Box Score KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top-seeded Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team erased a 19-point second half deficit to force overtime, but could not hold off No. 8 seed Emmanuel in the extra period as the Lions ended the Cougars season, 93-89, in quarterfinals of the 77^th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Arena.

Down 40-61 at the 8:11 mark, the Cougars went on a 23-4 run to tie the game at 64-64 with 2:36 remaining. Michael Stanley made a pair of free throws to put EC up three, but Zack Zaragoza answered with a 3-pointer from the left side of the arc that forced overtime with the score tied 74-74.

Malcolm Lemmons' 3-pointer on the Cougars' first possession handed CSUSM its first advantage since leading 1-0 24 seconds into the game.

However, EC would score 11 of the game's next 13 points to go up six. The Cougars battled back once again, answering with an 8-2 spurt to tie the game with 1:16 to play. EC answered with a bucket and a pair of free throws off of a turnover to re-take a four-point lead.

Bobby Macias nailed a pair of free throws to pull within two, and the Cougars earned an opportunity to tie it when Stanley made just 1-of-2 free throws with 22 seconds remaining to make the score 92-89.

But, CSUSM couldn't find the game-tying basket, as Jason Johnson's 3-pointer missed short and Lemmons' attempt never reached the rim. Adam Eakles got the offensive rebound, but his pass to Zaragoza was stolen by Jeremy Burgess at the top of the key.

Stanley then hit a pair from the charity stripe to ice the game.

"We got the lead in the overtime, we just didn't make the stops we needed to make," said Cal State San Marcos head coach Jim Saia. "We had some ill-advised fouls and kept putting them on the line. I thought we were at the breaking point. When Malcolm (Lemmons) hit the three at the start of overtime, I thought we were going to win the game."

The Cougars finish the season 32-2 overall. CSUSM spent seven straight weeks at No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll heading into the tournament.

Macias led the way for the Cougars with 25 points and five rebounds, converting eight of his 12 field goal attempts as well as eight of nine free throws. Four other players scored in double figures for CSUSM: Johnson (14), Quincy Lawson (13), Zaragoza (12), and Lemmons (11).

A first half that included three significant scoring runs went in favor of Emmanuel, which surged ahead by double digits twice in the opening twenty minutes. The Lions used a 13-5 spurt to the 10:56 mark to take a 19-7 lead, only to see the Cougars answer with 12 straight points to tie the teams with 6:12 until half. Emmanuel finished the half by outscoring San Marcos, 16-5, taking a 35-24 lead into the intermission.

Emmanuel shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) in the first half while holding CSUSM to 28.1 percent shooting.

Adrian Justice scored a season-high 30 points off the bench to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists for Emmanuel. Michael Stanley delivered 22 points and 11 rebounds, Zach Lillie tallied 12 points and six rebounds, while Luke Miller chipped in with 10 points.