I was able to get to the voting booth early this morning and beat the lines! No matter who you are voting for today, or the outcomes of the votes, I think it’s important that we note that not one candidate is going to unite us. That is fully on us, as citizens to work on being better towards one another. Thats it, that is my 2cents worth on politics and probably as much as you will ever hear from us! With NCAA D1 basketball getting it’s season started yesterday, there were a ton of exhibition games on the NAIA slate. However, that doesn’t mean that we were short on news items!
Top Headlines
- No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan lost on the road, 73-68, to Evangel. (More on this one below)
- The UHSP women gave SEMO tons of trouble last night. They led by 11 at the half, but SEMO went on a big 3rd quarter run to go up 5 headed into the 4th. UHSP would battle back to down two with 4min to play, but SEMO had one more run in them and knocked off UHSP, 60-48. National Player of the Year candidate, Grace Beyer, looked like the best player on the court as she dropped 35pts to go with 7rebs.
- No. 18 MACU knocked off NCAA D2, Oklahoma Baptist last night 58-41. They were led by Jaci Littell with 18pts.
- The Pikeville (KY) women knocked off NCAA D2 University of Charleston, 63-54. They were led by Bailey Frazier with 18pts.
Game of the Day Recaps
Men’s Games of the Day
RV Evangel (MO) 73 – No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan 68
- Evangel moves to 3-1 on the season with a big-time win against 4th ranked OKWU, at home in the Ashcroft Center. OKWU had already beaten fellow Heart of America members, Central Methodist and RV MidAmerica Nazarene, but they couldn’t make it 3-0 in this one as Manrique Alvarado scored 18 of his 20pts in the 2nd half to lead the Valor past the Eagles. This is Evangel’s last year in the Heart as they will move to the KCAC next season. Could be the start of a fun rivalry moving forward!
- This was Langston’s last prep before heading off to Sooner Athletic Conference play next week. The Lions took care of business to move to 2-0. Which is already more wins than they had the entire last season. Of course, a big part of that, is new head coach, Chris Wright, and the players he has brought in. In this one, it was Cortez Mosley, who led the way with 21pts.
Women’s Games of the Day
- There weren’t a ton of NAIA vs NAIA women’s games on the slate last night, but it’s always a good time to check on programs with new coaches and Langston, last night, didn’t disappoint. The Lady Lions got off to an early start and won all four quarters to run away with this one. They were led by Hailey Jordan who had a 29pt, 14reb double-double.
- Speaking of programs with new coaches, Coach Ray and OPSU went on the road and battled tough with RV Columbia. A game that was just a 1pt game at half and just a 4pt game after 3, was opened up in the 4th quarter as Columbia was able to find some rhythm on their way to the 10pt win. They were led by Peyton Crowe who had 18pts for the Cougars.
Milestones
- Congrats to Maleigha Oldham on joining the 1,000pt club last night!
NAIA to NCAA D1 Debuts
Every year we have NAIA players who make the jump to NCAA D1 programs. While we don’t condone transferring, the 5th yr of eligibility that players get for the covid year has provided many more opportunities for players to make that jump. Today’s segment is mostly to show that there is always great talent at the NAIA levels, despite what some people will try to tell you!
- Myles Burns, Loyola (LA), started for Ole Miss last night and had 9pts/6rebs/2stls in his debut.
- Alex Gross, Olivet Nazarene, started for Morehead State lat night and had 8pts/3rebs against Indiana.
- Brandon Davis, Loyola (LA) started for Texas State last night and had a tough shooting night, but finished with 2pts and 5rebs against Washington State.
- Jaylon Scott, Bethel (KS) started for College of Charleston and had 11pt/5rebs/2assts/2stls/1blk in their win against Chattanooga.
- Stephanie Soares, The Master’s (CA) started for Iowa State and had a 15pt/14reb double-double while also chipping in 3assts/4stls/4blks.
