CALPAC

[Men's Basketball] NAIA Tournament Preview: Redhawks Prepare For Battle In Louisiana

The opening round of the 2022 NAIA men's basketball national tournament begins Friday, March 11 at various regional sites across the country. For Benedictine Mesa men's basketball, their journey begins in New Orleans, Louisiana as they prepare for a matchup with top seeded Loyola University New Orleans Friday night, inside Devlin Fieldhouse on the campus of Tulane University. Benedictine Mesa enters the tournament as one of the representatives from the Cal Pac Conference. This is the second NAIA tournament appearance for the Redhawks, as the 2021 NAIA tournament saw BenU Mesa win their opening round game against Vanguard University before falling in the second round to eventual national runner-up Lewis-Clark State College. The Redhawks are led by Senior Maurice Walton, who is coming off a stretch in the conference tournament where he averaged 18.7 points per game and 11 rebounds per game while shooting 74.2% from the field. Walton was recently named a Cal Pac Conference 1st Team Selection, making him the second Redhawk to be named to the 1st Team in consecutive seasons alongside former Redhawk Henry Galinato. Senior Jay Small and junior Tre Carolina both performed very well in the conference tournament. Small, a 2021-22 Cal Pac Honorable Mention, averaged 17.3 points in the three games, including a 25-point performance against the University of Antelope Valley. Carolina averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4 assists, while being named to the Cal Pac 2nd Team. The Redhawks will face a Loyola New Orleans team that finished with the Southern States Athletic Conference regular season and conference championships. The Wolfpack are 31-1 on the season and average the highest number of points for any team in the Naismith region at 89.8 points per game. They are led by the player of the year in the SSAC and a candidate for NAIA National Player of the Year, Zach Wrightsil. Alongside Wrightsil is Myles Burnes, who was named the MVP of the SSAC tournament. Both players have been named players to watch in the tournament by NAIA Hoops Report. The matchup between Benedictine Mesa and Loyola New Orleans highlights two teams that rebound the ball exceptionally well. The Redhawks led the California Pacific Conference at 42.9 rebounds per game and lead the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game at 34. The Wolfpack are the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country at 15.6 per game. The game will also be an interesting display of the contrasting strengths between the two programs. Benedictine Mesa is the 4th best team in the NAIA in opponents field goal percentage and 5th in defending opponents three-point percentage. At 89.8 points per game, Loyola New Orleans is second in the NAIA in overall points per game and third in overall field goal attempts made. Friday's game is scheduled to tip at 7:30pm CST, 6:30pm MST. Spectator entrance policies, ticket information, as well as a free livestream link can be found here.