Game Statistics and Boxscore
ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -
Brian Barkdoll converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 34-seconds remaining and the Crusaders went four-for-four from the free throw line in the final seconds to give the Northwest Nazarene University men's basketball team a 68-63 victory over Sonoma State University on Friday night at the Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic, hosted by Sonoma State.
Barkdoll's clutch basket and free-throw with the game tied at 61-61 helped the sophomore post finish with 11 points and five rebounds.
Joel Ryman led the Crusaders with 14, none bigger than his two free throws made with just seven seconds remaining.
Following Barkdoll's effort, the Seawolves (0-1) James Sandoval converted an inside bucket to bring SSU to within one at 64-63. The Seawolves pressured the ball in the backcourt, forcing the Crusaders into a turnover and had possession of the ball with 12-seconds to play. Advancing the ball into the frontcourt, the Seawolves called their final time-out to set-up a potential game-winning play. But, when the NNU defense would not allow an inbounds pass, the Seawolves called a time-out, resulting in a team technical foul with seven seconds remaining.
Ryman would make both technical free throws and Stephen Pratt would miss a game-tying off-balanced three-pointer for SSU with six-seconds left.
Kendall Gielow would add two more free throws after a foul with one second left to bring the final score to 68-63. Gielow finished with 11 points and six rebounds, leading the Crusaders on the glass.
Four NNU players reached double-figures in a balanced scoring effort, with
Louie Beech also adding 10 points. SSU out-rebounded the Crusaders 35-28, but the Crusaders made up the difference by going 17-for-22 from the free throw line and shooting 46-percent (23-50) from the floor.
The Seawolves were led by Sandoval's game-high 17 points and Mike Nelson added 13. SSU shot 40-percent (23-57) from the floor and an impressive 86-percent (13-15) from the line.
NNU will now face San Francisco State on Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. PST in their final game of the classic formatted tournament.
