In a hard-fought GSAC Conference Semifinal, Benedictine Mesa outlasted Arizona Christian 68–65 in a game defined by physical play, momentum swings, and clutch scoring on both sides.

The first half was a defensive grind from start to finish. Arizona Christian leaned on early free throws from Jay Lee and key bench buckets from Shaud Bradley and Zack Reighard, while Benedictine answered with steady offense from Isaiah Howard and Khari Dunn. Multiple technical fouls late in the half reflected the intensity, and the teams went into the break tied 30–30.

Benedictine created separation early in the second half behind Howard, Dunn, and Malik Payton, pushing ahead 36–33. ACU briefly surged back on threes from BJ Stewart and Drew Goodline, taking a 46–42 lead, but the Redhawks responded with a 12–4 run powered by Dunn and Damian Zivak to reclaim control.

Arizona Christian continued to fight, as Bradley connected from deep and Goodline scored at the rim to keep the Firestorm within striking distance. But Benedictine's offensive rebounds, timely free throws, and late defensive stands proved decisive. Zivak hit two critical free throws with 15 seconds left to make it 68–63, and though Stewart scored quickly, ACU's last-second three-point attempt came up short.

Benedictine Mesa advances to the GSAC Championship, while the Firestorm's late rally fell just shy in a thriller.