KANSAS CITY (March 14) —— The 2023 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Final Site kicked off on March 13 with an explosive start, as the top-seeded College of Idaho dominated LSU Shreveport (La.) in a 98-50 win. Below you will find all the results and scores and the respective box scores from all the action inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, on Monday.
Read more: NAIA Men’s Basketball: College of Idaho routs LSU Shreveport (La.) 98-50
In the first game of the day, Tougaloo (Miss.) defeated St. Thomas (Fla.) 74-68. Tougaloo’s Cameron Copeland had a great game with 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, while DeArius Henyard added 14 points and six rebounds. St. Thomas’ D’Andre Johnson led his team with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
In another matchup, OUAZ (Ariz.) earned their first-ever win in Kansas City with a 79-71 victory over Southeastern (Fla.). The Spirit had an impressive shooting percentage of 57.4%, and all five starters scored in double figures.
Keshawn Bruner led the way for OUAZ with 17 points, supported by Alex Villi with 15 points and nine rebounds, Josiah De’laCerda with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Kolten Hitt with 10 points.
Southeastern’s Riley Minix scored a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort.
The last game of the day was an absolute thriller, as Montana Tech pulled off a stunning upset in overtime against No. 1 seeded William Penn (Iowa).
The Orediggers, who improved 5-0 in overtime games this season, showed great resilience in their battling victory after starting slowing and trailed 64-58 with just under six minutes left in regulation to force overtime.
Montana Tech’s Michael Ure had a team-high 19 points, Asa Williams added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Hayden Diekhans had 16 points and nine rebounds.
William Penn’s Eddie Daley led his team with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
First Round Results – Day Two | March 13, 2023
No. 6 Tougaloo (Miss.) def. No. 10 St. Thomas (Fla.) 74-68 | Box Score
No. 1 College of Idaho def. No. 5 LSU Shreveport (La.) 98-50 | Box Score
No. 7 OUAZ (Ariz.) def. No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.) 79-71 | Box Score
No. 4 Montana Tech def. No. 1 William Penn (Iowa) 79-78 (OT) | Box Score
