Omaha: 2024-25 Summit League Men's Basketball Champions

 

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Usually mid-major college basketball programs need to win their conference tournament in order to reach March Madness, but that won’t be the case in Sunday’s Summit League Championship Game.

Omaha men’s basketball will play in the title game having already punched their ticket to their first Div. I NCAA Tournament, thanks to a little-known technicality.

The Mavericks opponent, St. Thomas, is still in its probationary period since elevating to a Division One program in 2021 and is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. If the Tommies were to win the Summit League Tournament, the conferences automatic bid would go to its regular season champion.

Omaha secured its first Summit League regular season title in last weekend’s win over Oral Roberts.

So when the Mavs tip off against the Tommies at 8:00pm on Sunday, there will still be a Summit League Tournament title on the line—but not a trip to the Big Dance.

Lipscomb: 2024-25 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Joe Anderson scored 12 of his team-high 23 points in the final four minutes to help power top-seeded Lipscomb to a 76-65 victory over North Alabama on Sunday to win the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship and claim an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

The Bisons (25-9) finished tied with North Alabama (24-10) for the regular-season championship with 14 wins and were the No. 1 tournament seed. Lipscomb needed overtime to get past sixth-seeded Queens in the semifinals. The Lions were seeded second and beat fourth-seeded Jacksonville to reach the final.

Jacari Lane's jumper gave North Alabama the lead with 11:46 left, and Donte Bacchus converted a three-point play for a 53-49 advantage. Jacob Ognacevic hit three of four free throws and Will Pruitt hit from 3 for a 55-53 lead and Gyasi Powell hit a 3 with 4:13 left to put Lipscomb in front for good.

Anderson hit from deep to make it 65-60 and then hit from 3 in a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 1:34 left and converted 3-of-4 from the line in the final minute.

Anderson was 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-7 from deep, and hit 7-of-8 from the line with 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots to lead Lipscomb. Pruitt was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Powell hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range to add 16 points and Ognacevic had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Lane finished with 18 points and Corneilous Williams scored 15 points with seven rebounds to lead North Alabama. Will Soucie had 10 points with six boards and Taye Fields pulled down 12 rebounds to go with his six points.

Drake: 2024-25 Missouri Valley Men's Basketball Champions

 

ST. LOUIS -- Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points, Tavion Banks added 13 and top-seeded Drake defeated No. 2-seed Bradley 63-48 on Sunday to win Arch Madness for the third consecutive time.

The Bulldogs (30-3) will be making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the past five years. They won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2019.

A 3-pointer by Demarion Burch gave Bradley a 27-24 lead with four minutes left in the first half but the Braves did not score again until 15:20 remained in the second half. Drake finished the first half with a 7-0 run to lead 31-27 and the Bulldogs added the first six points of the second half.

Drake led 46-41 with seven minutes left in regulation then Bradley went cold again. The Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run capped by a dunk and a 3-pointer by Stirtz.

Bradley (26-8) went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a made field goal before Darius Hannah scored in the paint to make it 61-47. Hannah's bucket turned out to be the Braves' only basket in seven attempts over the final 7:17.

Hannah led Bradley with 19 points that included 7-of-11 shooting. Bradley shot 52% in the first half and 28% in the second, finishing at 42% for the game.

Stirtz made 5 of 7 3-pointers and was 7 for 13 overall for Drake. Banks had a game-high nine rebounds. Drake hit on 46% from the field.

High Point: 2024-25 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Bobby Pettiford scored 17 points off the bench and High Point rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to defeat Winthrop 81-69 in the Big South Championship title game on Sunday, giving the Panthers their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Winthrop led by 10 points at halftime and 48-33 with 15 minutes remaining. Pettiford nailed a 3-pointer and followed it with a layup to start a 14-0 run that got High Point within 48-47. Three and a half minutes later, Trae Benham's three-point play broke a 52-all tie and High Point led for the first time since it was 14-13.

The Panthers (29-5) led the rest of the way although Winthrop was within 75-69 with a minute to go. However, the Eagles did not score again and the Panthers went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to close out their first Big South Championship title. High Point has won the Big South regular season title six times.

The Panthers' 14th straight win was due in large part to 50 points from their bench, 44 in the second half. In addition to Pettiford's 17 points, Abdoulaye Thiam had 12 points, Benham had eight points and 10 rebounds, and Terry Anderson added eight points. Kezza Giffa, who scored 16 points, was the only starter with more than six points.

Winthrop (23-11) had five players reach double-digits in scoring. Kelton Talford led the Eagles with 15 points, followed by Bryce Baker with 11, Nick Johnson with 11, Kasen Harrison with 10 and K.J. Doucet with 10 points to go with nine rebounds.