SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Zeke Crawford's left-handed hook shot with six seconds left in overtime lifted the Lewis & Clark Pioneers to an 83-82 win over the Whittier Poets in the Pios' final game of the UC-Santa Cruz Holiday Classic on Saturday.

Lewis & Clark held a nine-point lead and controlled the game throughout most of regulation after taking a 30-28 lead with 4:55 reamining in the first half. The Poets rallied over the final 3:30 of the second half to force the extra period and took a one-point lead with 46 seconds left in overtime. Crawford missed a jumper with 25 seconds remaining, but earned a second chance after Journey Shank missed both of his free throws for the Poets. Whittier got the rebound, and Lewis & Clark's Nick Lombardi stole the ball from Ahmad Young with 16 seconds left to set up the Pios' final possession.

Crawford led the Pios with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, all of which matched or exceeded his second-highest totals of the season. Matt Brown added a season-high 17 points.

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Key Moments

Lombardi hit one of his career-high three 3-pointers with just under five minutes left in the opening half to give the Pioneers a two-point edge. He finished with 11 points in 20 minutes off the bench and aided Lewis & Clark's 28-20 advantage in points from the reserves.

The Pioneers went on a 9-0 run fueled by another Lombardi three and two layups by Brian Smith, which accounted for four of his six points. The transfer junior added a career-high six assists as the Pios had 19 assists on 33 made field goals.

Entering the UC-Santa Cruz Holiday Classic, the Pios had made no fewer than 46 percent of their shots in six of their last seven games, but shot under 40 percent for the second straight game on Saturday. Lewis & Clark made 38 percent from the field, but made seven 3-pointers, while the Poets were under 38 percent shooting despite a 10 for 34 performance from beyond the arc.

Lewis & Clark opened the second half with an eight-point lead, but Whittier scored nine of the first 13 points to close the gap to three. The game stayed within a six-point margin for all but 16 seconds the rest of the way. Nick Potthoff's three with 40 seconds left tied the game at 71 apiece and the game went to OT.

In overtime, Whittier (5-4) took the first lead on another Potthoff three. Another from Jude Agbasi with 2:13 remaining gave the Poets another three-point edge. Daelon Floyd's layup put the Pios ahead again, and Brown's free throws and a later jump shot tied the game twice more as the team's went back-and-forth. Crawford's hook shot sealed the game. 

Deeper Look

• Led by Smith's four steals, the Pios finished with a double-digit total for the fourth time in their last five games
• Lewis & Clark outscored the Poets 22-13 off turnovers and 16-10 in second-chance points despite a 56-50 deficit in total rebounds
• Whittier took its largest lead nine minutes into the game on Agbasi's 3-pointer; he finished with 16 off the bench
• Young led the Poets with 23 points followed by Potthoff's 22; both were 8 of 17 from the field with four 3-pointers each
• Christian Pitcher scored 14 on 6 of 13 shooting with a career-high six rebounds
• In 20 minutes, Jack Henderson added two 3-pointers for eight points and four rebounds 
• Floyd finished with six points and seven rebounds

Looking Ahead

The Pioneers evened their record at 5-5 after Saturday's non-conference finale at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Lewis & Clark hosts Pacific on Jan. 4 in its next game.