Best Win | Georgetown
Georgetown came out on fire against Northwestern. Hitting nine 3’s and opening up a 15pt halftime lead. After a frantic comeback by NWC, the Tigers were finally able to get the late stops they needed to win this game. Northwestern came into this game after a couple of dominating wins in the Opening Rounds, including a blow out win AT Huntington, against a Forester squad that was playing great basketball up to that point! For Georgetown to not just slow them down offensively, but to do so while winning the game, this was a huge win for the Tigers in one of the best games of the Round of 16!
Upset | Southern Oregon
SOU is the lowest seed remaining and were the 1st team to take down someone with a better seed in the Round of 16, as they knocked off the 7th-seed, Keiser in the Duer Quadrant. The win was their 3rd straight upset win on their way to the NAIA QF’s as the Raiders knocked off 6-seed, Montana Tech and the 3-seed The Master’s in the Opening Rounds.
Offense | College of Idaho
The Yotes have had games like this throughout the season where they just blow up offensively and that is precisely what we saw in College of Idaho’s 95-65 thrashing of Langston in the Round of 16. The Yotes shot 60% from the field, 55% from 3, while hitting 12 of them and had 22 assists on 35 made shots! If they put up those numbers each game, they won’t be beat!
Defense | Georgetown (KY)
Georgetown held a high powered Northwestern offense to just 70pts on 44.1% from the field and 24% from 3! They forced NWC into 11 turnovers and outrebounded NWC by 7! All of these were way below NWC’s season averages! Even after NWC made a huge comeback in the 2H, it was ultimately the Georgetown defense that forced Jesse Van Kalsbeek into a tough shot on the final possession to secure the win!
Coach of the Round | Matt Zosel, Southern Oregon
Matt Zosel can really coach and he had a great game plan to attack the Keiser press from the tip! He also made some really nice adjustments to help SOU blow the game open in the 2nd half, then again, when Keiser stormed back from down 17pts. Coach Zosel kept his squad cool, calm and collected as they regained the lead and finished off a big win to move the Raiders into the NAIA Quarterfinals!
Best Game | LSUA beats Bethel (IN), 83-78 in OT
LSU Alexandria avenged a loss, from the 2024 Opening Round, in what was just a great game from tip to finish! This one had 12 ties and 19 lead changes! Down the stretch both teams made big play after big play. Including Preston Phillips of Bethel, who hit the last second 3 in regulation to force the OT period! He was fantastic with 29pts and 7rebs. Alonas Peciulis was as well, as he finished with 11pts, 10rebs, 3assts, 2stls as he left everything he had on the floor! Unfortunately for them, Kashie Natt and EJ McQuillan were just too much to handle as the duo combined for 54 of the Generals 83pts and Kashie completely took over this game over the final minutes of regulation and in OT!
Sniper | EJ McQuillan, LSU Alexandria
EJ lit up Municipal Arena going 6 of 12 from deep for 25pts in LSU Alexandria’s overtime win against 4th-Seed, Bethel (IN)! EJ was also up for the Scotty Pippen award.
Best Comeback | Northwestern (IA)
Northwestern found themselves down 17pts early in the 2nd half, but continued to plug away and get stops as they mounted their 17pt comeback, took the lead with under a minute to go, but a 3pt shot by Georgetown’s Tae Dozier, with 14 seconds left, ended up being the Red Raider’s demise. This is a team who will be a Top 5ish team in the preseason next season! They return arguably the best trio in the NAIA and will feature two NPOY candidates in the Van Kalsbeek brothers!
Honorable Mention: Keiser (FL)
Pippen | Ian Raasch
This represents the best player in a supporting role.
Ian Raasch may just be the Michael Jordan of the Lancers next season, but right now he is playing the Scottie Pippen role and playing it really well! In the Round of 16 win over St. Mary-Woods, Ian Raasch finished with 27pts on 11 of 13 shooting. He also grabbed 5rebs and dished out 2 assts in the Lancer win. He had the highest efficiency rating of any player in the Round of 16!
Onions | Preston Phillips, Bethel (IN)
Honorable Mention: Tae Dozier, Georgetown
MVP | Kashie Natt, LSU Alexandria
Despite a rough shooting night, Kashie was pivotal down the stretch and in OT as he made play after play on both ends of the floor! It seemed like the final 5 minutes of regulation that there wasn’t a play, defensively, where Kashie didn’t get a tipped pass or defensive rebound. Offensively, down the stretch, Kashie hit big bucket after big bucket and made big play after big play. He finished the game with 28pts, 15rebs, 5assists, 3stls and 1blk in the win over Bethel (IN)!
Defensive MVP | Jalik Dunkley, Arizona Christian
If I am being honest, this award probably goes to Kashie Natt as well. HOWEVER, I make the rules in this article and ACU Freshman Jalik Dunkley has really been special late in the season for the Firestorm. His size and length causes a lot of havoc for opposing offenses. He was on Anthony Johnson, who dropped 32pts, but he helped force Johnson into 9 turnovers, grabbed 10 boards, had 3 steals and a block as well! He will be a future NAIA NPOY candidate if he stays all 4 years! Kid is talented and really starting to produce!
Rodman | Jamison Epps, Langston
This represents the best “Role Player” especially guys who put up big rebounding stats.
Epps has had a terrific season. Hate to see it come to an end, but he really left it all on the court. His efforts led him to 15pts and 4assts. Unfortunately, for the Lions, it wasn’t enough to overcome the shooting barrage of College of Idaho as his season came to an end.
Sophomore | Calvin “Bobo” Sirmans, Keiser (FL)
Bobo would really love to have his final possession back from when he missed a floater that may have resulted in Keiser winning the game. However, Bobo is one of the best PGs in the NAIA! He put up one heck of a stat line with 22pts, 9assts and 8stls in the loss to SOU. The NAIA is always filled with really good small guards. We have quite a few really good ones here in KC as well. Guys who play much bigger than what their height is. Guys like DJ Talton Jr. (OKWU), Samaje Morgan (C of I). Bobo is small, but mighty and the Sophomore did everything he could for the Seahawks!
Freshman | Jesse Van Kalsbeek, Northwestern (IA)
Jesse is no stranger to this award. Unfortunately, it will be his last as Northwestern went down in the Round of 16. Jesse finished with 19pts, 12rebs in the Red Raider loss to Georgetown. Jesse should be an All-American this season and will have a great shot at being a 4x NAIA All-American by the time his career is over! He is also going to have three shots at winning National Player of the Year. Of course, big brother Alex, will also have something to say about that next season, but it’s no secret that Jesse will be our NAIA Hoops Report Freshman of the Year when we announce our awards next week!
Dunk | Ian Scott, Grace (IN)
