SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Chris Dowe and Jeremy Kendle scored 16 points apiece and Bellarmine held on to defeat BYU-Hawaii 71-68 to win the NCAA Division II championship at the MassMutual Center.
Justin Benedetti added 15 points for Bellarmine (33-2), which had five players score double figures. Tsung-Hsien Chang led BYU-Hawaii (22-9) with 35 points after scoring 43 in the semifinal to earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament.
It was the first appearance for both teams in the Division II championship game.
BYU-Hawaii overcame turnovers down the stretch to get within 69-68 on Heath Gameren’s 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left. The Seasiders had the ball with 2.1 seconds remaining, but Bellarmine broke up a long inbounds pass and time expired before BYU could get off a shot.
Braydon Hobbs and Luke Sprague each scored 10 points for Bellarmine. Okesene Ale added 17 points for BYU-Hawaii.
