1995 Championship

1995 NAIA D-II National Championship Game at Northwest Nazarene Nampa, Idaho

Bethel 103, Northwest Nazarene 95 (OT)

No one realized this game would be the basis for three more sequels in the next four years. Bethel’s first appearance in an NAIA D-II national championship game was not only a vision of a great run in college basketball, it was one of the best come-from-behind victories in the history of national championship games.

With over 4,000 fans cheering for NNC, the game appeared simply to be a formality before the home team’s celebration. The two teams traded shots, sweat and soul for over 39 minutes before NNC appeared to have the upper hand. A four-point lead with less than :13 to go seemed to insure a victory for the home team.

Freshman Rico Swanson, who earned a name for himself during the tournament with his exciting defensive play and would later make a name for himself among the best NAIA players of all-time, hit a short runner in the lane. He was fouled. Swanson’s free-throw drew the Pilots to within one, 86-85, with just over a dozen ticks left on the clock.

Bethel had to foul quickly and pray for a miss. The Crusaders were able to run the clock down to :05.9 before the Pilots fouled. Two made free throws gave the hosts a three-point bulge, and the local fans could taste the sweetness of victory. But less than six seconds was all the time Mark Galloway needed to deeply etch his name in the record books and on the memories of basketball fans everywhere. After a time-out, the senior took the inbounds pass and dribbled toward the goal. After slightly fumbling the ball near the timeline, Galloway headed toward the right-wing for a shot he had drained a thousand times as a kid: a shot to win (or at least tie) the national championship game.

Galloway launched the shot, and all of Michiana celebrated as it swished through the hoop.

That sent the game into overtime tied at 88-88. The Pilots dominated the extra session. With Galloway’s 35-foot bomb starting the overtime, Bethel went on to claim its third national title in four years, 103-95.

Tournament MVP Galloway finished with 26 points, and became the school’s all-time leading scorer with the final two free throws of his career. Senior Jody Goralski added 24 points, while Von Gilbert scored 21 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Gilbert’s triple at the end of the first half – by some estimates a 40-footer – gave Bethel some momentum entering the intermission. Swanson finished with a career-high 24 and Mike Miller dished a career-high 11 assists.

The next day, the Pilots were greeted by hundreds of well-wishers at Bendix Field. The police-escorted bus ride back to campus featured a procession that was over a mile long.

Prior to the championship game, Bethel, which entered the game as the third seed, cruised. In the first round, Bethel beat Minot State (ND), 89-69; in the second round, 19th ranked Lewis & Clark (OR) fell, 96-79; in the quarter-finals, seventh ranked College of the Ozarks (MO) was beaten, 99-67; in the semi-finals, 10th ranked William Jewell (MO) was ousted, 96-87.

BETHEL (103): Galloway 26, Goralski 24, Swanson 24, Gilbert 21, Miller 6, Romer 2, Obermeyer 0, McBride 0, Clay 0.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE (95): Herron 22, Scott 12, Etete 25, Garcia 10, Tn. Schumacher 15, Td. Schumacher 3, Tamminga 4

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