KANSAS CITY, MO. — Using their stout defense, Freed-Hardeman University’s Lions held off the Langston Lions to bring home the Maude Naismith Trophy and the Big Red Banner for the second time in three years as 2026 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Champions.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Top-seeded Grand View (Iowa) had the last say in a back-and-forth affair, defeating No. 2 Keiser (Fla.) 22-16 to win the 70th Annual NAIA Football National Championship Saturday (Dec. 20) at Crowley ISD Multipurpose Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas,.
The victory secured the Vikings’ second consecutive football national championship and third overall, having previously claimed the red banner in 2013 and 2024.
The scoring started out slow as neither offense could generate much in the first quarter. However, Keiser (12-1) cracked the scoring column first with a Dorian Hall 27-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the opening frame.
Grand View (14-0) countered with a pair of field goals in the second quarter. Cory Wood connected on kicks from 45 and 41 yards, with the latter coming with 3:08 to go in the half. The Vikings extended their lead to 13-3 when Dalten Van Pelt broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds to go in the second.
Keiser wasted no time in answering, scoring on the opening drive of the second half. Facing fourth and 2 at the 7-yard line, Shea Spencer hooked up with Maurico Porcha for score, cutting Grand View’s lead to 13-10 with 10:19 left in the third. Hall added his second field goal of the day, a 36-yarder, to tie the game at 13-all with 4:26 to go in the third.
Grand View reclaimed the lead with 10:08 remaining in the game when a scrambling Jackson Waring found an open Corey Phillips for a 40-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was no good, leaving the score at 19-13.
Wood tacked on a 32-yard field goal with 2:05 left to give the Vikings a 22-13 advantage.
With two seconds remaining, Hall added a 37-yard field to make the final 22-16. Keiser kept things interesting recovering the onside kick at the Grand View 44 with one second half. Spencer heaved a Hail Mary, but Triston Wilson knocked the ball down to secure the win and national championship for Grand View.
Following the game, Van Pelt was named the Offensive Player of the Game, with teammate Jackson Filer earned Defensive Player of the Game honors. Van Pelt finished with 144 yards rushing and one score on 19 carries. Filer only had three tackles, but all went for a loss of 10 yards as he created havoc in the Keiser backfield.
Waring threw for 144 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-21 passing, connecting with seven different receivers.
For Keiser, Spencer finished with 290 yards on 28-of-50 passing. Porcha and Dallas Desouza each had nine receptions with Porcha covering 114 yards and Desouza 102.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Samaje Morgan poured in a game-high 28 points for College of Idaho and Dougie Peoples added 21, as the Yotes claimed the 2025 NAIA Men’s Basketball Red Banner, leading for more than 38 minutes and never trailing, topping Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 93-65, at Municipal Auditorium in Downtown Kansas City.
Morgan and Peoples were two of the four who reached double figures for the Yotes, who also had 12 points from Johnny Radford, and 10 from Tyler Robinett. Oklahoma Wesleyan ended its season at 28-8, getting a pair of 15-point outings out of Jaden Lietzke and Nick Bene.
College of Idaho (35-2) built an early 11-4 lead when Radford tripled at the 16:56 mark in the first half, but OKWU was able to edge at the lead and get back within one, 18-17, on an Ethan Williams basket in the lane at 13:07.
Over the next seven plus, it was all Yotes, who used an 18-3 run to break the game open and go in front 36-22, on a 3-pointer by Robinett with 7:27 in the opening 20.
Back-to-back OKWU baskets, by Lietzke and Isaac Stanek, got the Eagles back within 11, but C of I scored on its next two possessions, going up 41-25, on the way to a 49-29 lead at intermission.
Morgan had nine of his 28 in the first half, and the Yotes shot 56.5 percent, including 64.3 percent from outside the arc on nine made 3-pointers.
C of I didn’t slow down to begin the second half, up 58-35 at the under-15 timeout, and OKWU didn’t get closer than 16 the rest of the way, as C of I ended the game shooting 55.7 percent, holding Oklahoma Wesleyan to 37.1 percent from the floor.
After the game, the 2025 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship All-Tournament Team and individual awards were announced.
Charles S. Stevenson Hustle Award: Yashi McKenzie, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Chuck Taylor Memorial MVP Award: Samaje Morgan, College of Idaho
Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award: Arizona Christian
All Tournament Team:
Peyton Law, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Jordan Stephens, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Ese Onakpoma, Arizona Christian
Jalik Dunkley, Arizona Christian
Derek Talton, Jr., Oklahoma Wesleyan
Jaden Litezke, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Johnny Radford, College of Idaho
Samaje Morgan, College of Idaho
Tyler Robinett, College of Idaho
Drew Wyman, College of Idaho
DURHAM, N.C. - Second seeded Grand View (Iowa) claimed the 69th Annual NAIA Football National Championship with a 35-7 victory over No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) Saturday afternoon at Durham County Memorial Stadium, dominating the game from start to finish and claiming the program’s second national title 11 years to the date of its first.
This battle of undefeated teams began with a methodical drive from the Vikings, highlighted by a big fourth down pickup when Jackson Waring found Lance Clayburg in the flats who muscled his way for a gain of 19 to get into the red zone. Two plays later, Waring battled through multiple defenders to get inches from the goal line before a clutch punch out from KU defensive back CJ Gilmore knocked the ball free and Hunter Hargrave recovered on the one yard line.
In the shadows of their own goal line, Shea Spencer dropped a 31 yard dime to Refeno Vangates to get some breathing room, but Grand View battened down the hatches to force the punt.
The Vikings went back to work offensively on an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped off with a 14-yard dart from Waring to Aisea Toki on a post route into the back of the end zone to take a 7-0 lead 4:40 to play in the first. It was Toki’s seventh touchdown reception of the season and the 22nd touchdown pass for the NAIA Player of the Year.
Keiser's Andrew Burnette broke off a 28-yard run to break into Grand View territory and eventually set up a fourth down decision from AFCA NAIA Coach of the Year Myles Russ who called Burnette’s number again. The third team All-American running back picked it up easily with a seven yard carry up the gut. However, the Vikings stood tall again at the start of the second quarter as the Iowa-based side found their goal line stand and forced a turnover on downs on the five-yard-line.
Waring showed the dual-threat nature again, breaking off a 53-yard carry to hit 100 yards on the ground on just seven carries for the Grand View signal caller. On second and 19, Waring dropped it into the bucket of Toki again with a 22-yard seam route for their second six-point connection of the day to end a 95-yard drive and take a two-score lead just under 20 minutes into the game.
The Vikings forced a three-and-out on the Seahawks, but the Keiser defense answered the call, capitalizing on a couple of false starts to stall the drive out around midfield ahead of a brilliant punt from Kody Kruschwitz that was downed at the six.
Spencer escaped the deep danger again with a sideline fade for 30 yards to Elisha Edwards, but once again the Vikings forced a turnover-on-downs as Aaron Brown and Dane Johnson led the charge stopping the fourth-down quarterback sneak to take possession on the positive side of the field for the first time of the day at the two minute timeout.
Waring led a clinical drive with the short field and time winding down in the opening half before finding Triston Williams on the post route for a 19 yard touchdown strike. Justyn Hamm cashed in the extra point for the third time in as many tries with 1:05 to go. Waring closed the first half with 111 passing and 148 rushing yards, becoming the first player since Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Patrick Crayton (2003) to eclipse the century mark in both categories in the national title game.
With one minute left in the half and getting the ball back to start the second half, Keiser took advantage of the essential double possession as Spencer threw a beautiful pass with a stunning grab by Maurico Porcha to gain 35 before linking up with the third year wideout on a 26 yard strike across the middle for his eighth receiving touchdown of the season to start climbing the mountain with a 21-7 score line at half.
The adjustments made by Grand View Head Coach Joe Woodley, who was the defensive coordinator last time the Vikings stood tall over the NAIA, were extremely effective and its evidence bloomed early. The Seahawks turned to Burnette to start the second half and the running back opened it with a bang with a 20-yard rush, but the drive stalled out before the defense responded with holding the Vikings to just 30 yards on eight plays. A 55 yard punt from Kody Kruschwitz was downed at the two to again put Keiser in poor field position.
Following another KU three-and-out, Grand View started its second drive in Seahawk territory and called four straight run plays before Waring scrambled and linked up with Corey Phillips in the corner of the end zone for his fourth passing touchdown of the afternoon and Phillips’ fourth receiving score of the year, on a 20 yard completion.
Keiser gutsily went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 19 yard line and went to Burnette again with a 13 yard carry to pick up a fresh set of downs before Spencer scampered for 11 yards himself to get into GVU territory. Spencer scrambled to convert another fourth down just across midfield. Three plays later, the Seahawks were faced with another fourth down and a massive pass break up from Prince Brown forced the third turnover on downs of the day for Keiser. It was Brown’s ninth pass breakup of the season.
The Seahawk defense answered the call with a three-and-out of their own to get the ball back into their offense’s hands but a couple of deep heaves narrowly misconnected, setting the Seahawks up with their sixth fourth down conversion attempt of the day. A check down pass to Jaden Meizinger moved the chains. On second-and-four from the 18, Kellen Moore stayed disciplined in the play action and picked off Spencer in the end zone before returning it 20 yards.
With time and the score on their side, Grand View relied again on the run game and let Dalten Van Pelt feast, giving the running back seven carries in which he picked up 54 yards capped off with an 11 yard rush to the pylon to put a bow on the national title. The run put him over 100 yards rushing, marking the first time in NAIA history that a team has had two centurion rushers in the championship game.
Spencer put together a nice drive to try to get a consolation touchdown, but the Grand View defense stood tall once more to hold Keiser scoreless in a half for the first time since Oct. 7, 2023.
Following the game, Waring was named the Offensive Player and Jackson Filer the Defensive Player of the Game. Waring ended the game with 203 yards rushing, 132 yards passing and four touchdowns. Filer concluded with eight tackles with four solos and a hurry on a defense that held Keiser to just one third down conversion on 13 attempts and allowed zero points on three Seahawk trips to the red zone.
For Grand View, Van Pelt ended the game with 107 yards rushing and a score. John Argo had nine tackles with six solos and a pass breakup.
On Keiser's side, Shea Spencer had 277 yards on 22 completions and a touchdown. Porscha led all pass catchers with 102 yards receiving and Brunette finished with 85 yards on the ground. Evan Jackson led all defenders in the game with 13 tackles with 12 solo; Tristan Vann added eight tackles with seven solos.
The game snapped a 23-game win streak for last season’s champion Keiser. The result also avenged a 2022 semifinal matchup for Vikings in which Keiser went to Iowa and picked up the road win 38-21.
Grand View is now 52-3 dating back to the beginning of the 2021 season. Grand View adds the 2024 Red Banner to the 2013 title in which the Vikings defeated Cumberlands (Ky.) 35-23.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 86th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship concluded on Tuesday night with a hotly anticipated game between a pair of No. 1-seeds in Langston (Okla.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.). Freed-Hardeman picked up the massive win 71-67 over Langston to take home the program’s first-ever Red Banner.
Championship night was rocking from the start inside historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. Through the first seven minutes of play, both FHU and LU traded buckets from the tip as the fan bases of both institutions were loud and proud.
Just five-minutes into the game, Freed-Hardeman had a big block on a three attempt by Toru Dean, but the Miami native snagged the blocked ball out of the air and sank a second three-attempt with tenths of a second left on the shot clock.
As the contest entered the second media stoppage of the first half, Langston was 3-for-3 from the floor and pushed its lead to 20-16. The FHU Lions, however, did not go away and clawed their way back to trail by just two points in the following 12 minutes.
As both teams began to settle into the championship match-up, the pace of play began to settle down as well. With just over four minutes remaining in the opening frame, both teams were nearly equal across the board. LU held the narrow lead in field goal percentage, 46.4% to 45.8%, and three-point shooting percentage, 40% to 33.3%. It was the Langston defense down the stretch of the first half, however, that stole the show. The stingy Langston squad held Freed-Hardeman to long possessions and forced shots.
Langston closed the first 20 minutes on an 8-0 run and held a nine-point, 40-31 lead into the break.
Though both teams shot similarly from the floor in the first half, the Langston marksmen were lethal from three-point land, going 7-for-17 from beyond the arc.
Langston started the final period right where they left off. The team from Oklahoma quickly spread the floor and went end to end on a dunk and continued to pressure the squad from Tennessee.
Through 25 minutes of championship basketball, FHU and LU were tied three different times, and the game saw eight lead changes. Freed-Hardeman slowly began to close the margin, going on a 6-0 run while holding LU scoreless for over three and a half minutes, cutting the deficit to seven.
Langston’s scoring drought ended as Cortez Mosley hit a tough jumper on the inbound pass, pushing its lead back to nine. FHU had a contested look from deep with just under 12 minutes to play, which would have cut its margin to two points, but were unable to connect as it continued to trail 48-43.
Freed-Hardeman stayed persistent on both ends of the floor, putting together a 14-5 run that lasted nearly ten minutes of play, to trail by three. FHU quickly turned their deficit of three points, into a tied game at 50-all with just under eight minutes to play as JJ Wheat hit the shot putting the FHU fans on their feet as the game headed into the under-ten media break.
Freed-Hardeman continued to battle on the defensive end of the floor with the game tied at 59, despite not having a made field goal in the last 3:39 of play as the game clock clicked under five. Entering the final 3:53 of play, LU was shooting 42.9% from the floor, 36.8% beyond the arc, and was 10-of-16 at the foul line. FHU was shooting 47.6% from the field, 21.4% from deep, and converted on 16-of-22 free throws.
Langston’s defense continued to pay dividends down the stretch, earning big stops, allowing them to collect much-needed baskets on the offensive end to break the tie, and lead by four with 2:15 left to play. LU continued to be strong on both ends of the court as it strung together a 7-0 run in that same time frame to lead by six, 66-60.
As the contest dipped under a minute to play, FHU quickly closed the margin back to a one-point game, 67-66. On the Langston in-bounds pass, Peyton Law intercepted it giving FHU a chance to take the lead. After a foul in the lane, which sent JJ Wheat to the line for a chance to tie the game or take the lead; he converted on both shots to put his team up by one with little time left.
Wheat grabbed the game-winning block for FHU with five seconds left on the clock then proceeded to make the layup on the other end giving FHU their first NAIA National Championship win in program history by a score of 71-67.
Overall, in the 2024 NAIA Men’s Basketball championship game, Freed-Hardeman shot 47% from the floor, 20% from deep, and 73% at the charity stripe. Langston posted shooting percentages of 42% from the floor, 36% from beyond the arc, and 62% at the free-throw line. LU outrebounded FHU 39-27 while notching 12, second-chance points, 17 points off the bench, and 26 points in the paint. FHU scored nine, second-chance points, 26 points off the bench, and 38 points in the paint. In the 40 minutes of play, the teams saw a total of 13 lead changes and eight ties.
Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced:
All-Tournament Team
Javan Buchanan – Indiana Wesleyan
Samaje Morgan – College of Idaho
Jake O’Neil - College of Idaho
Jakob Gibbs – Grace (Ind.)
Elijah Malone – Grace (Ind.)
Anthony Roy – Langston (Okla.)
Cortez Mosley – Langston (Okla.)
JJ Wheat – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Hunter Scurlock – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Quan Lax – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award
JJ Wheat – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player
Hunter Scurlock – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award
Grace (Ind.)
DURHAM, N.C. — Keiser (Fla.) used a dominating run game and a stifling defense to claim its first NAIA Football Championship Series title, ending a 27-game win streak by Northwestern (Iowa).
The Seahawks amassed 373 yards on the ground led by Most Outstanding Player Jaden Meizinger's 261 on 22 carries with a touchdown in a 31-21 win over the Red Raiders.
Meizinger broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run right up the middle on the first play from scrimmage to set the tone for Keiser. Nico Cavanillas pushed the lead to 10 with 7:00 left in the second with a 31-yard field goal at the end of a nine-play, 66 yard drive that ate up over six minutes of the quarter with 41 yards coming on seven running plays.
"We worked so hard and I really can't explain it," said Meizinger. "We're just a bunch of underdogs and are really resistant."
The Seahawk defense added a takeaway at the 6:15 mark of the second with a strip sack of Jalyn Gramstad at the 14-yard line, which was punched into the endzone by Andrew Burnette four plays later.
"These kids have done such a great job," said coach Doug Socha. "We have a saying 'ride the wave' and they did it through all the momentum swings."
Gramstad and the Red Raiders took advantage of a Kylar Fritz interception at the Keiser 45 with 1:43 left in the second quarter with a six-play drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to Austyn Gerard with 29 seconds left in the half.
Northwestern was held to 26 rushing yards gained on 14 attempts in the first half which netted -13 yards due to sacks. An offense that racked up the most first downs in the NAIA this season was held to just eight in the first half and 118 total yards with over a third coming on the final drive.
Clayton Bosma came away with an interception in the end zone on Keiser's first possession of the second half and the Red Raiders followed it up with their biggest play of the game, a 39-yard completion from Gramstad to Michael Story. The drive didn't result in points, but Eli Stader's 38-yard punt was downed at the Keiser 1-yard line.
Story had a game-high 121 receiving yards on six catches.
Meizinger got the Seahawks out of the shadow of their own goalpost with a 53-yard run on first down. Four plays later, it was Justin Wake making his first start at quarterback, finding Maurico Porcha for a 30-yard touchdown to go up 24-7 with 5:17 left in the third.
Wake finished 10-of-15 passing for 117 yards. Porcha was the top receiver with 45 yards on two catches.
The Red Raiders attempted to rally in the final frame on Gramstad's second touchdown of the game, a 53-yard strike to Konner McQuillan with 10:54 left to make it 24-14 with 10:54 left. The Red Raiders then recovered an onside kick and seven plays later, McQuillan scored from two yards out to get within a field goal with 7:06 left.
Keiser ended the thoughts of a Northwestern comeback with a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Louis Lubin III. Lubin III also had an interception in the endzone at the 5:02 mark of the final frame to help secure the win.
Gramstad was 15-of-34 through the air for 287 yards and was the leading rusher for Northwestern with 47 yards, but was sacked four times.
"Our guys don't flinch, our coaches did a great job, but most important our players stayed calm and found a way," said Socha.
Maddox Aprile was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player with a solo sack and two assisted sacks among his six total stops.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It took 27 years and a thrilling final 20 minutes of basketball for College of Idaho to earn its second national title. The Yotes held Indiana Tech off just long enough to complete its task and earn a 73-71 victory to hoist the coveted red banner.
College of Idaho did what it has done all season and started off the game red hot. The Yotes took control early and broke-off a 19-4 run to get things started. While the offense was impressive, the defense was just as. One of the top five in average defensive scoring margin in the 2023 NAIA National Championship field, the team from Caldwell, Idaho held the Warriors to six points in the first eight minutes, which set the tone.
The Yotes led by as much as 21 points in the first half as Tyler Robinett led the way. The sophomore was three-for-three from three-point range and led all scorers with nine points. Charles Elzie finished the opening frame with seven as Indiana Tech was able to cut the deficit to 19 before the break. Indiana Tech was held to just over 35 percent from the floor and went 1-7 from the free throw line.
Just 24 hours earlier, Indiana Tech erased a 16-point deficit, 11 at the half on their way to a win over Georgetown. On Saturday night, the Warriors looked to do the same and within minutes, began to cut into the lead.
Down by as many as 23 with just over 16 minutes to play, the Warriors put together a 10-2 run to begin climbing back. By the 12:01 mark, Rog Stein knocked-down a three-ball to put Indiana Tech within 13. Three and a half minutes later, the lead was down to 10 as College of Idaho called a timeout to try to end the momentum.
Indiana Tech climbed all the way back as the time continued to wind down. While College of Idaho was able to keep the Warriors at bay for the most part, they finally began to break through in the closing minutes.
The team from Fort Wayne brought it all the way back to within four, thanks in large part to the 18 points provided by Rog Stein, but came just short of repeating the magic of one night ago in the closing seconds.
Jake O’Neil led the Yotes with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Samaje Morgan added 13 points and Tyler Robinett chipped-in 11. In the end, however, it was Charles Elzie that was named the Chuck Taylor Tournament MVP for his outstanding performance throughout. The junior finished final site play with 67 points.
For Indiana Tech, bot Blake Davidson and Max Perez finished with 12 points while Josh Cline recorded 11 to round out the scorers in double digits, along with Stein’s 18.
College of Idaho finished the season on a 36-game win streak after suffering just one loss in the first game of the season to Arizona Christian.
Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced:
All-Tournament Team
Charles Elzie – College of Idaho
Samaje Morgan – College of Idaho
Tyler Robinett – College of Idaho
Rog Stein – Indiana Tech
Josh Kline – Indiana Tech
Jake Ohmer – Georgetown (Ky.)
Kyran Jones – Georgetown (Ky.)
Josiah De’laCerda – OUAZ (Ariz.)
Kolten Hitt – OUAZ (Ariz.)
Elijah Malone – Grace (Ind.)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award
Grant Smith – Indiana Tech
Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player
Charles Elzie – College of Idaho
Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award
Kyle Blankenship - LSU Shreveport (La.)
NAIA MBB Coach of the Year
Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
DURHAM, N.C. – Scoring 28 second half points, No. 3 seeded Northwestern (Iowa) secure its third-ever NAIA National Championship and first since 1983 by winning 35-25 over No. 12 Keiser (Fla.).
With two of the best offenses in the nation coming into town, the low-scoring first half was seen as a surprise from fans in attendance as both defenses stood tall.
The Red Raiders (13-1) special teams were a crucial factor in the outcome of the first 30 minutes, with a missed field goal on their opening drive along with a massive punt to pin the Seahawks (10-4) inside the two-yard line.
The special teams’ execution didn’t matter to Keiser, as they marched down the field to score the first touchdown of the day thanks to a one-yard rush by running back Marques Burgess.
Northwestern would respond just 18 seconds later as wide receiver Cade Moser broke free for a 69-yard catch and run to even the score at seven, and the two programs headed to the locker room tied.
Quarterback Jalyn Gramstad had a special connection with Moser throughout the contest, as the two opened the second half with an explosive 64-yard end around to take the lead.
Gramstad got it done both in the air and on the ground, finishing the day with 247 passing yards and three touchdown passes along with 128 rushing yards and another score.
His four-touchdown performance earned him Offensive Player of the Game honors, while his teammate Noah Van’t Hof earned Defensive Player of the Game honors with two interceptions to go along with four tackles.
“Jalyn is an outstanding leader and a great player,” coach Matt McCarty said. “He does things the right way and he makes those around him better.”
Keiser would tie the game once again at 14 midway through the third quarter, and was gifted a chance immediately after to take control of the game.
Moser fumbled the ball inside his own 30-yard line on the next possession for the Red Raiders, allowing the Seahawks to try and score with great field position.
Yet the NWC defense bent but didn’t break once more, holding Keiser to a field goal.
The defensive unit for the Red Raiders was the difference maker, holding an offense that averaged over 400 yards per game coming into the contest to just 276 yards. From then on out, it was all Northwestern.
Gramstad would connect with running back Konner McQuillan late in the third quarter for another touchdown pass to retake the lead, and later in the fourth quarter, he would find Blake Anderson to make it a 28-17 game.
The Seahawks refused to go away, as they continued to try and claw their way back into the game, yet struggled after starting quarterback Shea Spencer went down with an injury at the end of the third quarter.
Backup QB Bryce Veasley was thrown into the spotlight and nearly led a comeback for the blue and white, finding the end zone himself halfway through the final frame to make it a one-score game.
Despite his efforts, it was too little too late for the Seahawks, as the explosive offense of Northwestern could not be stopped before they added another score to sink the dagger into the hearts of Kaiser for a final score of 35-25.
Even with the loss, Keiser has cemented itself as one of the top football programs in the NAIA, reaching its first-ever championship in just its fifth year of existence.
For McQuillan and Northwestern, this championship snaps a 39-year drought, which included a championship loss just two years prior in spring 2020. The Red Raiders finished the season winning 13 straight games and their lone loss of the season was by one point to rival Morningside (Iowa).
“For me and some of the other guys, we’ve been here before and lost,” McQuillan said. “So to win a championship is something I can hold my head up high about.”
“I’m so proud of our guys, they’ve built such a great team culture,” McCarty said. “Today is a result of all the work they’ve put in.”
Joshua Bartosik, Contributing Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Top-seeded Loyola (La.) used a 23-4 first-half scoring run and a stout defensive effort to seize its first NAIA national title since 1945 with a 71-56 victory over Talladega (Ala.) Tuesday evening in the 84th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship game at Municipal Auditorium.
Zach Wrightsil led a contingent of four double-digit scorers for Loyola with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Myles Burns added a monster performance of 17 points, 17 boards and four steals to help power the Wolf Pack attack.
The Wolf Pack (37-1) showed their balance during the game’s critical run, as five different players scored during the outburst to help extend the lead to 19 points with just over three minutes to play in the opening half. Wrightsil, who broke Loyola’s single-season scoring record in the opening minutes of the contest, poured home eight of his 10 first-half points during the early run.
Talladega battled back to close the gap to five points in the second half, but the Wolf Pack answered with an 11-2 run to stretch its lead back to double digits. The Loyola defense took care of the rest, limiting the Tornadoes to 35.8-percent shooting for the game to secure the third NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship for the Southern States Athletic Conference.
Defense dominated the early stages of the contest, with the two offenses combining to misfire on their first five shots of the night, before a pair of Terry Smith Jr. buckets, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Brandon Davis and Andrew Fava sparked a 10-4 Loyola run that handed the Wolf Pack an 11-6 advantage.
Talladega (32-6) responded by scoring seven of the next nine points to even the score at 13-13 with just over 12 minutes left in the half, thanks in large part to two Kamron Brice triples.
But Myles Burns triggered the key Wolf Pack run with a trey at the 11:42 mark, before Cameron Dumas tallied four straight points for Loyola to make it a seven-point game. Wrightsil followed suit with back-to-back buckets, and Davis sank another three to extend the margin into double digits. Wrightsil put an exclamation point on the spurt with a dunk, making it a 36-17 contest with 3:14 to play in the half.
Loyola’s defense played a starring role all night, as the Wolf Pack limited Talladega to 7-of-30 (0.233) shooting, including just 2-of-16 (0.125) from beyond the three-point arc, in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
After the Wolf Pack scored eight of the first 12 points after the break, Loyola appeared poised to run away with the red banner. But the Tornadoes fought back, registering an 11-0 run fueled by eight straight points from Darryl Baker. The senior guard drilled three consecutive field-goal attempts--including two from distance—and Davion Thomas connected from long range at the 13:15 mark to pull Talladega to within 44-36.
The Tornadoes drew even closer on another Baker three—his fourth of the second half—that sliced the margin to just five points with 8:26 to play.
But Loyola would not be denied its second national title, as Jaylen Galloway tipped in a Wrightsil miss to initiate an 11-2 run. Davis connected on another three-point attempt, before Wrightsil and Burns joined forces to score six straight points for the Wolf Pack.
From there, the Tornadoes got no closer than 11 points, with Loyola extending its lead to as many as 19 points once again in the closing minute.
In addition to big performances from all-tourney honorees Wrightsil and Burns, the Wolf Pack received a lift from Davis, who added 13 points, and Smith, who chipped in with 11.
Loyola finished with a 47-32 advantage on the boards and a 34-18 edge in points in the paint. The Wolf Pack also forced 18 Talladega turnovers and limited the Tornadoes to just 9-of-27 (0.333) shooting from three-point range.
Baker led Talladega with a game-high 22 points and was joined on the all-tournament Team by teammate Jervay Green.
2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship All-Tournament Team:
Noah Schulte, Concordia (Neb.)
Cash Williams, William Jessup (Calif.)
Bryce Davis, Arizona Christian
Ryan Batte, Thomas More (Ky.)
Jake O’Neil, College of Idaho
Jalen Galloway, Loyola (La.)
Zach Wrightsil, Loyola (La.)
Myles Burns, Loyola (La.)
Jervay Green, Talladega (Ala.)
Darryl Baker, Talladega (Ala.)
Hustle Award:
Darryl Baker, Talladega (Ala.)
National Championship Coach of the Year:
Stacy Hollowell, Loyola (La.)
Chuck Taylor MVP Award:
Myles Burns, Loyola (La.)
Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Team Sportsmanship Award:
Ben Limback, Concordia (Neb.)
National Player of the Year:
Zach Wrightsil, Loyola (La.)
DURHAM, N.C.—Morningside overcame two different seven-point deficits and three turnovers to score the final 17 points of the NAIA Football National Championship to win its third title in four years.
The Mustangs finished the year with a perfect 14-0 record after defeating Grand View 38-28.
“It was tough, but the guys kept playing,” said coach Steve Ryan. “We struggled with turnovers in the first half and our defense came out and played lights-out in the second half.”
Grand View (14-1) forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, then blocked the punt to take over at the Morningside 5-yard line. Ali Scott’s second touchdown run of the game put the Vikings up 28-21 with 12:25 left in the third.
Morningside used a 15-play, 82-yard drive that chewed up 6:25 of the third quarter to tie the game at 28 on Anthony Sims’ third touchdown run of the game from four yards out.
Sims was the Offensive Player of the Game finishing with 145 rushing yards on 27 carries.
A Drew Bessey interception with 12:31 left in the fourth which set up a 34-yard touchdown pass from Joe Dolincheck to Reid Jurgensmeier.
Jurgensmeier had a monster game in the second half, finishing with 216 yards on 13 catches.
“He always played big in big games, and he did today,” said Ryan of Jurgensmeier. “He made critical catches and his last touchdown was phenomenal.”
Both teams scored on their first possessions, going 75 yards each on six plays each. A 30-yard pass from Johnny Sullivan to Anthony Turner got Grand View on the board first just 2:27 into the game and Sims scored from three yards out for Morningside to tie the game with 11:11 left in the first. A two-yard run by Sims at the 6:52 mark of the quarter gave the Mustangs their first lead.
The Vikings took advantage of a pair of turnovers to regain the lead with a one-yard run by Ali Scott to tie it.
Morningside was able to keep points off the board once on a missed field goal following an interception and nearly regained momentum on a long pass to Austin Johnson, but the ball was punched loose by Jianni Angulo after a 57-yard gain.
Grand View answered with a 10-yard reception by Bennett Spry from Sullivan with 3:03 left in the second to go up 21-14.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of them,” said coach Joe Woodley of his Grand View team. “They showed the same guts and fight and execution today as they have all year. Sometimes it’s not enough.”
The Mustangs answered with a 13-play drive to tie the game with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Joe Dolincheck to Austin Johnson with 20 seconds left in the second.
“Joe just puts the ball in the right spot every play,” said Jurgensmeier. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year, and our coaches had good calls and put us in the right spots.”
Jalen Portis was named the Defensive Player of the Game after making five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble, leading a defense that limited the Vikings to 324 total yards.
It was a dream season, indeed.
A fairytale, even.
However, this story is no fairytale -- it's reality.
In Tuesday evening's NAIA National Championship Game, the Shawnee State men's basketball program capped off a dream season, winning its 27th consecutive game en route to its first-ever NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship with a 74-68 victory over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) Tuesday evening at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Shawnee State's men's basketball program (31-2) became the first team since the famed 1998-1999 SSU Women's Basketball program to win a national championship, with these Bears sweeping the Mid-South Conference Regular Season, MSC Conference Tournament, and NAIA National Championship hardware along the path. It's the second group in school history to win a team championship. Seth Farmer's 2019 Men's Indoor Track and Field National Championship in the one mile also joins the group as the national champions at Shawnee State.
SSU, who finished the season with the same mark as the 1998-99 group when it won its national championship -- led for 38:37 of the game's 40 minutes in defeating Lewis-Clark State for the national title.
The Bears, who led by as much as 14 points during the affair, had their lead wittled down to three (65-62), but allowed the Warriors to get no closer in claiming their first-ever national championship.
Defense wins championships
In classic fashion, Shawnee State won the affair with its excellent defensive work as a unit. The Bears held Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) to just 34.8 percent shooting and 31.3 percent shooting from three-point range in the six-point win.
To show how good the Bears' defense was on this day, Shawnee State held Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)'s Trystan Bradley, Hodges Bailey and Travis Yenor to just 6-of-25 shooting and 18 points total between the trio. They averaged 15.9, 13.1 and 10.3 points per game coming into tonight's affair.
Jones caps off Tournament MVP performance in style
Continuing to ball out as he has all season long, James Jones saved one of his best performances of the season for last in the 74-68 win.
Jones, who notched 12 points and six rebounds at the half, added in 15 points and four more boards off the glass en route to a 27-point, 10-rebound effort.
Beyond his clutch bucket-getting mentality -- including a huge three-pointer with 8:18 to go that put the Bears up by a 59-51 margin -- Jones was poised from the free throw line, as well. The senior went 7-of-9 from the charity stripe in the game, including a critical 5-of-6 mark over the game's final 26 seconds to lock up the national championship and bring it home to Portsmouth and Scioto County.
For the season, Jones finished the 2020-21 campaign averaging 20 points per game exactly. He averaged 23 points, seven rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 48.6 percent (34-of-70) for the tournament.
Gilmore huge down stretch
Time after time in the second half, it wasn't just Jones coming up with big plays -- but Amier Gilmore, as well.
With star big man EJ Onu saddled on the bench due to foul trouble, Gilmore played his best game of the NAIA National Tournament in the biggest of moments, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the second half of competition. The junior went 5-of-7 overall from the field and added in six rebounds to boot in the win.
In addition to making a huge impact in Tuesday evening's victory, Gilmore, along with fellow teammates Latavious Mitchell and Miles Thomas, didn't lose a single game they appeared in for the Bears as the trio went a perfect 25-0 in their 2020-21 appearances.
Onu caps four-year career with national title
Capping off undoubtedly the greatest four-year career in the history of the Shawnee State men's basketball program -- and one of the greatest four-year careers at Shawnee State regardless of sport -- EJ Onu saw out the reclamation process that he and fourth-year head coach DeLano Thomas started all the way to the finish line in the six-point win.
Winners of 14 games their first two seasons together, the pair showcased their incredible leadership skills at all stops throughout the last two seasons, leading Shawnee State to a 52-13 overall record over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns and capping it off with the NAIA Red Banner to boot.
Onu now holds 1,578 points, 866 rebounds and 529 blocks for his career to post numbers that are in the top-five all-time in each category. He finished just 78 blocks off of the NAIA's record for blocks in a career while adding never-before-seen defensive highlight reels and numbers that will be remembered for a lifetime.
Additional
Along with the above trio, Miles Thomas posted eight huge first-half points and four rebounds to finish with 10 points and six rebounds in all, while Issac Abergut finished with six points, Donoven Carlisle five, and Jakiel Wells four. Latavious Mitchell's two points were arguably the loudest of the evening, as his putback dunk midway through the first half was a much-needed punctuation for the Bears and rounded out the scoring.
Kobie Johnson, Tre Beard, Shawn Paris, Jr., Markus Geldenhuys, Bailey Davis, Corie Blount, Jr. and Desmond Crosby, Jr. were all integral parts to the success of the 2020-21 Shawnee State unit as players and practice hands, while Thomas, Lindal Yarbrough, Zack Kelly, Jack Trainer, Justin Patrick and Levi Roberts represent the members of the first-ever Shawnee State men's basketball unit to win a championship in program history.
A national championship parade and a following celebration will be conducted tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in Portsmouth. Much more information will be coming in the minutes and hours to follow.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
