March 15, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) survived an upset bid from Westminster College (Utah) to post a 72-67 victory Thursday in the first round of the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

 

The Crimson Storm posted their sixth consecutive win to move to 28-6 overall. Southern Nazarene, the No. 5 seed, will square off with No. 12 Union University (Tenn.) in an NAIA tournament second-round game Friday at 2:15 p.m. CDT.

 

In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, Southern Nazarene grabbed the lead for good when senior forward Brent Freeman scored on a basket and free throw to give the Crimson Storm a 69-67 advantage with 42 seconds remaining. Following a missed three-point shot by Westminster, senior forward Mildon Ambres was fouled and made one of two free throw attempts with 11 seconds to play to extend the Southern Nazarene lead to 70-67.

 

The Griffins then committed a turnover, and senior guard Leroy Dawson hit a pair of foul shots with nine seconds left to seal the victory for the Crimson Storm.

 

Westminster grabbed a 13-6 advantage when sophomore forward Danny Stosich drilled a three-poiner with 11:21 left in the first half. Southern Nazarene reeled off seven consecutive points to tie the game at 13-13 before the Griffins edged back in front. Westminster led 29-27 at the half despite shooting 33.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.

 

Dawson led Southern Nazarene with a game-high 23 points, while Freeman posted 17 points off the bench for the Crimson Storm. Ambres pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the effort.

 

Stosich paced Westminster with 22 points, and junior guard Danny Reeder chipped in with 15 points and five assists. Senior guard Rob Holcombe connected for 14 points, while sophomore guard Jordan Jacobs notched 12 points for the Griffins, who finish the season with an overall record of 21-12.