Saint Martin's grabbed a dramatic victory and Western Oregon took a dominating win Friday in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament.
Luke Chavez hit a jumpshot with two seconds left to lift Saint Martin's to a 69-68 win over Western Washington in afternoon action at the Alaska Airlines Center. In the other game, Western Oregon overwhelmed Seattle Pacific 97-70.
The Saints (24-6) will meet regular-season champion Western Oregon (28-1) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday for the GNAC championship.
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Saint Martin's advanced thanks to the clutch shot by Chavez, who finished with 20 points.
The Saints led for the first half and nearly all of the second half. Western Washington (21-8) trailed by eight with less than three minutes left but tied it 67-67 with 40 seconds left on a 3-pointer Trevor Jacinsky, who drained two treys in the run that brought the Vikings back.
Western Washington took a 68-67 lead when Trey Drechsel hit one of two free throws with four seconds left. Two seconds later, Chavez nailed the game-winner.
In the other semifinal, Western Oregon shot 59 percent to roll past Seattle Pacific (17-12). Tanner Omlid led the Wolves with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.