EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Trevor Hudgins hit five 3-pointers and finished with 31 points to help fifth-seeded Northwest Missouri State beat Augusta 67-58, and the Bearcats became the first program in history to win three consecutive Division II national championships.
Northwest Missouri State (34-5) has won four of the last five titles.
Augusta trailed by 18 before using a 22-5 run to trim its deficit to 57-56 when Miguel Arnold made a 3-pointer with 2:38 to play.
But the Jaguars missed their next seven field-goal attempts and Northwest Missouri State — which made 3 of 7 from the free-throw line to that point — hit 8-of-10 free throws from there to seal it.
Tyshaun Crawford had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for No. 3 seed Augusta (33-4).
