KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Just 16 of 233 NAIA men's basketball teams are still alive in the 85
th annual NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament, which begins Monday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
Southeastern faces Ottawa (Ariz.) at 6 p.m. Eastern with the winner advancing to Wednesday's national quarterfinal.
The Fire are making their first final site appearance under the new tournament format which went into place in 2021 and picked up their first national tournament victories since 2014 when they won the Montgomery Bracket of the first and second round knocking off Union which was ranked third in the last coaches' poll and Faulkner which was 13
th in the final poll.
Southeastern has won 12 of its last 13 and eight in a row since a three-point loss at home against Warner. Defense has been the name of the game as of late, holding opponents to 66.3 points per game and 37.8% from the field over the last eight games. This included holding Union, the No. 4 scoring team in the NAIA 11 points below their season average in the Round of 64.
In the second halves of the last eight games, the Fire have outscored their opponents 311-242 coming to an average of 38.8 to 30.2.
During the postseason,
Riley Minix has averaged 20.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game but has had a different supporting cast, making the Fire tougher to defend.
Joshua Blazquez,
Reggie Mesidor, and
Sean Shore are all averaging north of 12 points per game over the last four games. Blazquez had 13 in the conference semifinal against Webber International and 19 against Union in the first round. Mesidor connected on four 3-pointers during a 24-point night in the conference championship, and Shore had 16 against Webber and 21 against Union.
Jalan Mull dished out six assists against Union, then connected on 5-of-10 from the field the next night for 11 points against Faulkner.
The Spirit of OUAZ come in with a 23-9 overall record and are the No. 7 seed in the bracket. Ottawa was a 10-point winner in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinal over Arizona Christian, which is the No. 1 seed in the Liston Quadrant, then picked up a 71-69 win over Hope International to win the tournament for the second time in as many years.
In their first game of the national tournament, Josiah De'laCerda knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime after the Spirit went the length of the floor in two seconds for an 80-78 win. The next night, OUAZ was an 11-point winner over second-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan to win the Park City Bracket.
On neutral courts, Ottawa is 9-1 with the lone loss coming to then third-ranked College of Idaho by 11 on November 5
th in Glendale.
De'laCerda leads the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game. The 6-8 senior out of Yuba Community College also averages almost seven rebounds per game. Senior guard Keshawn Bruner adds 15.8 points per contest and is a 53.4% field goal shooter.
As a team, the Spirit are seventh nationally in free throws made per game at 16.3.
This is the longest continuous running collegiate national championship. The 2023 tournament marks the 59
th overall year and 21
st consecutive at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City.
Southeastern is the lowest seed remaining in the tournament as the No. 11 in the Cramer Quadrant. Fellow Sun Conference member St. Thomas is the only other double-digit seed heading to Kansas City as the No. 10 in the Naismith Quadrant.
The game can be viewed at
NAIANetwork.com for $9.95 per game or $34.95 for the entire tournament.
