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EVANSVILLE, Indiana - The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team captured the program's second NCAA Division II national championship with a perfect season at 38-0 following its 64-58 triumph over Point Loma Nazarene University at the Ford Center.

Northwest becomes only the fifth program to record to complete a perfect season (38-0) and win the national title.

The Bearcats used a key 7-0 spurt at the end of the first half to turn a 29-26 deficit into a 33-29 lead at the break. Senior Joey Witthus hit a bucket in the paint with 1:44 on the clock to pull the Bearcats within one. Freshman Diego Bernard made a layup with 32 seconds remaining until intermission. Point Loma's Josh Rodriguez turned the ball over with four seconds. Junior Ryan Welty got the steal and passed ahead to sophomore Ryan Hawkins who was able to drain a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

Witthus scored 24 points and buried a 38-foot shot-clock buzzer beater with 6:42 left that gave Northwest a 10-point lead at 56-46. Witthus was 6-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Witthus also buried all eight of his free throw attempts.

Point Loma's Daulton Hommes tallied a game-high 26 points and he posted his final points of the contest with two free throws that cut the Northwest leads to 59-54 with 1:35 to play.

With the outcome still in doubt, Hawkins hit basket in the lane to up the margin back to seven with 1:11 remaining. Hommes was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession to give the ball back to the Bearcats. Bernard sank two free throws with :12 left to put the Bearcats up nine at 63-54. Hawkins added one more free throw and Point Loma's Rodriguez scored a pair of layups to give Northwest the national title, 64-58.

NOTES: Hudgins was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Elite Eight ... Witthus was named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament team ... Northwest tied an NCAA Division II record with 38 victories in a season (Ferris State - 2017-18) ... Northwest has won 32 straight games on neutral floors ... it is the 43rd overall team title for an MIAA school ... Northwest was 4-0 against ranked foes in 2018-19 ... Hawkins grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and four steals ... Bernard tallied 14 points ... Hudgins scored 12 points and handed out six assists.