU Alexandria 7pm CTย Live Video
LSU Alexandria is coming off of a HUGE win against #2 LSU Shreveport earlier this week. The Fort is always a tough place to play and as another Top 25 team comes strolling into town, LSUA will look to add to their resume as they get primed for the NAIA National Tournament. Texarkana struggled on the road at #2 LSU Shreveport last week. They have 3 games left against LSUA and LSUS and will need to get a win or two in order to boost their resume.
5 Arizona Christian @ Ottawa (AZ) 6pm PTย Live Video
ย This is a very intriguing game out in the GSAC. Arizona Christian has played well all season with their only two losses coming at the hands of #1 Indiana Wesleyan and #4 Lewis-Clark State. This Ottawa team is still relatively new and unknown. OUAZ sits at 8-2 on the season and beat a Master’s team that was at full strength at the time. They have played well at home and will be looking to get another big home GSAC win tonight.ย
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Five Players To Watch
– 31st in the NAIA in SPG with 2.118
– 37th in the NAIA in Total Steals
– 48th in the NAIA in PPG at 19.353
Rodrigue has been really good for Park this season. The hype coming into the season was on All-American Cory Reeves, but Marthone currently leads this Park team in PPG, APG and SPG.ย
– 3rd in The Sun Conference in PPG with 17.5
– 4th in The Sun Conference in APG with 3.19
The Sophomore has been special for Warner this season. He has won TSC Player of the Week twice already. He is coming off of his lowest scoring output of the season and can expect him to bounce back in a big way tonight!
– 24th in the NAIA in Total 3FG Made
– 27th in the NAIA in 3FGM per game with 3.051
The GSAC has had a lot of games get shifted around and is just now really getting going with league play. Kyle was an All-American last season and is coming off of a 37pt performance against Life Pacific last week, going 9-11 from 3.
– 25th in the NAIA in Total Rebounds
– 27th in the NAIA in RPG with 6.818
– 30th in the NAIA in Total Points Scored
– 41st in the NAIA in Total Steals
– 50th in the NAIA in RPG with 8.318
Salasamendi is arguably the frontrunner for TSC Player of the Year. He is Top 5 in most statistical categories in the conference and is Top 20 in the rest. He has had a BIG season, and Ave Maria will need to have another big game tonight to pull out the upset!
As we get closer to the NAIA National Tournament a face and name you will want to keep an eye on is Trystan Bradley of Lewis-Clark State. He leads the 4th Ranked Warriors in PPG and has been really good this season. He hasn’t shot the 3 as well over the past few games, but when he is hitting, he is so tough to guard. He had 19pts on Multnomah last night and should have another good game this evening.ย