Westminster (Utah) Escapes with 68-63 OT Victory over Biola (Calif.)
March 19, 2009
Kansas City, Mo. - Sixth-seeded Westminster College (Utah) outscored Biola University (Calif.) 9-4 in overtime to capture a thrilling 68-63 victory in game 10 of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Municipal Auditorium Thursday morning.
The Griffins trailed 59-56 when Weston Anderson drilled a three-pointer to knot the game with nine seconds remaining. The game-tying shot was set up after Westminster's Danny Stosich grabbed an offensive rebound of a Geoff Payne miss with 14 seconds on the clock. In the overtime, the lead switched hands twice before the fifth tie of the game was achieved at 62 with 3:49 remaining on two free throws by Payne. Westminster outscored Biola 6-1 the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Westminster rallied from a 25-23 halftime deficit after shooting a paltry 29 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Griffins rebounded in the second half to make 40 percent of their shots. Biola shot 47.6 percent in the first half, but cooled off to 41.7 in the second half and overtime. The Eagles also committed 17 turnovers.
Payne recorded a double-double for Westminster, tallying 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Anderson netted 19 points, including four from outside the arc, and Jordan Jacobs garnered 11 points. Rocky Hampton paced Biola with 22 points, sharing high scoring honors with Payne, and recorded 13 caroms. Danny Campbell totaled 12 markers for the Eagles.
Westminster, now 29-4, advances to play 11th-seeded University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) at 4:30 p.m. CDT on Friday. Cumberlands upended Jarvis Christian College (Texas) 82-65 Thursday morning. Biola ends its campaign with a 22-10 overall mark.
GAME NOTES
Westminster starts second half on 12-5 run to take over the lead 35-30 by the 15:25 mark ... Weston Anderson for Westminster 12 second-half points by the 11:59 mark of the second half to lead the Griffins ...Anderson caps off 19-point second half with game-tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation, tying his season high point total with 19 ... Geoff Payne for Westminster scored 7 of his schools' 9 overtime points to help the Griffins earn the comeback win over Biola ... Westminster scored 5 of 9 overtime points from the charity stripe to finish the game 18 of 23 ... Westminster improves to 2-9 in the tournament ... Biola is 19-16 overall in the tournament and 11-5 in the first round ... second time in the last five years the sixth seed of the tournament has advanced to the second round.
