While we still have a couple great matchups on both the Men’s and Women’s sides today, yesterday’s big slate of games will be tough to top. Not only did we have FOUR NAIA programs beat NCAA D2’s, but we also had plenty of Top 25 teams go down, we saw some great conference games and as always some highlight real dunks!
- Games of the Day Recap – Men
- RV Grace 85 vs #11 Marian (IN) 59
- The Crossroads League is always really good and the same is the case this season. However, the Grace Lancers made a statement last night that their youngsters are ready to take that next step and compete for a Crossroads League title with a thrashing of #11 Marian. Sophomore, Frankie Davidson, continues to look great as he dropped 35 points last night to go along with 7 rebounds. There top four scorers last night were three Freshman and Davidson the Sophomore. Soon, they will also welcome back the Gibbs twins. Two great Freshman for the Lancers last season. Cade Gibbs was an All-Crossroads performer and averaged 14.7ppg last year. It doesn’t get any easier for the Lancers though as they now will host #1 Saint Francis on December 1st.
- Lawrence Tech 72 vs Rochester 63
- Every year, throughout the NAIA, we get surprise teams. One early surprise team this year has been Lawrence Tech out in the WHAC. The Blue Devils were picked to finish 6th out of 11 teams in the WHAC Preseason Coaches Poll. LTU had other plans though as they now sit 4-1 in WHAC play. Last night they defeated the defending WHAC Champions Rochester. behind 24pts and 9rebs from Brandon Beavers. This Lawrence Tech team is one to keep on your radar as the season pushes forward!
- RV Concordia (NE) 93 vs #10 Jamestown 72
- Road games are tough. Conference road games are brutal. Especially when that road team is a Top 25 caliber team. This game was actually a lot closer then the final score, but a 22-6 run to end the game by CUNE was all she wrote and the Bulldogs move atop the early GPAC standings. Mason Walters continued his dominance for Jamestown. The Sophomore ended the game with 28pts and 11rebounds. However, it was the poor shooting that ultimately doomed the Jimmies as they went just 6-22 from 3. Concordia on the other hand made 11 3’s on 27 attempts and got a 27pt outing from Noah Schutte to add a Top 10 win to their resume!
- #17 The Master’s 90 @ Antelope Valley 69
- Antelope Valley took this Master’s team to the wire just a week ago. You figured, at home, that they would make it a game once again, but The Master’s, coming off of their first loss of the season, had other plans. Stud Freshman Kaleb Lowery and Davian Brown once again led the Mustangs. Lowery finished with 18pts, 12rebs while Brown chipped in 17pts and 5assts. We have mentioned it a few times on the podcast, but this GPAC Freshman of the Year race is maybe the best race you will ever see as several Freshman, including Lowery and Brown will all be up for GSAC POY finalists as well.
- RV Grace 85 vs #11 Marian (IN) 59
- Game of the Day Recap – Women
- #22 Loyola 68 vs XULA 66
- The Crosstown rivalry looked to be headed XULA’s way as they jumped out to a 24-9 first quarter lead. However, Loyola was able to erase a 20pt deficit to come back and get the 68-66 road win! The Wolf Pack was led by Tay Cannon who finished with 17pts and 12rebs. XULA got a game high 20pts from Nia Bishop.
- RV Briar Cliff 62 – #16 Dordt 56
- Briar Cliff knocked off #16 Dordt for their impressive THIRD win over a Top 25 team this season. The second half wasn’t pretty from an offensive standpoint as neither team shot above 32% from the field. The Defenders would go 1-12 from the 3pt line in the 2nd half, in what would ultimately cost them a road win. All-American, Ashtyn Veerbeek had a game high 13pts for Dordt. Briar Cliff was led by Madelyn Deitchler with 12pts and 7rebs.
- #19 Dakota St. 76 – RV Grand View 63
- Grandview had one Top 25 win under their belt already this season, but couldn’t get a second one last night as Dakota State won their 16th home game in the last 17 tries. While Grandview played the Trojans tough for three quarters, it was the 2nd quarter that would do them in as Dakota State went on a 21-11 spurt to push the lead to 13 at the break. The Trojans were led by 1st Team All-American, Jessi Giles, as she poured in a game high 21pts.
- #22 Loyola 68 vs XULA 66
– NAIA vs NCAA D2’s
- While not every NAIA knocked off a D2 yesterday, it was a VERY good day for NAIA’s as four of them knocked off NCAA D2 opponents.
– Top 25 Teams Going Down
- It was not a friendly night for the Men’s Top 25 teams around the NAIA, as SIX Top 25 teams went down last night:
- Men
- #10 Jamestown lost to RV CUNE 76-92
- #11 Marian lost to RV Grace 59-85
- #12 Bethel (KS) lost to Friends 72-78
- #20 LSU Shreveport lost to Rust 64-65
- #23 Olivet Nazarene lost to IU Northwest 81-94
- #24 Benedictine lost to John Brown 67-75
– Coaching Milestone
- Congrats to Mayville State Women’s Head Coach, Dennis Hutter, on career win #250!
– Highlight Reel Dunks
- People often ask us why we are so fascinated with dunks around the NAIA!? It is actually quite simple, the NAIA has a HUGE misconception that the players at this level aren’t athletic or talented enough to make big time plays….well we like to highlight the plays to help fight that misconception. Here are a few of the BIG dunks from last night!
– In Case You Missed It. Episode 3 of NHR-The Podcast came out earlier this week. While the title may seem like we covered the GSAC, Pat and Junior covered so much more than just the GSAC! Take a listen and as always please subscribe, like and rate the show! It helps us to get more sponsors!
Fab Four Preview – Road To Muni Podcast
We are down to the final three games of the season as College of Idaho, Ottawa (AZ), Georgetown and Indiana Tech make up your NAIA Fab Four teams and tipoff on Saturday! In this episode, Junior and Pat dive deeper into the games, the paths of each team and more!
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