March 20, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) wrapped up day one play at the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with a 76-73 overtime victory over No. 9 seed Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium.

Casey Ortiz posted a team-high 17 points, 10 of which came after halftime, as the Sea Lions became the second unseeded team to advance to Friday's second round. Point Loma Nazarene, which moves to 24-9 overall, will meet No. 8 Robert Morris College (Ill.) Friday at 6:15 p.m. CST.

The Point Loma Nazarene bench played an important role in Wednesday's win. The Sea Lions outscored Southern Nazarene 28-6 off the bench. Nick Corso added 13 points for Point Loma Nazarene in a reserve role, while Brian Ormon contributed 10 points off the bench. In all, five different Sea Lion players scored in double figures.

After holding a 31-29 lead at the intermission, Point Loma Nazarene built an eight-point advantage on two different occasions in the second half, the last coming at 65-57 on two free throws by Curtis Carlson with 3:27 left in regulation. Southern Nazarene outscored the Sea Lions 10-2 the rest of the way, including a lay-up by Milorad Damjanac with 17 seconds to play that tied the game at 67-67 and forced the extra period.

In overtime, the Crimson Storm grabbed a 71-70 lead at the 2:56 mark on another basket by Damjanac. A field goal by Austin Wilcox and two free throws by Ortiz put Point Loma Nazarene in front to stay, 74-71, with 1:17 left. Southern Nazarene pulled within 74-73 on two foul shots by Brent Kimmel, but Ortiz extended the margin back to three points for the Sea Lions by hitting two free throws at the 14-second mark.

The Crimson Storm had one final possession to try and force a second overtime, but they missed on a pair of three-point attempts before the final buzzer.

Carlson also added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Point Loma Nazarene, while Craig Austin rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for the Sea Lions with 10 points.

Damjanac posted game-high figures of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way for Southern Nazarene. Kimmel was right behind with 19 points along with five assists and three steals, and Brandon Durham finished with 17 points and a game-high six assists. The Crimson Storm closed the year with a record of 23-9.