By Eric Montgomery | NAIA Media Relations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) Westmont (Calif.) hit four free throws in the final five seconds of the game to earn a 65-61 win over No. 5-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.), Friday evening in the second round of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship. The Warriors will face No. 13-seeded Mid-America Christian (Okla.), an 81-72 winner over Missouri Valley, on Saturday, March 20 at 6:00 p.m.

After trailing by a point at halftime, Westmont led for almost the entirety of the second half after opening the second stanza with the first five points. Campbellsville tied the game on four occasions, but was unable to take the lead at any point after halftime.

The Tigers tied the game twice in the final minute, the first coming with 58 seconds on a steal and basket by D’Von Cambpell. Daniel Carlin hit one free throw to give the Warriors a one-point lead, but Campbell went to the line and hit one of his own to make it 61-61 with 21 seconds to play.

Westmont (22-10) ran the clock down under 10 seconds, sending Cory Blau driving toward the basket on the right side of the lane. He was fouled by Damontre Harris with four seconds left and hit both free throws. After quickly advancing the ball into the frontcourt and calling timeout, the Tigers turned the ball over with three seconds left. Hayden Anderson was fouled and iced the win with two free throws.

“I would never want anyone to be (at the free throw line) except Cory Blau and then tonight Hayden Anderson stepped up there and had incredible belief,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “Our defense was phenomenal. That last stop forced them to throw it out at 3.5 seconds to go. Our defense once again came through.”

The two teams combined to shoot 59.6 percent in the first half (31 for 52) that included 12 of 23 three-point shots (.522). The defenses dominated the second half with a combined total of just 13 field goals and just three field goals from beyond the arc on 20 shots. Westmont finished the game with a 29-26 rebounding advantage while committing one fewer turnover (8-7).

“They made the shots down the stretch and we didn’t,” said Campbellsville head coach Keith Adkins. “We just couldn’t get any shots to fall. The guys we wanted taking shots were taking them and they were good shots, but they just didn’t go down.”

Blau led all scorers with 17 points for the Warriors, while Gerald Karczewski and Daniel Carlin each chipped in with 14 points. Carlin led the rebounding with a game-high total of nine to go along with three assists.

Campbell led the Tigers with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, hitting nine of 11 free throws to pace a 12-for-15 performance (.800) for Campbellsville. Darius Clement added 12 points and five rebounds, while Eric Gaines chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Campbellsville finished its season with a record of 29-5.

Game Notes:
Westmont – The Warriors advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, losing that year in the round of eight to Barat (Ill.) … Westmont improved to 18-1 this season when allowing less than 70 points … The Warriors are the only unseeded team to qualify for this year’s quarterfinal round … The Golden State Athletic Conference has two teams set to play in the quarterfinal round, joining the Southern States Athletic Conference as the only league with multiple quarterfinal qualifiers … Westmont is the only NAIA Division I school with both its men’s and women’s programs playing in the quarterfinal rounds of its respective tournaments... Tied a season-low with seven turnovers… Coming off the bench to score 14 points, Gerald Karczewski, has now hit double-digits in three of his past four contests… The 61 points allowed marks the seventh time in last 10 games the Warriors held their opponent to under 70.

Campbellsville – The Tigers slipped to 6-10 all-time in the National Championship and has not advanced past the second round since the 2008 tournament … Campbellsville fell to 3-4 this season when scoring 65 points or fewer … The Tigers were held to season-low totals in field goals made (20) and rebounds (26) … D’Von Campbell failed to hit at least one three-point shot for just the fifth time in 35 games... Becomes the fourth-straight No. 5 seed to get eliminated prior to the Quarterfinal round… Just three guys attempted free throws, with D’Von Campbell going 9-for-11 to handle the bulk of those shots – he is No. 1 on the team with 207 season attempts… Team’s second leading scorer at 11.4 points, Damontre Harris, was held to five points on just 2-of-5 shooting.