Liberty: 2018-19 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scottie James' layup with 55.8 seconds left put Liberty ahead to stay and the Flames capped their first season in a new conference by topping Lipscomb 74-68 Sunday for the ASUN Tournament championship and their first NCAA Tournament trip since 2013.

A year after losing the Big South Conference tournament final on a 3 at the buzzer, Liberty won at packed Allen Arena in a game that featured 18 lead changes in the second half. The Flames won for the second time this season on Lipscomb's home court.

Liberty (28-6) switched to the ASUN Conference for this season and split the regular season title with Lipscomb. The Flames earned their fourth NCAA Tournament bid overall and first since playing in the Big South.

The Flames, from Lynchburg, Virginia, were up 29-28 at halftime and never led by more than four.

Garrison Mathews, the ASUN player of the year, made a pair of free throws with 1:31 left to give Lipscomb its last lead at 66-65. James then scored, and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz hit a 3 with 14.8 seconds remaining for a 70-65 lead. James added two free throws with 8.4 seconds to go for the final margin.

James led Liberty with 17 points. Pacheco-Ortiz added 16, Lovell Cabbil Jr. had 14 and Caleb Homesley 11.

Lipscomb (25-7) was trying to seal its second NCAA Tournament berth. The Bisons beat Florida Gulf Coast on the road last year in the ASUN Tournament championship game.

The Bisons led 28-20 with 4:52 left in the first half. Liberty scored the final nine capped by a layup by Cabbil giving the Flames a 29-28 halftime lead.

Matthews finished with 21 points, Rob Marberry had 18 and Kenny Cooper 14 for Lipscomb.

BIG PICTURE

Liberty: The Flames play some of the best defense in the country, coming in ranked fifth nationally giving up just 60.5 points per game. They showed off just how disruptive they can be against Lipscomb.

Lipscomb: Now the Bisons have to sit, wait and hope that a NET ranking of 42 along with victories at SMU, then-No. 18 TCU, Navy and Vermont help them earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

NCAA Tournament bracket announcement on March 17.

Bradley: 2018-19 Missouri Valley Men's Basketball Champions

ST. LOUIS -- Bradley rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006, beating Northern Iowa 57-54 Sunday in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game.

Elijah Childs scored 16 points and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 13 for fifth-seeded Bradley (20-14). The Braves advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time overall -- in their last appearance, as a 13th seed, they beat Kansas and Pittsburgh before losing to Memphis.

Bradley trailed 35-17 with 17 minutes left to play. The Braves used a 12-0 run to get close, then scored six straight points to go up 55-50 on a layup by Childs with 1:41 left. Lautier-Ogunleye had four free throws during the late surge.

Luqman Lundy had 11 points as Bradley won the MVC Tournament title for the first time 1988.

AJ Green led sixth-seeded Northern Iowa (16-18) with 23 points.

The Panthers rushed to a 14-2 lead. Bradley had separate stretches of nearly nine minutes and more than six minutes where it didn't score in the first half, then hit 15 of 26 shots after the break.

ON TARGET

Northern Iowa went 8 of 20 from 3-point range and has made at least one 3-pointer in 628 successive games, the longest streak among MVC teams.

Gardner-Webb: 2018-19 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

RADFORD, Va. -- DJ Laster scored a career-best 32 points and Gardner-Webb beat Radford 76-65 on Sunday to win the Big South Tournament championship and earn its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Laster had 30 of the Runnin' Bulldogs' first 44 points, including seven during a 13-5 second-half run that gave them a 46-33 lead. Gardner-Webb (23-11) twice saw its lead shrink to five, but each time answered with the next points to hold off the Highlanders.

David Efianayi added 15 points, all in the second half, and Jose Perez had 11 for Gardner-Webb.

Donald Hicks had 17 points, Ed Polite Jr. 15 and Carlik Jones 14 for Radford (22-11), which was trying to win its fourth conference title and seeking a repeat of last season, when it won its first NCAA Tournament game.

The Highlanders never fully recovered after going scoreless for 8:08 in the first half as the Bulldogs ran off 11 consecutive points and built a 20-7 lead. They closed to within five by halftime and twice down the stretch, but couldn't stop the fourth-seeded Bulldogs, who earned their spot in the championship by knocking off top-seeded Campbell on Friday night.

Radford won the only regular-season meeting, 75-58, also at the Dedmon Center.

Gardner-Webb led 27-22 at halftime and was up 33-28 before Laster led a 13-5 run with seven points, including one of his two 3-pointers and a dunk.

BIG PICTURE

Gardner-Webb: Laster's huge day helped the Runnin' Bulldogs overcome the absence of scoring leader David Efianayi (18.5 points per game) from the score sheet until he made a pair of free throws with 12:18 remaining. Efianayi followed shortly thereafter with a dunk and carried the scoring down the stretch.

Radford: The game may have been the last at home for Ed Polite Jr. a first-team All-Big South selection who fouled out with 31.6 seconds left. Polite had 15 points and five rebounds and is the only player in league history with 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 175 steals, 175 assists and 150 blocks.

UP NEXT

Gardner-Webb: Will play in the NCAA Tournament.

Radford: Will hope for a postseason invitation.

Murray State: 2018-19 Ohio Valley Men's Basketball Champions

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Murray State guard Ja Morant was determined to finish the job Saturday night.

With the Racers' NCAA Tournament hopes on the line, the sophomore standout came through in the second half in front of more than 10,000 fans at Ford Center. Morant scored 22 of his 36 points after the break and made all nine of his free throws to give Murray State a 77-65 victory over Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game.

The Racers (27-4) earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament -- the first spot to be taken this year and the team's second consecutive berth under head coach Matt McMahon.

During Friday's semifinal win over Austin Peay, Morant missed five of his 15 free throws. That stuck with the 6-foot-3 point guard.

"I was a little frustrated with myself last night ... I mean, they're free,'' Morant said. "Tonight, I was just locked in and just followed through with all my shots and was able to make them.''

Morant, the OVC Player of the Year, played the entire 40 minutes. He was 13-for-25 shooting and added seven rebounds and three assists. He scored eight successive points down the stretch in the second half to help withstand a rally by Belmont (26-5), which saw its 15-game winning streak end.

After his assist on Tevin Brown's 3-pointer to put the Racers up by six with 56 seconds left, Darnell Cowart drew a charge on the next possession to essentially seal the win.

Murray State outscored the Bruins 11-0 over the final 2:25.

"We found a way to get it done in the second half,'' McMahon said. "I'm just so proud of our team.''

Shaq Buchanan was the primary defender on Belmont sharpshooter Dylan Windler, who had 17 points but was just 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bruins led 31-26 at halftime but allowed the Racers to go on a 14-2 run early in the second half that changed the complexion of the game.

Overall, there were 15 lead changes. Windler had just two points in the first half but turned it on late. He went on a 6-0 personal run and then made a jumper to put the Bruins ahead 63-62 with 3:40 left.

Morant continued to draw contact. He shot more free throws than the Bruins, who were 8-for-11 at the stripe. It was the second matchup this season between the OVC powers. Belmont won the first, 79-66, on the road on Jan. 24.

KEY STATS

Murray State shot 58.6 percent in the second half after a 36.4 percent clip in the first. ... Belmont connected on 7 of 32 from the perimeter (21.8 percent). ... Murray State made more free throws (16) than the Bruins attempted (11). ... It also out-rebounded Belmont 47-31 with three players tallying nine or more. ... The Racers had a 48-32 scoring advantage in the paint.

TRAINERS ROOM

Belmont played without 6-foot-11 center Nick Muszynski, who suffered an ankle injury in Friday's semifinal win over Austin Peay. The OVC Freshman of the Year averages 14.9 points and led the league in field-goal percentage (60.8) and blocks per game (2.2).

UP NEXT

Murray State: The Racers are headed to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time this decade.

Belmont: The Bruins are forced to wait a week until Selection Sunday to learn their fate. They will hold out hope their resume is viewed favorably by the selection committee to be an at-large team. If they land outside of the bubble, they will play in the NIT as the OVC regular-season co-champion.