Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks: 2015-16 Southland Men's Basketball Champions

KATY, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin had been dominant throughout the Southland Conference regular season. The Lumberjacks were even better while claiming their third straight conference tournament crown.

Thomas Walkup had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Stephen F. Austin to its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance with an 82-60 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -- its 20th consecutive victory -- in the Southland Conference Tournament championship Saturday night.

"There's nothing greater than Selection Sunday," Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood said. "I am an old-school guy, and when they call your name, the hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I get goosebumps. It is something we will never ever take for granted, and for these guys to be able to do it three times is so special."

Clide Geffrard had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Lumberjacks (27-5), who shot 47 percent from the floor. Ty Charles added 12 points.

Walkup earned the conference tournament MVP for the third straight year.

"That's not something you take for granted," Walkup said of the award. "I think in like 10 or 15 years, I will look back and realize how special it is, but right now, it's all about us making the tournament as a team."

Stephen F. Austin has the longest active win streak in the NCAAs. The Lumberjacks have won 26 straight against conference opponents over the last two years, also the NCAA's longest active streak. Stephen F. Austin, the only NCAA team to go an undefeated 18-0 in conference play this season, advanced to the championship game with a 104-68 win over Houston Baptist on Friday night.

"We are a better team than we were a year ago," Underwood said when asked about the NCAA Tournament. "I'm not sure if that will show in our seeding. ... This team is very good. We are going to go in there and not be afraid of the moment."

Joe Kilgore had 14 points for the Islanders (25-7). Rashawn Thomas added 11 points and nine rebounds and Ehab Amin had 10 points and six rebounds as to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which shot 42 percent.

"Tough night, absolutely," Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Willis Wilson said. "It boiled down to little things that they did and little things we didn't do. ... I thought we did a lot of good things to start the game the way we needed to, but we got a little overextended there and had a hard time regrouping."

After Corpus Christi jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:04, the Lumberjacks responded with a 35-6 run over the next 12 minutes -- led by nine points apiece from Walkup and Geffrard. The Lumberjacks finished the run with 16 straight points.

The Islanders started 3-of-4 shooting, but connected on just three of the next 14 shots and committed seven turnovers during SFA's run.

"We wanted to make them score through our defense in the half-court," Underwood said. "We really felt like we could exploit them in transition. All of that combined -- sitting down and guarding, limiting them to one shot and getting out into transition and running -- was really what broke that stretch open."

SFA went into halftime up 48-29 behind Walkup's 14 points, and pushed its lead to as many as 26 in the second half.

TIP INS

Islanders: Corpus Christi's lone NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2007. The Islanders have never been to the NIT Tournament. ... The Islanders finished 13 of 19 from the free-throw line. ... Hameed Ali earned All-Tournament honors.

Lumberjacks: SFA will be making its fourth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks are 1/3 in their previous three tournament appearances. ... Demetrious Floyd had nine points. ... SFA forced 20 turnovers and converted them into 26 points. ... The Lumberjacks were 22 of 30 from the free-throw line. ... Geffrard and Floyd earned All-Tournament honors.

GETTING TECHNICAL

Thomas and T.J. Holyfield were each issued technical fouls with 9:46 left in the first half after a verbal exchange. Ali was issued a technical foul with 1:17 left in the first half for throwing an elbow.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Await possible postseason bid in a tournament other than the NCAA Tournament.

Lumberjacks: Headed to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

North Dakota State: 2014-15 Summit League Men's Basketball Champions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- North Dakota State appeared to take control of the game with a big run midway through the second half. However, the Bison had to fend off South Dakota State's surge down the stretch to earn a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Lawrence Alexander scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to help North Dakota State hold on for a 57-56 win Tuesday night to take the Summit League tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After cutting a nine-point deficit to one in the final minute, the Jackrabbits fouled Alexander with 8 seconds remaining and he missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving South Dakota State a final shot. However, George Marshall's 3-point attempt was wide left.

"We maybe got a little impatient offensively, but they're a great team," North Dakota State coach David Richman said. "It's a game of runs, and that's going to happen."

A.J. Jacobson added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bison (23-9), who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. Last year, they beat Oklahoma in their first game.

Cody Larson scored 19 points to lead the Jackrabbits (23-10), and Deondre Parks added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Bison had a 17-4 run in the second half and led by nine with just over 6 minutes remaining. However, the Jackrabbits rallied to pull within one in the final minute. South Dakota State had a chance to take its first lead since the 11:11 mark, but George Marshall's shot was blocked out of bounds with 8 seconds remaining.

The call on the court originally went to the South Dakota State, but after an official review, possession was given to North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were forced to put Alexander -- an 81-percent free-throw shooter -- on the line.

"We wanted this stage," Richman said. "We knew our backs were going to be against the wall in a hostile environment with a pro-South Dakota State crowd. But they've (North Dakota State players) handled so many things down the stretch this year."

Despite the missed free throw, Alexander was named the tournament's MVP.

South Dakota State took its biggest lead of the game at 35-31 when Larson scored on his second of back-to-back dunks with 12:35 to play. Larson's dunks capped a 12-3 run after the Bison built a five point lead early in the second half.

But Alexander responded to South Dakota State's surge, hitting two deep 3-pointers in less than a minute, quieting the crowd of 9,033. After North Dakota State built the lead to nine, South Dakota State used a timeout and responded accordingly, setting up the frenzied finish.

The Jackrabbits shot a season-worst 32 percent. They were just 24 percent from the floor in the first half, but were still tied at 23-23 at the break.

"They're a great defensive team, but the only reason we were in the game is because we played good defensively," South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy said. "When you have open shots, you need to be able to knock those things down."

Nagy was proud of the way his team fought back after nearly falling behind by double digits.

Asked what he told his players after the game, Nagy said: "I think most people don't try, and they live in the middle. They don't put their hearts out there and they try and protect themselves. When you do this and you put your heart out there in front of all these people, sometimes it's exhilarating and sometimes it's incredibly painful. But that's what living feels like.

"I hope they live the rest of their lives that way and they don't protect themselves. It's hurtful sometimes. Very hurtful."

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TIP INS

North Dakota State: The Bison outrebounded South Dakota State 43-36. They finished with their second-highest total, two shy of the 45 against Alcorn State on Dec. 22.

South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits entered the game averaging 73.5 points per game and matched their lowest total of the season, set against Bakersfield on Dec. 19.

UP NEXT

North Dakota State: NCAA Tournament.

North Dakota State: 2014-15 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions

FRISCO, Texas -- Carson Wentz didn't come all the way to Texas to be the quarterback for the end of North Dakota State's run of FCS championships.

Faced with that unsettling possibility, Wentz answered with a dramatic history-making drive.

Wentz ran 5 yards for the winning touchdown about a minute after Tre Roberson's 58-yard run put Illinois State ahead, and the Bison became the first team to win four straight FCS titles with a thrilling 29-27 victory Saturday.

"Right when that clock hit zero, I had so many emotions I couldn't say anything," Wentz said. "I didn't know whether to cry or to be happy. It was just unbelievable."

North Dakota State (15-1) lost a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but answered quickly after falling behind. RJ Urzendowski had catches of 32 and 33 yards to get the Bison in scoring range, and Wentz broke a tackle around the 5 and eased into the end zone with 37 seconds left, capping a 78-yard drive in six plays.

Roberson threw three touchdown passes, but also an interception to Esley Thorton in the final seconds trying to get the Redbirds (13-2) in field goal range in their first national title appearance.

"Like we have all year long, we fought really hard to get back in the game after some mistakes and were able to take the lead," Illinois State coach Brock Spack said. "They made some big-time plays at the end to win it. It was just very, very close."

It looked as if the Bison would finally have a disappointing trip to the professional soccer stadium north of Dallas that has become their second home when Roberson faked a handoff to 2,000-yard rusher Marshaun Coprich, went to his left and cut upfield on the midfield logo. He ran untouched to the end zone.

A failed 2-point conversion left the Redbirds with a 27-23 lead with 1:38 remaining.

Wentz hit Urzendowski on a crossing route for 32 yards on the first play of the next drive, and later unloaded the ball deep with pressure coming when Urzendowski, a freshman who had 100 yards on five catches, found the ball while safety DraShane Glass never looked back for the throw inside the 10.

Wentz scored on the next play, to the delight of yet another mostly green- and yellow-clad crowd that celebrated again about 40 miles from where Oregon and Ohio State will play for the first title in FBS' College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on Monday night.

"The first one, I don't know. We didn't draw it up like that," said Wentz, who had 237 yards passing and a touchdown and another 87 yards on the ground. "And the second one, quite frankly, was a terrible throw. RJ made a heck of a play."

The Bison won a de facto Missouri Valley Conference title game between league co-champions that didn't play in the regular season -- the first time two teams from the same conference have played for the FCS crown.

Wentz led a rally that added a title a year after predecessor Brock Jensen set an FCS record for quarterbacks with 48 victories.

"With our guys, I never saw any doubt in their mind," said North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman, the former defensive coordinator who over for Craig Bohl after last season's title. "The way it went back and forth on this kind of stage was pretty special."

North Dakota safety Christian Dudzik had five tackles in his 61st start, believed to be a first for a Division I player, to highlight a senior class that had more national titles (four) than losses (58-3 record). Appalachian State is the only other FCS team to win three straight titles.

Wentz, already the school record-holder for yards passing in a season, threw for 237 yards and a touchdown and had 87 yards rushing.

Roberson, an Indiana transfer, had 161 yards rushing and 157 passing, while Coprich added 106 yards on the ground.

Adam Keller had three field goals for North Dakota State, breaking the FCS single-season record for kickers with 145 points before his final point-after attempt was blocked to give the Redbirds a chance to win with a field goal.

Roberson reached the 44 in the final seconds, but Thorton won a tussle for the ball on a throw over the middle. The interception was held up on review.

"Time was running out," Roberson said. "I was trying to make a play and I made a dumb throw in the middle of the field. I shouldn't have made that throw."