UAV men move on, women fall in opener

After trailing most of the first half and falling further back at the start of the second half, the University of Antelope Valley men’s basketball team made a run to recapture the lead and defeat Wayland Baptist 77-68 on Tuesdayin the first round of the NAIA Tournament at Arizona Christian.

Two players accounted for all of UAV’s 15 points during a critical six-minute stretch of those final minutes that helped maintain a lead.

Cal Pac Player of the Year Michael Hayes led the charge in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points. During one stretch, Hayes scored eight consecutive points to give UAV the lead.

Leading 48-46, Hayes hit a jumper and a free throw after being fouled on the shot at the 10:28 mark to put his team up by five, then he tipped in a missed shot with 9:50 remaining to make it 53-49, and he converted another three-point play 35 seconds later to make it 56-50.

UAV’s Elias Ezenekwe, who scored nine of his 13 points in the second half, recorded seven in a row after Hayes’ run. After a 3-pointer pulled WBU back to within three points, Ezenekwe made a layup, picked off a WBU pass and got fouled — his free throw made it 59-53 — and made another layup at 5:36.

Ezenekwe, a First Team All-Cal Pac selection, later put UAV in control when he picked up his fifth steal of the game and finished with a dunk with 2:04 to go. Hayes added the exclamation point with a dunk of his own a minute later to put the Pioneers up by eight, 70-62.

To win at the national level takes more than one or two players having a good game, and the Pioneers (26-2) had several who made significant

contributions.

Andrew Lewis, the conference Newcomer of the Year, finished with 17 points and Aaris Bonds added eight points and a gamehigh 12 rebounds.

Collectively, the Pioneers kept a high-scoring WBU offense in check, holding the team to 17 points below its season average while shooting just 33 percent from the floor and only 28 percent from the 3-point line — well below season averages.

The Pioneers, seeded eighth in the Liston Quadrant, will take on the No. 1 seed, Arizona Christian today at 4:30 p.m. Arizona Christian defeated the No. 16 seed 61-59 on Tuesday.

UAV women fall in first round of tournament

The No. 15-seeded UAV women’s basketball team lost to No. 2 Westmont, 84-62, in the first round of the NAIA Tournament Naismith Quadrant on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.

The Warriors used a stifling defense and a balanced offensive attack to eliminate the Pioneers from the postseason.

UAV (23-8) used its own aggressive defense and uptempo offense to stay in the game, but Westmont’s defense would not let the Pioneers put together big scoring runs.

Westmont held an explosive UAV offense 15 points below its season average, limiting the Pioneers to just 34 percent from the floor and 4-of-17 from the 3-point line. The Warriors also dominated the boards, 46-31, one of the few times this season UAV has been out-rebounded.

Cal Pac Player of the Year Chinna Fair entered the game as the nation’s fourth-leading scorer at 22.4 per outing, but the Warriors managed to limit her to 15 points, her fourth lowest total of the season.

UAV’s Krystin Allen, an All-Cal Pac First Team and All-Defensive team selection this season, led the Pioneers with 17 points. Kellymar Ramriez added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.