IRVINE, Calif. – Arizona Christian University (18-8, 8-6 GSAC) erased Concordia University's eight-point lead and tied the game at 73-73 with 1:43 left in regulation time and led 75-74 with 52 seconds remaining, but Concordia (19-10, 7-7 GSAC) tied the game with a free throw with 48 seconds left and outscored ACU, 16-13, in the five-minute overtime period and defeated the Firestorm, 91-88, in Golden State Athletics Conference men's basketball action, Saturday, February 23, at in CU Arena in Irvine, California, the site of the March 5 GSAC men's and women's championship games. 

Arizona Christian, coached by Jeff Rutter, finishes third in its first season as a member of the Golden State Athletics Conference and ranks number eight in the National Christian College Athletics Association and received votes for the NAIA Top 25 National Coaches' poll for Feb. 19. Seeded number three, Arizona Christian hosts number six seed The Master's College (16-13, 5-9 GSAC), Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Arizona time (6:30 p.m. in California) in one of four GSAC Tournament quarterfinal games. 

There is no free admission to conference championship events. The adult and faculty and staff from the participating colleges are admitted for $10.00, and seniors age 62 and over are admitted for $8.00. A student ticket costs $5.00. 

Thursday's other GSAC quarterfinal games: number one seed Westmont College (24-6, 12-2 GSAC) hosts number eight seed San Diego Christian (7-16, 4-10 GSAC) at Murchison Gymnasium on the Westmont campus in Santa Barbara, California; number two seed Hope International University (24-6, 9-5 GSAC) hosts number seven seed Biola University (15-15, 5-9 GSAC) at Darling Pavilion on the HIU campus in Fullerton, California, and number four seed Concordia hosts number five Vanguard University (17-12, 6-8 GSAC) at the CU Arena in Irvine. 

In other Saturday GSAC games, first-place Westmont College (23-6, 11-2 GSAC), the NAIA's number eight-ranked team, won at Biola, 72-61, and NAIA number 18-ranked Hope 

International beat The Master's College, 50-44, in Fullerton, Calif. Vanguard also won Saturday night at San Diego Christian, 87-79. 

After a close first 17 minutes of the first half, Concordia opened a five-point lead, 30-25, with 2:50 left and stayed ahead, 32-27, with 1:32 remaining. Junior guard Mason Jones (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View H.S./Eastern Oregon Univ.) drilled a three-pointer at the 1:12 mark, and freshman forward Mike Navar (Chino, Calif./Chino Hills H.S.) tied the game at 32-32 with a lay-up with 49 seconds to go. Two free throws by forward Dakota Downs gave the host Eagles a 34-32 halftime margin. The first half featured six tied scores and 11 lead changes. 

Concordia held two 9-point leads in the first three minutes of the second half and stretched its advantage to 14 points, 56-42, at the 12:16 mark. ACU whittled Concordia's lead to five points, 59-54, on Jones' three-pointer with 8:29 left in regulation time, and sliced the Eagles' margin to just two points, 70-68, on a tip-in and a free throw by junior guard Charles King (Houston, Tex./Stephen F. Austin H.S./Phoenix College) with 2:54 to go. Junior guard Talib Uqdah (Detroit, Mich./Westview H.S. (Avondale, Ariz.)/Chandler-Gilbert CC) hit a three-pointer and two free throws during ACU's comeback. 

Concordia went up 73-68 with 2:45 left on a Downs' three-point play, prompting another ACU comeback. Navar hit a jumper at 2:27 and tied the game at 73-73 with a lay-up at 1:43. Concordia scored a free throw for a 74-73 lead at 1:11, but King tipped in a missed shot with 52 seconds left, putting ACU ahead, 75-74. Guard Tim Harris tied the game at 75-75 with a free throw with 48 seconds left, but missed his second charity shot, and King rebounded. Junior guard Jordan Block (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Claremont H.S./Pasadena City College) missed a lay-up with 31 seconds left, and Concordia rebounded. The Eagles missed a jumper and a three-pointer in the last three seconds. 

In overtime, Concordia built an 88-82 lead with 1:20 left, but two baskets by Jones sliced the lead to 88-86 with 26 seconds remaining. CU guard Peter Smith made two free throws with 16 seconds left for a 90-86 lead. King scored a lay-up with six seconds left, moving ACU to a 90- 88 deficit, and Smith made a free throw with four seconds left for the final 91-88 margin. Jones missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer. 

Jones finished with 20 points, 12 in the second half and overtime, and made 4 three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds, passed three assists and stole the ball once, and Uqdah totaled 18 points, 11 in the second half and overtime, 2 three-pointers, seven rebounds and four assists. King contributed 13 points, all in the second half and overtime, and eight rebounds. Navar added 10 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot off the ACU bench, and Block, ACU's leading scorer and rebounder this season (15.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg), finished with nine points, four rebounds, and one blocked shot. Junior forward Daniel Cornelius Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley H.S.), 

who put ACU ahead briefly, 82-81, with a three-pointer with three minutes left in overtime, scored nine points with 2 three-pointers, and five rebounds. 

Downs led Concordia with 18 points, 13 in the second half and overtime period, 15 rebounds and one steal, and made 8 of his 12 free throws. Smith finished with 14 points, 2 three-pointers and three assists and a steal, and Harris also scored 14 points with 2 three-pointers and had five rebounds, four assists, one blocked shot and one steal. Guard Alex Rudd added 12 points, 2 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, two assists and three steals, and reserve forward Brandon Hucks contributed 11 points and six rebounds. Guard DeLaun Frazier scored nine points with 3 three- pointers and grabbed four rebounds.