Posted: Feb 05, 2026
Warriors Surprise Spirit, Secure First Road Conference Win of Season
Life Pacific
(12-12, 3-9 GSAC)
71
OUAZ
(12-11, 5-8 GSAC)
68
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Life Pacific (12-12, 3-9 GSAC) | 31 | 40 | 71 |
|
OUAZ (12-11, 5-8 GSAC) | 38 | 30 | 68 |
Surprise, AZ — On Thursday, LPU men's basketball (12-12, 3-9 GSAC) started their Arizona road trip with a pivotal matchup against the Ottawa University-Arizona Spirit (12-11, 5-8 GSAC). With a first half that saw both teams trade blows, the Warriors stepped it up and used multiple large scoring runs in the second to get a much-needed conference victory and split the season series with the Spirit.
It was a very back-and-forth first half, as neither squad held a lead for very long. The lead flipped 9 times throughout the first 20 minutes, with 6 ties. The Spirit got the last laugh, though, as back-to-back threes gave the home team a 38-31 lead as the buzzer sounded.
Coming out of the locker rooms, LPU started the second half on a 17-5 run, highlighted by 6 straight from Kyjuan Cannady, that helped the visitors go up 5 with 12 minutes to go, giving them a lead they would never lose. OUAZ would keep fighting, though, keeping the game stable until another LPU 7-0 run which had the visitors up by 11 with six minutes remaining. The Spirit did cut it to 2 with 19 seconds remaining, but Life Pacific held strong and secured the win for the Warriors, 71-68.
The "How Good" Player of the Game award goes to senior center Braxton Williams. Despite coming off the bench and only recording 19 minutes of game action, he scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, shooting 7/10 from the field and also leading the Warriors with 9 rebounds. His contributions really helped LPU take control of the back half of this game. Aside from Williams, four starters also scored in double digits, being Jayceon Smith (14pts, 7/14 FG, 7reb, 2ast), Ayden Hamilton (11pts, 7reb, 2ast), Joby Barnes (11pts, 3/3 FG, 2/2 3FG, 3/3 FT), and Kyjuan Cannady (10pts, 7reb, 2ast).
As a team, the Warriors shot their second-highest field goal percentage in conference play this season, with an impressive 52.7% (29/55) from the field. LPU was also +17 (43-26) in the rebounding department and +24 (42-18) in points in the paint. Their size mismatch was evident all throughout.
This win puts the Warriors firmly in 7th place in the conference. Next up for the Warriors is the second game of their road trip, a duel with the Embry-Riddle Eagles. The Eagles are sitting in 5th place in the GSAC, at 6-5 in conference and 13-10 overall. The game will be on Saturday, 2/7 at 2pm PST.