NAIA Schedule & Links, Games of the Day, Five Players to Watch: Feb. 16th

February 16th NAIA Games

Games of the Day:

Peru State @ Mt Mercy 2pm CT Live Video

Who doesn’t like afternoon basketball games?!? Also, this game has some meaning to it as Mount Mercy is playing to be the 3 seed from the Heart North instead of the 4 seed. Either way it looks as they will have a road Heart Conference game in the 1st round versus #25 Benedictine or Park. Peru has struggled a bit as of late, but has some good topside talent that can keep them in this game!

WVU Tech @ Point Park 7:30pm ET Live Video

While the River States Conference games don’t count towards a conference record, these two teams are teams you could see make a deep run in the RSC Tournament. WVU Tech is tough and is led by Sophomore Darrin Martin who dropped 21 the last time these two teams played.

Hope International @ Vanguard 7pm PT Live Video

The GSAC West continues to be interesting as 1 of the 3 teams remaining will earn an auto-bid to the NAIA Tournament. Right now, Vanguard leads the division, but Hope has yet to play a game. The series this week will be BIG in determining who makes it out of the GSAC West.

Five Players To Watch

– 22nd in the NAIA in APG with 5.0

In tournament time you have to have great guard play to win games. WVU Tech has that in Martin, he’s a tough guard who can score the rock, but is also a great facilitator. As we gear up for Conference Tournament week, Martin is one to keep an eye on!

The next two guys form quite the dynamic duo and are going to be fun to watch in the NAIA National Tournament. While CJ Williamson needs no introduction to the ones who know NAIA basketball, it’s Hamlette who has busted on to the seen this season. Hamlette had a good Freshman year at Lindsey Wilson, but is really coming into his own as an Eagle. Him has helped take a lot of pressure off of Williamson this season.

CJ has had quite the career as an Eagle. A 3rd team All-American last season, Williamson has had another All-American type season this year. He is aggressive to the rim and is an elite scorer when called upon. There are a lot of great players in the SSAC so it will be interesting to see who wins the POY this year. Expect CJ to have a big game tonight to help boost his resume for SSAC POY!

– 8th in the NAIA in 3FGM per game with 3.539

– 23rd in the NAIA in Total 3’s Made

While McKinney is a great player for the Mustangs, Basala is the other one that helps get this offense going. He is a tough kid who can’t be lost in their motion offense.

This will be the 1st look at Hope International this season. Don’t let the big man fool you, Powell-Davis is a baller! The NAIA Honorable-Mention performer last season is a load to guard and was a big part of why HIU qualified for the NAIA D1 National Tournament last season. He is a load to guard, but fun to watch!