SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — With Northwest Missouri State playing airtight defense, Fairmont State’s transition attack never got rolling in the Division II national championship game.
The Falcons were held to a season-low output as Northwest Missouri State won 71-61, becoming the first team to claim football and basketball titles in the same season.
“We picked a bad day to play bad, but I think Northwest Missouri had a lot to do with that,” said Fairmont State coach Jerrod Calhoun.
Fairmont State (34-3) got 24 points and seven rebounds from All-American forward Matt Bingaya but needed him longer than the 22 minutes his foul trouble allowed.
With Bingaya spending long stretches on the bench, the Bearcats’ Chris-Ebou Ndow capitalized for a career-high 18 rebounds.
Fairmont State, which came in making more than 11 3-point baskets per game, went 3-of-17 from deep and couldn’t approach its 95-point average.
Elite Eight MVP Justin Pitts scored 23 for the Bearcats (35-1), playing 40 minutes and committing just one turnover against the Falcons’ full-court pressure.
“He’s as good a player as there is, especially for being on partial scholarship,” Northwest Missouri State coach McCollum said. “We got lucky with him.”
The Falcons, after trailing for a combined 14 seconds in their prior two Elite Eight victories, spent most of the second half trying to climb back from a 14-point hole. They never got closer than seven.
Thomas Winbush finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Fairmont State, which had averaged 16.7 assists but recorded only four Saturday.