KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City University became the first repeat champion in NAIA Division I men's basketball in nine years with a 75-72 victory over Mountain State (W.Va.) on Tuesday at Municipal Auditorium.
The Stars captured their second championship in as many years, giving OCU six NAIA titles in men's basketball and 33 NAIA crowns in all sports. OCU withstood a late push from Mountain State.
Jason McGriff, James Spencer and Adron Marshall each dropped in 3-pointers to rally Mountain State from a 72-59 deficit with 44 seconds remaining. Jarvis Jackson and Spencer came up with steals off Mountain State's press to aid the run.
Kameron Gray sank three free throws in the final 15 seconds to help OCU hang on for its 15th consecutive win to end the season 31-7 and win the title.
"They're a good ballclub," Gray said of Mountain State. "They hit a lot of 3s. We just kept our head down and hit our free throws at the end. I'm just glad I had the opportunity."
Ollie Bailey of OCU added NAIA Division I player of the year to his conference player of the year award. Bailey grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds and scored 15 points. Willie Irick led the Stars with 22 points.
Gray earned the Chuck Taylor tournament most valuable player award for the second year in a row. Gray added 20 points and four assists.
OCU coach Ray Harper was named NAIA Division I coach of the year after winning his fourth career national title in his ninth championship game, the last three title appearances in the NAIA with the Stars.
"Our president has already said he's looking forward to three in a row next year, so no pressure there," Harper said. "That's our goal every year. If we're going to play the games, our goal is going to be to win the national championship.
"When I took the job three years ago, I told the returning seniors we were going to win and win right now. I didn't think it would be fair to them to take a couple of years to build the program back to what it was. We made a run and got beat on a last-second shot, or else it would be three in a row."
McGriff led Mountain State (34-3) with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Jackson added 15 points, while Spencer ended nine points below his average at 14 points.
"The job Ronald Taylor did on James Spencer was the difference in the basketball game," Harper said. "The job Na'Vonta Kentle did on Adron Marshall was the difference in the ballgame. We said we're going to make someone other than Spencer or Marshall beat us tonight. McGriff had a big game, but neither Spencer nor Marshall went off or had a big night."
OCU built on a 29-22 halftime advantage. The Stars put together a 13-3 surge that expanded OCU's lead from 49-41 to 62-44. Bailey, Gray and Irick went to work, each contributing baskets during that stretch.
Gray's lay-in put OCU up 62-44 with 5:59 remaining in the game.
The game started even as the two teams forged a 14-14 tie. The Stars took the lead on Irick's 3-point play to put OCU ahead 20-19 at the 3:52 mark.
After Bailey's putback basket, OCU created a 29-21 cushion on back-to-back treys by Gray and Richard Jackson. Jackson's 3 came in transition after Bailey cleared the rebound.
OCU overcame a 38-percent shooting performance in the first half to eventually shoot 44 percent to Mountain State's 41.9 percent from the floor.
"We got some good looks, but the ball just didn't go into the basket," Harper said. "We hung with it and hung with it. It wasn't one of Ollie's best performances, I thought he was pressing a little bit and we were able to settle him down a little in the second half when we made our run."
The Stars were 9-5 at one point this season. OCU went 22-2 once Gray rejoined the Stars for the second semester. Gray signed with the Stars with three semesters of eligibility.
"It feels really good to go back-to-back," Irick said. "A lot of people counted us out and a lot of people didn't believe in us. All the hard work and dedication we put in, it worked.
"The mindset of this was a business trip. We came in to do a job and leave, and that's what we did. Coach said to just keep running our stuff and play like it's another game, and that's what we did."
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