Box Score Kansas City, MO- On the strength of an NAIA Championship record 19 three pointers, seven seed Arizona Christian beat six seed Loyola (LA) 83-77 on Friday. The win sends the Firestorm to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history. They will face Georgetown on Saturday.
- Game score: Arizona Christian - 83, Loyola (LA) - 77
- Records: Arizona Christian - 25-8, Loyola (LA) - 22-12
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - RV, Loyola (LA) – 24
- Location: Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO
- Shane Carney - 23 points, 6 assists, 5 three pointers
- Emilio Acedo - 20 points, 6 three pointers
- Terence Shelby, Jr. - 18 points, 5 three pointers
- Callum Lawson - 11 points, 11 rebounds (16th double-double)
- The game featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes with the largest lead 11 points by ACU
- Firestorm led 40-36 at the half after making 10 three pointers
- Tied 72-72 at 2:47 left, Shelby gave ACU the lead for good with a three
- Loyola out rebounded Arizona Christian 50-38 and converted 27 second chance points
- Nineteen made three pointers broke the NAIA Championship record of 18 set back in 2001
- Twenty-five wins for ACU ties their program record set in the 2014-15 season
Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"So excited for the guys to get a chance to continue to play. Loyola does a great job. You can be in great position and it is just not enough as they are so quick to the second shot. We talked yesterday if you block out consistently you are probably going to be in the quarterfinals. That is easier said than done."
"So proud of our guys for making big shots. The three ball bailed us today and probably did in game one as well. Proud of the guys and their fight as they continued to battle back against Loyola as they are so tough to defend."
Up Next
The seventh seed Firestorm will meet up with Georgetown (KY)- the top seed from the Naismith Bracket- on Saturday at 5:30 pm (Central)/ 3:30 pm (Arizona).
