Northwest Missouri State celebrates their first men’s national championship (NW Athletics)
Northwest Missouri became the first school in Division II history to win a Football and Men’s Basketball title in the same year with a 71-61 victory over Fairmont State in the national championship game.
After the football team went undefeated to win the school’s sixth national title in football, the men’s basketball team kept the momentum rolling for the Maryville, Mo based school.
The Bearcats never trailed in the game as they shot .500 from the field and held FSU to just .370 shooting on the afternoon.
Justin Pitts, the National Player of the Year, led the Bearcats scoring 23 points.
The Bearcats finish the season with a 35-1 record and are national champions in men’s basketball for the first time in school history.
Pitts was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Elite Eight.
Ben McCollum was named National Coach of the Year.
Game details courtesy MIAA.com