AZUSA, Calif. –- Trevone Williams rebounded a teammate’s air ball and quickly banked in a layup at the buzzer Saturday, lifting 21st-ranked Cal Baptist to a 78-77 West Regional semifinal men’s basketball victory over Seattle Pacific in the NCAA Division II Tournament at the Felix Event Center. 

The third-seeded Lancers (26-6) advance to Monday’s regional championship game at 7 p.m.

Their only lead during the second half came on the game-winning shot. Ryan Berg’s 3-point attempt from the right baseline didn’t draw iron, instead landing into the hands of Williams, who scored from the left side. He finished with seven points.

CBU gained the final possession when the Falcons’ Matt Borton missed a pair of free throws with 18.2 seconds remaining. He had converted 7 of 8 attempts prior to his final trip to the line.

The seventh-seeded Falcons (24-8) saw their season stopped, along with an eight-game winning streak. The Great Northwest Athletic conference tournament champions fell for the first time in over a month, since Feb. 7.

The balanced SPU attack featured 15-point performances from Borton, Mitch Penner and Riley Stockton, who also contributed eight assists. Cory Hutsen added 10 points.

Borton collected nine rebounds to lead a 31-29 edge on the boards.

Gelaun Wheelwright tallied 27 points, including 4 of 8 shooting on 3-pointers, to pace the Lancers. Chris Brown was their only other double-figure scorer, compiling his entire 17-point output in the second half.

The Falcons led by as many as 11 points late in the second half. Garrett Swanson’s two free throws put them ahead 63-52 with 5:56 left to play.

CBU steadily chipped away at that margin, capitalizing on a stretch when Seattle Pacific missed 4 of 5 free throws. 

Three times the SPU lead was cut to one point, each of them on points by Wheelwright. His final basket, a runner in the lane, made the score 77-76 with 51.4 seconds remaining. Borton’s missed free throws followed on the next possession.

The Falcons converted their first 12 free throws before faltering late and missing 7 of their final 10 tries during the last 3:40.

Cal Baptist shot 48 percent from the field (28 of 58) and made 15 of 16 free throws. SPU countered with 53-percent accuracy (28 of 53) and 15-for-22 shooting from the line.

Neither team led by more than six points in a first half that saw four ties and five lead changes.

Stockton nailed his second 3-pointer to start an eight-point Falcons run. Will Parker finished the surge with a three-point play with 8:51 left in the first half and his team leading 17-11.

The Lancers quickly evened the game with consecutive 3-pointers by Petrulis and Wheelwright.  Following a basket by the Falcons Penner, CBU scored five straight points to claim its largest first-half lead at 22-19 with 3:37 on the clock.

SPU closed with a 10-2 spree over the final 3:17 of the period, including four points apiece from Penner and Hutsen, to take a 29-25 halftime lead.

The Falcons participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II men’s basketball teams. They upset 16th-ranked BYU-Hawaii, the region’s No. 2 seed, on Friday by an 81-69 score.