Concordia Holds Off No. 3 Azusa Pacific

Danny Barajas made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and Concordia hung on for an 87-85 victory over visiting Azusa Pacific in a Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Saturday.

Azusa Pacific (15-5, 2-2 in conference) started the week as the No. 3-ranked NAIA team in the nation, but the Cougars will plummet in the poll after losing consecutive games to Orange County’s GSAC teams. Southern California College beat them by eight Tuesday.

Concordia (14-5, 3-1) was working for a final shot when Barajas drove the lane and was fouled by Ricky Blackmon. After Azusa Pacific used two timeouts to rattle him, Barajas, who scored 16 points, hit only net on the free throws.

The Eagles, who have won 10 of their last 11, needed a late rally to win. After trailing by six, 83-77, with 2 minutes 15 seconds left, they scored the next eight points on a three-pointers by Rick Haywood and Tarik James and a layup by Pharoah Jones. James’ three-pointer after a double screen by Barajas and Jones gave Concordia an 85-83 lead with 51 seconds left. James scored 29 points.

Tim Sebek tied the score for Azusa Pacific with 35 seconds left, and after Barajas’ free throws, Eric Wattree was fouled and went to the line. He missed both free throws, the second one purposely, and Jones got the rebound for Concordia.