GREAT FALLS, Mont. – For the second time this season the 16th-ranked Westminster men's basketball team was beat by a half court buzzer beater. Tonight, Mark Celaya threw in a running 50-footer as time expired in double overtime to give Great Falls a 78-77 win. Westminster also lost on a buzzer beater to Montana Tech in Salt Lake City on January 6.

This loss drops Westminster to 20-8 overall and the No. 4 seed in next week's Frontier Conference Tournament with an 8-6 league mark. Great Falls improves to 12-17 and 5-8 with it's first-ever victory over the Griffins in 27 attempts. UGF will be the No. 6 seed for the tournament.

Westminster forced the second overtime when Michael Stockton drove the length of the floor to get a layup in the final seconds of the first overtime to tie the game at 70-70. The Griffins would build a 75-70 lead with 1:28 remaining in the second overtime behind a Jake Orchard free throw and buckets from Stockton and Tanner Gregory.

Celaya would then hit a jumper in the lane for UGF to make it 75-72. Stockton would make two free throws with 32 seconds remaining before Norman Towns connected on a three with 3.3 to play. Stockton would get fouled on the inbound, but he missed both free throws. The second one was rebounded by Celaya who sprinted to half court where he fired and banked in the 50-footer for the victory.

Westminster finished the night shooting 45.8% from the field. They went 16-of-22 at the foul line, but just 8-of-13 after intermission and only 3-of-6 in the second overtime. The Griffins had 16 assists on 27 made field goals with only 15 turnovers. They held UGF to 44.3% shooting and just 8-of-31 from beyond the arc.

Stockton led the Griffins with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Gregory added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Orchard posted 10 points and five rebounds. Chris Cassity had nine points and three assists off the bench.

Mark Celaya led all scorers with 35 points. He went 13-of-27 from the field and had four makes from beyond the arc, including the game-winner. LJ Jones posted a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Westminster will host Lewis-Clark State College in the opening round of the Frontier Conference Tournament on Wednesday, March 2. The 7 p.m. game will feature the 4th-seeded Griffins and the 5th-seeded Warriors in the Behnken Field House.