No. 19 Huntington @ No. 7 Bethel (IN) | 6:30pm CT
Huntington comes into this game playing in a ton of close games! However, while the games have been close, the Foresters went just 1-3 against the 4 teams ahead of them in the CL Standings thru the 1st round of Crossroads League action. While not mathematically eliminated, at 5-games back, it’s a STEEP uphill climb for Huntington to win the CL Title. Tonight, they head to a Bethel team who remains perfect both in the CL and at home! The 10-0 CL record puts them holding a 2-game lead, over Grace. This is an important home game tonight as they get ready to hit the road for two really tough games.
RV Indiana Wesleyan @ No. 12 Grace (IN) | 6:30pm CT
A battle between the two teams who have combined to win the past seven Crossroads League Regular Season titles. It hasn’t been your typical season for IWU as they currently find themselves closer to not making the CL Tourney (current 7-seed/1-game up) than they are of winning the title (6-games back). However, things are trending back up for the Wildcats as they have won 3 of their past 4 games. Luke Brown has also made a return to the lineup. They are just 4-5 on the road this season, but if they can stay healthy, with 5 of final 8 games at home, they are in a position to make a late run! Even more so if they can pull off the road upset tonight! To do that, it’s going to take another big effort from the Wildcat “Big 3” in Caedmon Bontrager, Luke Brown and Griffin Kliewer. IWU is 5th in the NAIA in Assists per Game with 18.6. They are best when the ball is moving and when Bontrager gets good touches around the rim, which in returns opens up the shooters on the perimeter! As for the Lancers, they come into this game currently 7-2 at home this season and with being just 2-games back of Bethel, the Lancers need to protect home court in order to give themselves a chance at a 3rd straight CL Title! They have been tough to guard this season as they continue to lead the NAIA in assists per game with 19.9. It’s the Ian’s (Scott and Raasch) who are doing a majority of the damage for the Lancers. While Ian Scott has been his normal consistent self, it’s been Ian Raasch who has really stepped his game up inside of league play! The 6’6 Sophomore is really starting to come into his own and it’s helped Grace take that next step up from the start of the season! A lot to like, on both sides, in this game!
No. 6 Baker (KS) @ Peru State (NE) | 7pm CT
Baker has the NAIA’s longest win-streak going at 16 games. They currently hold a 3-game lead in the Heart of America with 8 games left to play! Tonight though, they face a talented Peru State team, who is 9-1 inside the AWAC this season! Baker though is really rolling and have actually won 2-straight games in Peru, Nebraska! They beat Peru State at home earlier this season by 23. However, outside of that game, the previous five matchups have been decided by 10pts or less with three of those games coming down to the final possession! In this years meeting, Baker put five guys in double figures, led by Kaimen Lennox with 16. On the year Baker has five guys averaging between 11 and 15ppg. Noah Rigatuso and Quentin Harvey lead the way with Lennox, Ty Henry and Ahmed Mahgoub all putting up really good games this season as well! PG Nick Whittick though is the straw that stirs the drink! Whittick is one of the best passers in the entire NAIA! On the other side, Carlos Hines is the main threat for Peru State, with Devin Tomlinson alongside of him being one of the best two-way players in the Heart! Peru is looking to rebound from an 0-2 roadtrip last week by answering the bell with a Top 10 win at home!
No. 8 Dordt (IA) @ RV Morningside (IA) | 7:45pm CT
We have seen a bit of a shift in the GPAC Standings over the past 3 weeks, where all of a sudden Dordt holds a 2-game lead with 7 games to play. This is the first meeting between the two teams this year and naturally it’s a BIG one for not just the GPAC Standings, but also a fun matchup between two GPAC POY candidates in Lucas Lorenzen and Joey Skoff! Both of which lead the GPAC in scoring! The Defenders have won 5-straight games and sit at 20-1 on the season! The first and only team, thus far, to reach the 20-win mark! While Lucas Lorenzen has been in beast mode all season for Dordt, this is a team that is tough to match up with up and down the lineup! Guards Bryce Coppock and Luke Rankin continue to add on to their already big careers. Sophomore, Connor Millikan has also had big moments this season! Morningside will answer back with the electric, Joey Skoff! Skoff is an electric scorer and has been super efficient from the field this year. Daniel Brocaille, Aiden Vanderloo, Brendon Buckley and Justin Sitti all avg in double figures as well! This SHOULD be a fast paced game played in an electric atmosphere!
St Mary (KS) @ Friends (KS) | 8pm CT
Two of the teams in a 3-way tie for 1st place in the KCAC! Two weeks ago, St. Mary was rolling and looked like they were heavy favorites to take home a KCAC crown. Since then they have lost 3 of their past 5 games allowing both Friends and Oklahoma Wesleyan to climb all the way back into the hunt with Ottawa (KS), Bethel (KS) and Southwestern (KS) lurking behind. Safe to say, that this is a huge game for both teams! St. Mary is led by Jordan Brown and Bryce Johnson but is another team that gets contributions from all over! They are on a 2-game losing streak, but both losses were by a combined 3pts. Friends comes in on a 3-game win streak and have won this matchup 7 times over the past 10 meetings. KJ Spiller is having a great season with Cahlese Lee and Tandy Woolf Jr. both averaging double figures for the Falcons. For Friends, they must control the glass! They are 12-0 on the season when winning the rebounding battle! Look for them to also push the pace in this one as the Falcons also haven’t lost this season (12-0) when scoring 80+ pts! This is the only time in regular season these two will face off, so tie-breaker is at stake if it comes down to it at seasons end as well!
