Phoenix, AZ- Needing a win against Vanguard to stay in the GSAC playoff hunt, Arizona Christian used overtime to knock off the Lions 88-81 on Saturday afternoon.  Sophomore Patson Siame played a huge role in the win with a line of 9-12 shooting, 19 points, 21 rebounds, and four blocks.

The game could not have started any better for the Firestorm (17-10, 4-10 GSAC) as they forced the Lions (6-22, 4-10 GSAC) to miss their first six shots as ACU made four of their first five shots and built a 10-0 lead and eventually a 12-2 edge.  Senior Mishima Gray scored five of those first 10 points.

But Vanguard countered with a 12-2 run of their own to create a 14-14 tie.  VUSC grabbed the lead twice.

Junior Jason Smarr knocked down a three pointer to push ACU in front 20-18.  ACU stayed ahead the rest of the half.

At the break with ACU up 41-33, Freshman Lawrence Combs, making his third start of the season, topped the Firestorm with 11 points.  Siame was already up to 14 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Combs scored the first five points of the second half including his second three pointer of the day.  Senior Chris Sterling followed with his first three pointer to give ACU a 16 point cushion.

With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Arizona Christian held a 14 point advantage (58-44).  Facing the potential of missing the playoffs as well, VSUC fought back and outscored ACU 31-17 in the final minutes of regulation.

The Firestorm were up 73-68 with 2:20 to go but the Lions used a three pointer and a jumper to tie the game.  Siame threw down a dunk after a nice pass from Sophomore Carter Wilson with just 65 seconds to go.  But 25 seconds later, VUSC's Brandon Hood converted a jumper for a 75-75 tie to force overtime.

In the extra session, the Lions used an "and one" to move up three on their first possession.  But ACU would not allow VUSC to score again until 13 seconds remained.  Meanwhile, the Firestorm rattled off 13 unanswered points to secure the victory.

Hood topped all scorers with 22 points for the Lions.  Siame delivered 19 points.  Combs recorded a career high 18 points.  Sterling accounted 15 of his 17 points in the second half and overtime.

ACU shot 51.6% for the game and outrebounded VUSC 54-37.  Siame pulled down 18 of his 21 boards- the highest total in the GSAC this season- on the defensive end limiting Vanguard's second chance opportunities.  Sterling and Combs just missed their own double-doubles by a combined three rebounds.

With the ACU win, the Firestorm and Lions are both 4-10 in the GSAC fighting for the sixth and final playoff spot. If they remain tied in the final two games, the first tie breaker is head-to-head which they split.  The next tie breaker is head-to-head against the rest of the conference beginning with the top teams- ACU's win over current top seed Hope International would give them the edge.

Playing in their final home game, ACU MBB honored their four seniors- (l-r) Chris Sterling, Steven Loucks, Mishima Gray, and Shy McClelland- after the game.

The Firestorm will conclude the regular season with a road trip to Northern California.  On Thursday, they will face-off with William Jessup at 8:30 pm AT/ 7:30 pm PT.  The Lions will host Westmont on Thursday at 7:30 pm.