COLLEGE BASKETBALL / GOLDEN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT : Fresno Pacific Beats Concordia in Final

WHITTIER — Fresno Pacific, seemingly overmatched in talent and trailing most of the way, muscled in front of Concordia in the end, 60-57, and won the Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament Tuesday in front of 1,147 at Whittier College.

Fresno Pacific (23-7) secured the conference’s automatic bid into the NAIA Division I national tournament next week in Tulsa, Okla. It will be the Sunbirds’ first trip to the tournament.

It would have been Concordia’s first trip as well. The Eagles (27-7) probably have finished their most successful season. They have a slight chance to make the NAIA tournament as an at-large team.

Concordia led nearly the entire game, but Fresno Pacific did just enough to win. Tim Amundsen’s three-point shot with 1 minute 9 seconds left in the game gave the Sunbirds a 56-55 lead, their first of the second half.

Concordia, which had been turning away Fresno Pacific rallies all night, blew a chance to take the lead when point guard Danny Barajas drove the lane, drew contact and threw up a wild shot before falling to the ground. Barajas later said he thought he was fouled; the officials didn’t call anything.

Fresno Pacific’s Deon Arline made two free throws with 24 seconds left and Barajas made a layup with eight seconds left to make it 58-57. After Ty Amundsen made two foul shots with seven seconds remaining, the Eagles managed only a desperation three-pointer by Pharoah Jones, which missed at the buzzer.

For fourth-seeded Concordia, it was a frustrating way to lose. For third-seeded Fresno Pacific, it was a bit of a surprise.

Afterward, Sunbird Coach Jim Sargent, a former Bolsa Grande High and Cypress College standout, greeted some former coaches of his, including Don Johnson, the former Cypress coach.

“We hung in there; that’s about all we did,” Sargent told them.

Johnson, who was legendary for squeezing out victories with limited talent, must have been proud of Sargent. Concordia appeared to have the stronger team and led by as many as 10 points in the first half, before leading, 27-21, at the break.

Concordia was hampered inside because two of its post players--Jeff Putnam and Tim Morris--got into foul trouble. The Eagles shot 44% from the field, nearly 10 percentage points below their season average.

“I think they took us out of our rhythm,” Concordia Coach Greg Marshall said. “We’d make a cut and instead of being open, someone would bang us.”