KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3-seed Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team was able to hold on for an 85-79 victory over Philander Smith (Ark.) in the First Round of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium.
 
CSUSM (29-3) led by 11 points with 4:05 remaining, but PSC (20-10) went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to three. However, the Cougars went 6-of-8 from the stripe over the final 1:46 and put up a couple of key stops down the stretch to seal the win.

Julian Camper paced the Cougars by matching his season-high with 25 points, 16 in the first half, and nine rebounds. Blake Nash chipped in 23 points and a game-high eight assists. Tony Freeland added 11 points while Declan Daly pulled down eight boards.
 
With the win, CSUSM advances to the Second Round to face unseeded Arizona Christian (25-8) at 8:45 a.m. PT on Friday, March 20. ACU, ranked 20^th in the NAIA, upset No. 14-seed Georgetown (Ky.), 94-82, in its opening round game on Wednesday morning.
 
"Philander Smith is a very athletic team. We were structured on our offensive end and we deliberately kept them from running," said CSUSM head coach Jim Saia. "Their biggest thing is transition and I thought our offense and what we call our 'spread game' was very good at keeping them off balance."
 
The Cougars, making just their third appearance in the NAIA postseason tournament, got on the board first with an old-fashioned 3-point play by Camper.  The Panthers responded with an 11-2 run and took a six-point lead, 11-5, less than four minutes in.

However, CSUSM responded quickly and retook the lead at the 13:18 mark when Nash found Camper down low for a layup. Nash followed with a 3-pointer from the elbow to make it 18-14 CSUSM.  
 
The back-and-forth first half would feature six more lead changes and four ties. Another old-fashioned 3-point play from Camper sparked a 7-2 stretch over the final 2:02 that helped CSUSM grab a 47-42 advantage going into the break.
 
CSUSM shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first half.
 
The Cougars never relinquished their lead, expanding the gap to 12 points two minutes into the second stanza after a pair of 3-pointers from Taran Brown and easy layups by Camper and Dayton Boddie.

CSUSM led by three possessions until a 3-pointer by Broderick Brandon at the 10-minute mark brought the Panthers within 67-61.

The Cougars expanded their lead back to double digits, 79-68, but PSC picked up its pressure defense and would hold the Cougars scoreless for a 1:59 span. Four CSUSM turnovers turned into five Panther points, and PSC pulled within 79-76 with 2:06 on the clock.

Finally, Nash broke the press and was fouled before making a pair of free throws to make the lead five, 81-76, at the 1:46 mark.
 
CSUSM dug-in on the defensive end before forcing a wild 3-point attempt from Broderick. It missed, and Nash subsequently drained two more free shots at the 1:05 mark.

Ronald March's 3-pointer pulled PSC within 83-79 with 46 seconds left.

The Panthers gasped a sigh of relief when Akachi Okugo missed a pair of free throws with 31 seconds on the clock.

With a chance to pull within a single possession, PSC's Bralyon Spicer had an open left-handed look, but it missed off the front end and was corralled by Camper. Camper was fouled and subsequently his both of his free throws with 20 seconds left to make it 85-79.
 
"I thought Julian Camper was phenomenal. We just have to play defense for 40 minutes because we almost let this slip away," said Saia. "If we had taken care of the ball in the press, we would have won by 15 points. We are just happy to win and advance in this tournament. We play a really tough Arizona Christian team next."

March led the Panthers with 24 points, 16 coming from beyond the arc, and Aquill Baynard added 13 points. PSC has been eliminated in the NAIA First Round in three consecutive seasons.