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Arizona Christian needed a miracle shot by Lorenzo Wright at the end to beat The Master's, 77-75, for a second straight GSAC tournament title to gain a No. 1 seed in the NAIA men's basketball tournament.
And he had to make the same shot — twice — in the final seconds.
Before he hit a 30-footer at the buzzer from the right wing to win it, his 3 from the left wing, a little closer in, with five seconds left, would have given the Firebirds the lead. But it was waved off by officials, who claimed the shot clock had expired before the ball left his hand.
So after The Master's was put at the line with a chance to clinch it, the free throw missed.
A Master's player batted the ball back to the other end of the court, feeling time would expire. Wright was waiting. In an instant, he caught it and released it. Swish. Ticket to No. 1 and a first-round game Friday at 5 p.m., at home against No. 16 Westcliff punched.
"It was meant to be," Wright said. "I just give all the thanks to God. It ended up in my hands again."
Wright and his team hope to ride this wave of momentum to another national semifinal run like the school had in 2022.
That is the farthest coach Jeff Rutter has taken his consistently strong program in the national tournament.
They finished ranked No. 3 in the national poll. If they win Friday, they play Saturday at 5 p.m., against the winner between No. 8 Indiana Tech and No. 9 Oregon Tech.
ACU (26-4) is one of four No. 1 seeds in the 64-team tournament that concludes on March 25 with the championship game in Kansas City.
The winners of this weekend's four quadrants head to Kansas City.
"It's a really resilient group," Rutter said.
After returning All-American point guard Trent Hudgens, a former Glendale Ironwood High star, was lost to an injury in the middle of December, the team had to revamp its offense. Hudgens was leading the team through the first 10 games with 14.5 points a game, making 15-of-36 3-pointers.
It took time, but resiliency has helped the Firebirds, who relied on defense, to power through. Ese Onakpoma, a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Connecticut, leads the team with 13.6 points a game.
Seven different players scored at least 20 points in a game this year.
"The ball just in Trent's hands all the time," Rutter said. "Guys were shifted into new roles. It took about six weeks. We were winning during that time, but it was ugly. It took six weeks to change some things we were doing and reinvent themselves."
The ball now goes mostly through Tyler Silva, who was Hudgens' backup. The ball also started going through center Anthony Howell, who leads the team with 90 assists in 30 games.
Defense has been the key. The Firebirds have had 277 steals, forced 504 turnovers and blocked 109 shots, while getting opponents to shoot 40% from the field and 32% from 3-point land.
"This has the potential to be the best defensive team we've had," Rutter said. "We won a lot of games when we've been ugly on offense. And that travels well to the national tournament.
"When you get to Municipal Auditorium, the big arena in KC, if you're fortunate to get there, a lot of guys struggle with shooting there. They're not used to the big backdrop. If you're a team that's tough and hard to score on, that's helpful."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ACU basketball starts NAIA tournament as a No. 1 seed at home
Continue reading...
And he had to make the same shot — twice — in the final seconds.
Before he hit a 30-footer at the buzzer from the right wing to win it, his 3 from the left wing, a little closer in, with five seconds left, would have given the Firebirds the lead. But it was waved off by officials, who claimed the shot clock had expired before the ball left his hand.
So after The Master's was put at the line with a chance to clinch it, the free throw missed.
A Master's player batted the ball back to the other end of the court, feeling time would expire. Wright was waiting. In an instant, he caught it and released it. Swish. Ticket to No. 1 and a first-round game Friday at 5 p.m., at home against No. 16 Westcliff punched.
"It was meant to be," Wright said. "I just give all the thanks to God. It ended up in my hands again."
Wright and his team hope to ride this wave of momentum to another national semifinal run like the school had in 2022.
That is the farthest coach Jeff Rutter has taken his consistently strong program in the national tournament.
They finished ranked No. 3 in the national poll. If they win Friday, they play Saturday at 5 p.m., against the winner between No. 8 Indiana Tech and No. 9 Oregon Tech.
ACU (26-4) is one of four No. 1 seeds in the 64-team tournament that concludes on March 25 with the championship game in Kansas City.
The winners of this weekend's four quadrants head to Kansas City.
"It's a really resilient group," Rutter said.
After returning All-American point guard Trent Hudgens, a former Glendale Ironwood High star, was lost to an injury in the middle of December, the team had to revamp its offense. Hudgens was leading the team through the first 10 games with 14.5 points a game, making 15-of-36 3-pointers.
It took time, but resiliency has helped the Firebirds, who relied on defense, to power through. Ese Onakpoma, a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Connecticut, leads the team with 13.6 points a game.
Seven different players scored at least 20 points in a game this year.
"The ball just in Trent's hands all the time," Rutter said. "Guys were shifted into new roles. It took about six weeks. We were winning during that time, but it was ugly. It took six weeks to change some things we were doing and reinvent themselves."
The ball now goes mostly through Tyler Silva, who was Hudgens' backup. The ball also started going through center Anthony Howell, who leads the team with 90 assists in 30 games.
Defense has been the key. The Firebirds have had 277 steals, forced 504 turnovers and blocked 109 shots, while getting opponents to shoot 40% from the field and 32% from 3-point land.
"This has the potential to be the best defensive team we've had," Rutter said. "We won a lot of games when we've been ugly on offense. And that travels well to the national tournament.
"When you get to Municipal Auditorium, the big arena in KC, if you're fortunate to get there, a lot of guys struggle with shooting there. They're not used to the big backdrop. If you're a team that's tough and hard to score on, that's helpful."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ACU basketball starts NAIA tournament as a No. 1 seed at home
Continue reading...
