Sunday, March 10, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS – After rising to the to the top following an exciting GNAC Championships, Saint Martin’s, Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon have all earned invitations to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship West Region, which begins on Friday at Point Loma’s Golden Gymnasium in San Diego.

The Falcons earned the GNAC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championship and the region's No. 2 seed with a 78-66 victory over Western Oregon in the finals of the GNAC Championships. Seattle Pacific enters the tournament on a 12-game win streak after the Falcons swept the second half of their conference schedule and their two GNAC Championships games. Seattle Pacific will face No. 7 seed Chaminade, which finished third in the PacWest Conference and advance to the conference's tournament semifinals.

This is Seattle Pacific’s 14th NCAA Championships appearance in the school’s GNAC era and the first appearance since 2016.

The GNAC regular-season champion, the Saints were awarded the No. 3 seed in the West Region and will play No. 7 seed Chaminade in the first round. It is the second-straight NCAA Championship appearance for Saint Martin’s which advanced to last year’s semifinals. The Saints will play No. 6 seed Concordia-Irvine, which advanced to the PacWest Championships final and fell 67-58 to Point Loma.

Western Oregon earned the No. 8 seed in the West Region thanks to making its fourth appearance in the GNAC Championships final in as many years. The Wolves knocked off Saint Martin’s, 70-53, on Friday to advance to the final. Western Oregon enters the tournament having won five of their last seven games. The Wolves will face No. 1 seed and tournament host Point Loma, which earned both the PacWest regular-season and tournament championships.

This is the fourth all-time appearance for Western Oregon and the program’s second consecutive trip to the West Regional.

Also in the West Region field is No. 4 seed UC San Diego, the CCAA Tournament champion, and No. 5 seed Cal Poly Pomona, which tied UC San Diego for the regular-season championship.

NCAA DIVISION II MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
At Golden Gymnasium, San Diego
Fri., Mar 15 – Quarterfinals
No. 3 Saint Martin's vs. No. 6 Concordia Irvine, Noon
No. 2 Seattle Pacific vs. No. 7 Chaminade, 2:30 p.m.
No. 4 UC San Diego vs. No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona, 5 p.m.
No. 1 Point Loma vs. No. 8 Western Oregon, 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 16 – Semifinals
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.

Mon., Mar. 18 – Championship
Semifinal Winners, 7:30 p.m.