The Benedictine Mesa Redhawks Men's Basketball fell to OUAZ 78–76 Saturday afternoon.
First Half
OUAZ opened the game scorching from deep, building a 10–2 lead before
Isaiah Howard steadied the Redhawks with strong attacks to the rim.
Khari Dunn provided instant offense off the bench, scoring consecutive layups to pull Benedictine within 17–12.
A defensive surge—featuring steals from Howard and
Malik Payton—shifted momentum, and a pair of technical free throws from
Eric Blackwell cut the gap to one.
Damian Zivak then buried a deep three to give Benedictine its first lead at 26–23. He added another triple late, but OUAZ closed the half on a 5–0 run to lead 38–34.
Second Half
Benedictine came out firing. Howard attacked relentlessly, throwing down a momentum-swinging dunk that energized the bench. Zivak and Blackwell each hit big threes, and Howard answered an OUAZ triple with one of his own to give the Redhawks a 55–52 lead.
The advantage grew to 66–59—the largest of the night—after Dunn finished in traffic and Howard converted again at the rim.
OUAZ clawed back, cutting the lead to 70–65 and later 72–69. Despite steady free-throw shooting from Howard and Dunn, the Spirit tied the game at 75–75 entering the final two minutes.
Final Minute
OUAZ took a 77–75 lead on a driving layup with 24 seconds remaining. Blackwell split a pair at the line to bring Benedictine within one, but OUAZ answered with another free throw to make it 78–76. The Redhawks got one last look, but Howard's deep three in the final seconds rimmed out, sealing the narrow defeat.
Key Players
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks return home on
Thursday, February 19 to take on The Master's.
