Bringing the Madness

Saturday, March 14

Azusa, CA

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

26-6

Seattle Pacific

24-8

Seattle Pacific

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

3/14/2015 7:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

AZUSA, Calif. — With its first NCAA Division II playoff win in hand from the day before, No. 21 California Baptist University looked to get number two against a solid Seattle Pacific squad. It came down to the wire, but a buzzer-beating put-back gave the Lancers the 78-77 victory to move them on to the West Region Championship.

CBU — which led for just two minutes, 35 seconds of the entire game — enters the title game on Monday with a 26-6 record, while the Falcons conclude their season with a 24-8 mark.

Gelaun Wheelwright led all scorers with 27 points — just one shy of tying his career-best — on 7-of-14 shooting. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the stripe, helping CBU boast an impressive 93.8-percent from the line.

Chris Brown followed with 17 points (7-of-10) as the only other Lancer in double figures. Taj Spencer was right on the brink of double-digit scoring with nine points (4-for-6). It was Trevone Williams who provided the late heroics with a last-second layup to finish with seven points (3-for-6).

In a back-and-forth battle of the first half, neither team could jump out in front by more than two possessions.

Spencer scored the first bucket of the night, but SPU stayed with CBU and put together the first major run of the night to go up 17-11. Eividas Petrulis gave the Lancers their response with a three-point shot off a Wheelwright assist to slice the margin in half. Wheelwright sank a trey of his own, evening the score at 17-17 with just under eight minutes before halftime.

Williams put CBU in front 22-19, following a Michael Smith layup, but SPU wouldn't let the Lancers off the hook yet. Despite shooting 40-percent from the floor and 50-percent from beyond the arc, the Lancers went into halftime down by four at 29-25.

Wheelwright led the second half by attempting a three, but was fouled in the process to be sent to the charity stripe. He made all three of his free throws to put CBU within one, 29-28, but SPU managed to stay in front for the moment.

The Falcons took a double-digit lead with just over 10 minutes to play, 52-42. Wheelwright finished two free throws to bring it back down to eight and Brown drew a foul as he laid in the ball. The senior finished the shot with ease to keep the Lancers within reach, 52-47.

SPU opened up its lead once again to hold a 65-55 advantage coming down the stretch. Brown drove to the basket against pressure, drawing the foul as his shot circled the rim and went in. He completed the old-fashioned three-point play, but the Falcons kept their hot hand to stay in front.

Still, the Lancers kept pressing and cut it to four points with only two minutes remaining on the clock. SPU missed two valuable free throws, allowing Wheelwright to sink a deep three and put a fired up CBU squad within one at 73-72.

SPU tried desperately to hold onto its 77-76 lead with just 51 seconds left to play, but CBU sent a Falcon to the line, hoping to get the ball back. The SPU baller missed both his shots at the line, putting the Lancers on the attack with 18 seconds to make it all the way across the court. Berg came up short on the three-pointer, but the rebound fell straight into Williams' arms as he crashed the basket. With barely two seconds on the clock, Williams banked it in off the glass to give CBU the dramatic 78-77 win.

The Lancers will compete for their first NCAA Division II West Region title on Monday at 7:00 p.m., taking on Azusa Pacific/Cal Poly Pomona. The region champion then moves on to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind., tipping off against the Atlantic Region Champion on March 25.