The Charger men's basketball won 78-73 over the Ottawa University Arizona Spirit in Surprise, Arizona Wednesday evening. Five Chargers scored in double figures in the contest.
 
"Really proud of our guys, found a way to dig deep late in the game to get it done on the road," said Head Coach Mark Svagera. "Made a couple big plays on both ends of the floor, great way to start off the trip."
 
Jamison Helmers paced BCU in the first half of the contest, scoring 12 points and shot four-for-seven from the field. Jaxson Wingert added 10 points and went four-for-four from the free throw line.
 
Late in the contest, Colby Collison knocked down a three followed by a layup on the next possession gave the Chargers a 64-51 lead with 12:06 remaining in the contest.
 
OUAZ came within a possession following a dunk from Jack Galiardi with 2:28 remaining in the contest.
 
The Spirit tied the contest at 73-73 with 37 seconds left. Briar Cliff called a timeout on the ensuing possession. Blake Sindelar coming out of the timeout knocked down a clutch three that put the Chargers up with 10 seconds in the contest.
 
Matthew Stilwill iced the game at the line, converting on both free throw attempts to extend the lead to five.
 
Stilwill finished with a near double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Wil Lugar chipped in 11 points and went a perfect four-for-four from the field with two three-pointers. Helmers and WIngert led the team in scoring with 14 each.
 
"I thought Wil Lugar was a huge spark for us to start the second half, made a couple threes that got us going and really liked the offensive balance we are playing with." said Svagera.
 
The Chargers move to 6-7 on the season and will play again this Friday, at Gilbert Arizona to take on Park Gilbert. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST