- Good Morning NAIA Hoops Nation! Welcome to another round of our NAIA Morning Bullet Points. It’s a bit of a separation week this week, as we have a lot of games that can help get teams separation in the conference standings, and/or a few teams that need some wins in order to make their league tournament. Plenty of games left of course, but a big week nonetheless.
- DI Game Recaps
- #10 John Brown (AR) 81– Langston (OK) 70
- John Brown got off to a roaring start as they went up 24-0 to start the game. Their 1st half defense, along with Luke Harper going off for 22 of his 39 points in the 1st half, JBU took a 45-23 lead into the break. Langston would fight back a bit in the 2nd half though, as they shot 62% from the field to close the gap down to single figures at one point. John Brown would hold on though for a nice Sooner Athletic Conference road win. Game Recap|Box Score
- Peru State (NE) 91 – William Penn (IA) 108
- In a game between the Top 2 teams in the Heart of America, and was very similar game as the one above, as the Statesmen got off to a big start as they led by 26 at halftime. William Penn showed off that they are capable of really guarding people in the 1st half. However, in the 2nd half Peru State was blazing hot, as Kendrick Robinson had 18 2nd Half points to help cut the lead all the way down to 9 at one point. The Statesmen weathered the storm though and got the win. That win gave them a 2 game lead in the Heart of America. A lot of great performances in this one, but Freshman PG Chanze Cruesoe with an interesting line in which he had 11 assists, and ZERO shot attempts. Game Recap|Box Score
- Dillard (LA) 71 – Edward Waters (FL) 73
- Edward Waters got a nice home GCAC win last night over a good Dillard team. This game was back and forth the entire game, with the largest lead for either team being just 7 points, but a last second shot by Dillard fell short, and Edward Waters came out victorious. It was the first win over Dillard since 2016 for EWC. Maurice Johnson led the way for the Tigers with 16 points. Game Recap|Box Score
- DII Recap
- McPherson (KS) 91 – Ottawa (KS) 88
- Give credit to 1st year Head Coach TJ Eskildsen, as he has his McPherson Bulldogs playing some great basketball right now as they have won 5 straight including last nights KCAC road win at #10 Ottawa. Luol Magot led three Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points, and 11 rebounds. Game Recap|Box Score
- Following up on his Heart of America Player of the week, Dakota Quinn got himself a Triple-Double last night.
- With the NCAA College Football Championship game being held last night in New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana was shown a few times on ESPN, as their Convocation Center, which is one of the best arenas in NAIA, got to host the National Championship Media Day activities.
- Separation week continues tonight as we have conference action in the Crossroads, Cascade, River States, and Sooner leagues. Looking for another fun night around NAIA!
