When the moment got big, the Chargers rose to the occasion. The Charger men's basketball team knocked off the #12 Northwestern Red Raiders 74-73 inside the Newman Flanagan Center. With seven seconds left in the game, the Chargers got the ball in the hands of
Matthew Stilwill. Stilwill drove from the right wing, did a euro-step between two defenders, and put up a floater over the help side defender to give the Cliff the lead with one second remaining.
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"That was a February GPAC grinder and I'm really proud of the way our guys stuck together, fought through adversity, and found a way to get that one done," said Head Coach
Mark Svagera. "In a game of big plays on both sides, I thought our guys really fought on the defensive end. I thought they executed our game plan, just really happy with how the guys are fighting as we get to the stretch of the season here."
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With 2:20 remaining in the contest, the Chargers and Red Raiders were tied 65-65 after Stilwill drilled a three ball. With the Cliff Trailing 67-65,
Quinn Vesey knocked down a triple to give the Chargers a one-point lead with less than a minute to play. With 18 seconds left,
Blake Sindelar was fouled and sent to the line. He made a pair of free throws to give BCU a 72-71 lead. The Red Raiders Alex Van KalsBeek converted on a spin layup to put Northwestern up by one with eight seconds remaining before Stilwill's game winner.
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Sindelar led the way with 19 points on 50% shooting from the field and collected six rebounds. Stilwill added 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Wil Lugar ignited the crowd inside the Newman Flanagan Center, scoring 11 points, two which came on a steal that led to a slam on the other end, and a put-back dunk early in the second half.
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The Chargers improve to 15-10 (9-8 GPAC) on the season. They are 10-2 when defending home court. BCU will travel to Hastings this Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 3:45 p.m.
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