ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Central Washington's Samaad Hector made a last-second 3-pointer to hand Montana State Billings an 81-80 defeat in the semifinal round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament Friday night.
The Yellowjackets, the tournament's No. 1 seed, led 73-63 with 2:32 left after a 3 by Zharon Richmond. But CWU closed the game on an 18-7 run to stun MSUB.
Two Daniel Moody free throws gave the Jackets an 80-76 advantage with 24 seconds remaining. Central Washington answered with a shot in the paint by Bradley Swillie to cut the MSUB's lead to two.
Newly minted GNAC player of the year Jalen Tot then missed two fuol shots with 11 seconds left, which set the stage for Samaad's 3-point heroics to give CWU the victory.
Central Washington advanced to face Alaska Anchorage for the GNAC championship Saturday night.
Richmond, a Billings Skyview alum, led MSU Billings with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Tot added 14 points with four 3-pointers, and Daniel Moody had 11 points and seven boards. Bryce Whitaker came off the bench to score 13 points.
