Concordia's Steven Vaughan had a game-high 28 points in the last-second loss to Pacific on Tuesday.
Last-Second Shot Sinks Cavaliers Against Pacific
PORTLAND, Ore.—Hitting his only field goal of the game, Pacific University’s Jonathon Jury nailed a 25-foot three point with one second remaining to defeat Concordia University in men’s basketball action on Tuesday night.
With the win, Pacific improved to 5-3 on the year while the loss, Concordia’s third straight, dropped the Cavaliers to 5-6.
Behind 8 of 13 from beyond the three-point line in the first half, Pacific mounted as much as an 18-point led in the first half. The Cavaliers fought back into the game with a 19-8 run over the final six minutes to cut the deficit to seven with the score 50-43 at the half.
Back-to-back threes out of the gate by Micah Mooney would put the Boxers back into a double-digit lead, but the Cavs would slowly snip away at the discrepancy, eventually taking the 70-58 lead via a Sergio Rosario three with 8:22 left.
Neither team would create more than a three-point margin the rest of the way as the two squads would share six ties over the final six minutes.
A Garold Howe free throw with 15 seconds put Pacific up 89-87 while Concordia freshman Gage Aker connected on a 10-foot jumper with five ticks remaining to nod the battle at 89, setting up Jury’s last-second firing from well beyond the three-point line.
“We played very poorly defensively in the first half and they (Pacific) shot the ball well and had guys stepping up. We really challenged our guys in the second and they responded by coming back and taking the lead,” Concordia head coach Brad Barbarick said. “They took the shot we wanted them to take and he ended up making a great shot. You have to take your hat off to him.”
CU’s Steven Vaughan led all scorers with 28 points after connecting on 7 of 16 from the floor including 4 of 7 from three-point territory and 10 of 12 from the free throw line. Sergio Rosario added 20 while Matt Ochs gathered a team-high eight rebounds.
Howe collected a team-high 24 points for the Boxers.
Pacific connected on 12 of 22 of their three-point attempts for a 52.7 percent rate while the Cavaliers converted 11 of 24 from long range for a 45.8 percent clip.
“We had to play without two of our top guys tonight in Alex (Tiefenthaler) and Desmond (Meray), but we were pleased with how we had some young guys step up,” Barbarick said. “They showed some character in the second half.”
Concordia returns to action on Dec. 19 when it travels to Northwest Christian to resume Cascade Collegiate Conference action. The men’s game is slated for a 7:30 tip in Eugene, Ore.