I know, I know….this has been more of a “Weekly” Dive than a “Daily” Dive. Hopefully that can change as my schedule opens up a bit through the end of the year.
Nov. 8th Game Recap
Game of the Day
RV Union 84 – RV Pikeville 81 – OT
Leaders
Union
#21Terrin Hamilton 22pts, 5rebs, 3assts
#0 Markelo Sullivan 21pts, 11rebs, 2assts
#3 Deonte Douglas 11pts, 9assts
Pikeville
#99 Issac Stanback 29pts, 11rebs
#1 Bradley Bunch 24pts, 10rebs
A game that featured the top two teams in the AAC preseason poll, naturally went into OT last night. The 10x defending AAC Champions, Union, got the win after being down by as much as 17pts early in the game. You felt like the Bulldogs, who were coming off a 36pt loss to No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan, needed that win last night to give them a confidence boost. This is a VERY talented group, who is adjusting to having a coaching change a week prior to the season. The Bulldogs protected home court though and we will see if that can catapult them back into a having a big season!
Top 25 Showdowns
- No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan took the road and knocked off No. 15 Olivet Nazarene 75-71.
- No. 20 The Master’s (CA) got a carreer high 30pts from Ty Harper and a triple-double from Jordan Caruso (16pts, 12rebs, 10assts) as they beat No. 21 Antelope Valley, 98-80.
Other Top Games
- Madonna took down No. 17 Huntington, 95-86 behind another outstanding game from Brendan Young.
- RV Bethel (IN) beat crosstown rival, IU Southbend 76-73 behind 29pts from our NAIA Hoops Report POW winner, Drew Lutz!
- Jamestown got their first win of the season as they got a big road win against Mayville State, 69-66.
- After knocking off D1 South Alabama earlier this week, No. 16 Mobile officially owns Mobile as they knocked off crosstown rival, D2 Stone Hill, 79-76 in OT.
- The Appalachian Athletic Conference tipped off league play last night:
Milestones
- Tyler Bredehoeft got his 1st coaching win at Avila with a 76-72 win over Manhattan Christian.
- Jesse McClung got his first career win as a head coach last night as his SWMC squad knocked off Cincinnati-Clermont, 89-84.
- All-American, Jonathan Brown (Cumberlands) joined the 1k scorers club
Checking in on Former NAIA Guys
- Riley Minix (Southeastern (FL)) scored a game high 18pts/15rebs last night in Morehead States exhibition win over Shawnee State. Minix also had a team high 19pts on Monday against Alabama.
- I had the pleasure of being in attendance last night as former Georgetown All-American and MSC Freshman of the Year, Derrin Boyd scored 16pts for Lipscomb in their loss to Drake.
- Akilli Vining (Texas Wesleyan) had 14pts in his debut with UT-Arlington on Tuesday night. The Mavs upset Oral Roberts!
Today’s Game Notes
- No. 1 College of Idaho hosts NCAA D2 rival Northwest Nazarene in what should be another fun rivalry game between the two! The Yotes put their 37-game winning streak on the line in the Mayors Cup. If you haven’t seen this rivalry game, it’s worth watching!
- The first SSAC game of the season is tonight as Middle GA State heads to new SSAC member, Thomas (GA) for a 6:30pm CT tip.
- RV OUAZ heads to Oklahoma City for a fun little matchup at 7pm CT! Oklahoma City, after knocking off No. 20 The Master’s in the opener, lost to No. 25 Florida College on a 75 foot buzzer beater and then dropped the finale of the Abe Lemons Classic to Northern New Mexico. They will look to bounce back at home tonight against a REALLY good OUAZ squad.
- Keep an eye on the Ave Maria @ No. 25 Florida College game tonight at 6:30pm CT. Ave Maria is 4-0 on the young season and has a very potent offensive attack!