Fullerton, Calif.- On Friday, Arizona Christian Men's Basketball will face OUAZ in the semifinals of the GSAC tournament.
 
Game Details
Hope International - Friday, February 24 - 5:00 pm (Pacific)/ 6:00 pm (Arizona)
If win on Friday, will play on Saturday, February 25- 6:00 pm (Pacific)/ 7:00 pm (Arizona)
Darling Pavilion, Hope International University, Fullerton, CA
Live Video -https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com
Live Stats -  https://www.gsacstats.org/sports/mbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20230223_5ahr.xml 
 
 
Coach Rutter's Thoughts
"We have had a great season so far.  I am really proud of this group of guys.  So many injuries and lineup changes and these guys have handled it well and accomplished a lot despite the distractions.  It is a pretty mentally tough group.  We still have some work to do and things to improve on and we are excited to get the postseason started."
 
Arizona Christian
The Firestorm finished the regular season 24-4 and are the GSAC regular season champions for the third straight year.  Sitting at number two in NAIA rankings, the Firestorm will host the 2023 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds- presented by Ballogy.  The opening round games will occur in the ACU Events Center on March 7 and 8.  Head Coach Jeff Rutter earned his third straight Coach of the Year honor with Paul Hayden and Bryce Davis selected as All-GSAC.  Mikah Blackwell was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The Firestorm ended their regular season with a tough win over OUAZ 78-71 on Saturday.
 
ACU Key Players
Dennis Flowers III- 12 points 4.5 rebounds
Trent Hudgens - 12. points
Bryce Davis - 12 points, 5.7 rebounds
Paul Hayden - 13 points
Blackwell - 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds
 
Tournament Notes
The 2021-22 GSAC tournament winner was OUAZ over William Jessup 78-77.
 
The Firestorm are the favorites in this matchup against the OUAZ Spirit as they go into the contest with a 12-game winning streak in their favor.
 
OUAZ
The Spirit (19-9, 10-8 GSAC) defeated Westmont in the first round of GSAC Tournament play 93-73. Keshawn Bruner and Josiah De'laCerda led the spirit. Bruner poured in 20 points with 5 boards while De'laCerda added 18 points paired with 6 boards.  
 
Roll Storm!