Box Score Santa Barbara, CA- Down three with 6.9 seconds to play, Arizona Christian found four points to pull off the thrilling 83-82 win over Hope International and earn their first ever GSAC Tournament Championship. The Firestorm earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
- Game score: Arizona Christian - 83, Hope International - 82
- Records: Arizona Christian - 25-8, Hope International - 22-11
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 19, Hope International - RV
- Location: Murchison Gym, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
- De'Ron Kyle - 29 points
- Shane Carney - 19 points
- Terence Shelby, Jr. - 9 points
- Jamel Cleveland - 8 points
- Xander Bowers - 6 points, 7 rebounds
- ACU lead early but by no bigger than three points
- Game back and forth with ACU up 29-27 with 7:17 to go in the first half
- HIU moved ahead on their next possession and built as large as a 12 point lead before the half
- Halftime score was 47-38 HIU
- Down 11, ACU used a 11-0 run to force a tie
- Al Burge hit a jumper with 9:19 left for the only second half ACU lead until the very end
- Behind 82-79 with 6.9 to play, a flagrant foul was called against the Royals- Carney made the free throws and ACU kept possession
- Inbounding the ball right next to his bench, KeyVaughn Williams found Bowers cutting to basket for the game winning layup
- An automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament is the result of winning the GSAC Tournament Championship
Up Next
Arizona Christian will now wait for the official NAIA National Tournament field to be announced to see if they play their first round game on March 18 or 19. The NAIA DI Men's Basketball National Championship will be held at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO.
