Playing in a GSAC title game that featured ten and nine lead changes, Arizona Christian survived a last second missed basket by The Master's to win the 2023-24 GSAC Championship 96-95 on Saturday. For the first time in program history, Arizona Christian is the regular season and tournament champion in the same season.

Game Info
Game score: Arizona Christian- 96, The Master's- 95
Records: Arizona Christian- 23-7, The Master's- 22-8
NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian- 18, The Master's- 23
Location: Darling Pavilion, Hope International University, Fullerton, CA

ACU Stats For The Day
Mikah Blackwell (6'6''-F)- 24 points, 12 rebounds
Dennis Flowers III (6'2''-G)- 21 points
Trent Hudgens Jr. (6'1''-G)- 15 points
Paul Hayden (6'5''-G)- 10 points

Inside the Box Score
The first possession for both teams resulted in a lead change as TMU hit one free throw and ACU made both
TMU forced three ties in the first ten minutes but ACU would move right back in front
ACU went ahead by seven twice with the last time coming in the form of a three pointer from Dominic Gonzalez
In a five minute span, the Mustangs countered and grabbed an eight point edge twice
At the break, TMU was ahead 51-44
TMU's Ty Harper scored 24 of his 37 points in the first 20 minutes
Hudgens topped ACU with 12 first half points
For the first 11 minutes of half number two, the Mustangs kept the lead
A precursor of heroics to come later, Flowers hit an "and one" to give ACU a 74-73 edge
The Mustangs moved immediately back in front followed by ACU reclaiming the lead
Hayden buried a three to ACU a six point cushion with 4:30 to play
TMU went from down six to up two in a 2:30 minute span
Tied 91-91 the teams exchanged acrobatic made baskets for a 93-93 game
With under 30 seconds to play, TMU took a 95-93 edge
At seven seconds, Flowers drove the right side of the paint, scored, was fouled, and made the "and one" for the game winning points
TMU had one last shot missed with an offensive rebound and the ensuing shot made but waived off as it came after the buzzer
The Firestorm won their second ever tournament championship pairing with a win in the 2019-20 season

Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"What a great game. That is the third one possession game we have had with The Master's. Both teams had guys make big plays. Proud of our guys for how resilient they were tonight."
"Mikah was fantastic on both ends tonight. We have improved a lot in the last month, I am excited to still have a game in front of us to see what we can do."

GSAC Final: Arizona Christian - The Master's 96-95

GSAC Semifinals:
Arizona Christian - Jessup 80-70
The Master's - Hope International 95-88

GSAC Quarterfinals:
Hope International - Menlo 65-61
OUAZ - Jessup 79-92

Courtesy of gsacsports.org

Co-Player of the Year: Kaleb Lowery (6'8''-F) of Master's
Co-Player of the Year: Landon Seaman (6'8''-F) of Menlo
Defensive Player of the Year: Mikah Blackwell (6'6''-F) of ACU
Freshman of the Year: Riley Robinson (5'11''-PG) of Menlo
Coach of the Year: Bill Czech of HIU

All-GSAC First Team 2024

Flowers III

Hudgens Jr.

Williams

Ramirez

Corey

Artis

First Team
Dennis Flowers III (6'2''-G) of ACU
Trent Hudgens Jr. (6'1''-G) of ACU
Tristan Williams (6'7''-F) of HIU
Gaven Ramirez (6'7''-F) of HIU
Myles Corey (6'0''-PG) of William Jessup
Ty Artis (6'1''-G) of William Jessup
Landon Seaman (6'8''-F) of Menlo
McKay Bundy (6'5''-F) of OUAZ
Kaleb Lowery (6'8''-F) of Master's
Ty Harper (6'3''-G-2001) of Master's