KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Schedule | Bracket] William Jessup (Calif.) and Indiana Wesleyan provided late fireworks down the stretch as day one of the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship wrapped in Kansas City. The Warriors prevailed behind 16, three-pointers and was the only lower-seeded team to advance. Top-seeded Loyola (La.) advanced to play on Saturday along with College of Idaho and Arizona Christian.

 

First Round Results – Day One | March 17, 2022

No. 3 College of Idaho def. No. 7 Grace (Ind.) 71-66 | Box Score

No. 1 Loyola (La.) def. No. 4 Faulkner (Ala.) 85-67 | Box Score

No. 1 Arizona Christian def. No. 5 Bethel (Kan.) 82-66 | Box Score

No. 3 William Jessup (Calif.) def. No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan 88-84 | Box Score

 

First Round Day Two Matchups | March 18, 2022

No. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan vs. No. 5 LSU Shreveport (La.)

No. 2 Thomas More (Ky.) vs. No. 6 SAGU (Texas)

No. 2 Talladega (Ala.) vs. No. 6 Jamestown (N.D.)

No. 5 Concordia (Neb.) vs. No. 8 IU Kokomo (Ind.)

 

News and Notes

Game 1 – College of Idaho vs. Grace

College of Idaho – No. 3 (Naismith)

–       This marked the 26th-straight game that the Yotes have led at halftime

–       The eight first half points for Ivory Miles-Williams are the most this season for the senior.

–       Tyler Robinet hit a pair of 3-pointers for the fourth time on the season. C of I is now 4-0 when he hits a pair in a contest.

–       This marked the 5th time in double figures for Ivory Miles-Williams in 2021-22. With a team-high 16 points, it is the fourth time on the year that he has led C of I in scoring.

–       Jake O’Neil has now scored in double figures in 11 of the last 14 games.

–       Ricardo Time scored 15 points to become the 29th Yote in program history to reach the 1,000 career point mark.

 

 

Grace (Ind.) – No. 7 (Naismith)

–       The 27 wins this season are most for the program since going 27-6 in the 1992-93 season.

–       Grace advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2015 National tournament.

–       The Lancers average 68.1-percent free throw shooting on the year. Today they shot 48-percent (12 of 25) from the free throw line.

–       Elijah Malone (18 points, 9 rebounds) came up one rebound short of what would have been his ninth double-double.

–       Grace came into the National site as the lowest seeded team to advance to the third round (7 seed).

 

 

Game 2 – Loyola (La.) vs. Faulkner (Ala.)

Loyola (Ala.) – (No. 1) (Naismith)

–       Loyola entered the NAIA Final Site with the best record of any team playing (33-1).

–       The Wolf Pack are ranked second in the NAIA in points per game (91.1 ppg).

–       Loyola Topped 100+ points for the tenth time this season.

–       The 134 points against North American back on 10/23/21 is the most points scored in a single game by any team at the National site.

–       They split regular season meetings with Faulkner in Southern States Athletic Conference play.  Suffered only loss on January 17, 92-73 and defeated Faulkner, 121-69, on February 5.

–       Myles Burns recorded his twelfth double-double on the season.

–       Extends current winning streak to 18 games.

 

Faulkner (Ala.) – No. 4 (Naismith)

–       Four players finished in double-figures. CJ Hines (19 points), Daniel Garmendia (19 points), Trace Hill (12 Points) and Jalon Perry (10 points).

–       Starting five scored all 67 points for Faulkner.

–       56 of the team’s 60 field goal attempts came from Hines, Garmendia, Hill, and Perry.

–       Last win at the National site in Kansas City came back on 3/14/13 in a 72-59 win over Xavier (La.).

 

Game 3 – Arizona Christian vs. Bethel (Kan.)

Arizona Christian – No. 1 (Cramer)

–       The Firestorm improved to 7-6 all-time at the NAIA National Championship.

–       Head coach Jeff Ruter is now just one win shy of 200 for his career at Arizona Christian, as he is now 199-81 in his nine years with the Firestorm.

–       Five players scored in double figures in the victory, with Dennis Flowers III leading the team with 16.

–       Robby Wilson had a game-high 13 rebounds and finished with a double-double with 11 points.

–       The Firestorm shot an impressive 45.8-percent from three-point range on 9-of-18 shooting.

–       The Arizona Christian defense held the Threshers to 23.3-percent from three-point range on 7-of-30.

–    This marked the 13th time this season, the Firestorm have scored 82 or more points in a game.

 

 

Bethel (Kan.) – No. 5 (Cramer)

–       The Threshers end their season with a record of 28-8.

–       This marked their fourth appearance at the NAIA National Championship and are now 4-3 all-time at the event.

–       Jaylon Scott had a double-double in the contest with 21 points and 18 rebounds.

–       His 18 rebounds were the most rebounds in a game for Scott since December 2, 2021 when   he grabbed 22 against Oklahoma Wesleyan.

 

Game 4 – Indiana Wesleyan vs. William Jessup (Calif.)

Indiana Wesleyan – No. 2 (Cramer)

–       The Wildcats end their season with a record of 28-7.

–       Indiana Wesleyan has won three NAIA National Championships in its history as a program, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

–       The Wildcats scored 32 points in the paint and surrendered 18 to the Warriors.

–       Indiana Wesleyan had 10 steals and eight blocks in the contest.

–       The Wildcat bench scored 27 points.

 

William Jessup (Calif.) – No. 3 (Cramer)

–       The Warriors improve to 30-6 on the year and 4-3 all time at the National Championship.

–       William Jessup hit an impressive 16 three-point field goals in the victory, going 16-of-30 for 53.3-percent.

–       WJU outrebounded Indiana Wesleyan, 45-35.

–       Cashemin Williams led the Warriors with 23 points and recorded nine assists.

–       The Warriors had three players finish with 10 or more rebounds, Tarren Storey-Way with 10, Charlie Garrison with 11 and Tim Strijaous with 12.

–       This marked the 13th time the Warriors have scored 88 or more points in a game this season.