SAN DIEGO - Marek Klassen drove the length of the court and found a wide-open Greg Murray, who put in the last-second, game-winning layup in Point Loma Nazarene's 78-77 triumph over visiting Westmont Saturday night.

The win lifted the Sea Lions to 11-10 overall, 7-5 against the Golden State Athletic Conference while the Warriors fell to 15-6, 7-5 GSAC. Though the two teams are tied for fourth in the standings, PLNU swept the season series over Westmont and has the tie-breaker in any playoff scenarios.

It was a back-and-forth tilt Saturday. The last three minutes alone saw three ties and three lead changes. Even at 69-all with 2:40 remaining the Sea Lions went up by two after a James Hancock layup. Matthew Hornbuckle answered with a jumper o the next possession to even the score for the Warriors.

Klassen put in a layup at 1:24 but fouled Niko Brooks who sank both free throws for a 73-73 score. Klassen came right back with a three pointer to give PLNU a 76-73 advantage with a minute remaining. Steady at the line all night, the Warriors pulled to within one after Preston Branson made two at the line.

The Sea Lions still had a one-point lead and possession. PLNU was called for a back-court violation, giving the ball and a golden opportunity to Westmont. Loma paid when Blake Bender put in a layup and gave the Warriors a 77-76 lead with eight seconds left in the game.

Point Loma called a time out to regroup. When the Green and Gold came out of the break Klassen took the inbound pass and headed down court.

“I was taking the ball past half court and was looking to kick it to a shooter,” Klassen said. “I knew we'd have enough time; we practice that all the time. Eight seconds is plenty of time for a good shot.”

With the clock ticking down and the crowd on its feet, Klassen looked like he was driving for a layup, but instead spotted Murray near the basket.

“The game plan was to have Marek create,” said Murray.” I saw my guy cheating a little and he (Klassen) found me. It just worked out.”

It worked out because Murray pushed the ball off the glass and into the net. The Warriors were left with only 1.2 seconds on the clock but their inbound pass was stolen by Klassen, sealing the much-needed win for Point Loma.

“We were in a slump,” said Klassen who scored a team-best 16 points. “Mentally, physically and emotionally this is a boost for us. Hopefully it's a turning point in the season and we can start putting up more wins.”

Westmont scored the first 10 points of the game, PLNU failing to register a point until a Todd Campbell free throw three and a half minutes in. That started an 11-0 Sea Lion run. Point Loma would gain control of the half, going up by as much as nine before going into halftime with a six-point lead.

The Warriors fought back in the second, pulling even at the 8:18 mark. WC had its biggest lead at 4:47, 66-61. A 9-3 PLNU run was capped off by a Murray dunk at 3:24, setting up the thrilling finish.

I'm really excited to sweep Westmont,” Murray said. “They are a good team and anytime you can get a sweep, it's big-time.”

PLNU will try to register another season sweep when Vanguard comes to Golden Gym on Tuesday for a 7:30 pm tilt. The Sea Lions defeated VUSC 83-70 earlier this year.