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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
MBB NAIA 1st and 2nd Rounds

Men's Basketball Tim Gooszen

NAIA First And Second Rounds Return To Glendale

The ACU Events Center will be rocking this weekend.
Glendale, Ariz.- On Friday and Saturday, Arizona Christian University will host the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship First and  Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy.  The Glendale, AZ, site will feature the Firestorm of Arizona Christian University as the top seed, the No. 2 seed Pioneers of the University of Antelope Valley, the No. 3 seed Foresters of Huntington University, and the No. 4 seed Firebirds of the University of Saint Katherine.  The winner of the site will be one of 16 teams to advance to the NAIA final site in Kansas City, MO.

Glendale Site Details
Antelope Valley v Huntington- Friday, March 15 at 3:30 pm
Arizona Christian v Saint Katherine- Friday, March 15 at 6:00 pm
Winner of game one v winner of game two- Saturday, March 16 at 5:30 pm
Arizona Christian University
ACU Events Center - Glendale, AZ
Tickets are only available for purchase online- Click here
No pass list available
Pricing- General Admission ($10), Senior 65+ and Active Military/Veteran ($5), Kids ages 10 and under (free)

Complete tournament bracket

Live Coverage
Live Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/ ($9.95 per game)
Live Stats - https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

Arizona Christian
The Firestorm (23-7) are the top seed of the Glendale site and third seed in the Duer Quadrant.  They earned an automatic bid to the tournament as the GSAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions.  ACU is making their tenth appearance in the tournament.  After advancing to the quarterfinals a season ago, the Firestorm are 11-8 in the tournament.

Arizona Christian is led by All-GSAC performers Trent Hudgens and Dennis Flowers III who topped the Firestorm in scoring with 14.6 and 14.4 points per game respectively.  Mikah Blackwell was the GSAC Defensive Player of the Year.  ACU averages 84.3 points per game while allowing 74.5 points.

Antelope Valley
The Pioneers (26-4) are the sixth seed in the Duer Quadrant.  They earned an automatic bid to the tournament as the Cal Pac Regular Season and Tournament Champions.  UAV is making their fifth appearance in the tournament- all in the last seven years.  The Pioneers are 2-3 in NAIA tournament play after playing at the Glendale site last year as well.

Antelope Valley is coached by Jordan Mast- the two time Cal Pac Coach of the Year.  Michael Hayes was named the Cal Pac Player of the Year for the second year in a row.  Arik Nicholas (First Team), Christian Taylor (Second Team), and Rodney Ray (HM) also earned Cal Pac honors.  UAV averages 86.4 points a game (tied for 19th in the NAIA) while giving up 74.6 points per contest.

Huntington (IN)
The Foresters (21-9) are seeded 11 in the Duer Quadrant.  They earned an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing third in the Crossroads League.  The Foresters handed Grace (number one in the NAIA) their only loss of the season.  HU is making overall appearance number 11 in the tournament and third straight.  The Foresters are 12-10 overall in NAIA tournament action.

Huntington had Zach Goodline and Lane Sparks earn First Team All-Crossroads League honors.  Landen Jordan earned Second Team honors with Jackson Paul being named to the Crossroads All-Defensive Team.  HU averages 87.8 points per game (tenth in the NAIA) while allowing 76.8 points.

Saint Katherine
The Firebirds (23-8) enter tournament play seeded 14 in the Duer Quadrant.  They claimed a spot in the NAIA field with an at-large as the Cal Pac runner-up.  USK is appearing in their second tournament and are 0-1 with their lone appearance coming in 2022.

Xavier Cooper was named First Team All-Cal Pac, Cal Pac Newcomer of the Year, and Cal Pac All-Defensive Team.  Chris Harper was named First Team All-Cal Pac and Sixth Man of the Year.  Tampa Scott IV was selected Cal Pac Honorable Mention.  USK averages 79.6 points per game while giving up 70 points a game. 

Series
Arizona Christian and Saint Katherine have only met once- a 96-84 ACU win.  That game was the first ACU men's basketball game ever played in the ACU Events Center back in the 2019-20 season.   Antelope Valley and Huntington have never met in men's basketball.

Get tickets now for NAIA First and Second Round action.

Roll Storm.
 
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Players Mentioned

Mikah Blackwell

#44 Mikah Blackwell

F
6' 6"
Senior
Dennis Flowers III

#0 Dennis Flowers III

G
6' 2"
Senior
Trent Hudgens

#1 Trent Hudgens

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Mikah Blackwell

#44 Mikah Blackwell

6' 6"
Senior
F
Dennis Flowers III

#0 Dennis Flowers III

6' 2"
Senior
G
Trent Hudgens

#1 Trent Hudgens

6' 1"
Junior
G