Bakersfield Wins Division II Crown
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Kebu Stewart scored 18 points and grabbed 21 rebounds and Jon Gaines made five three-point baskets to lead Cal State Bakersfield over Northern Kentucky, 57-56, in the NCAA Division II championship game on Saturday at Louisville, Ky.
It is the third title in the last five seasons for Bakersfield, which plays in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.
Northern Kentucky (30-5), which lost in the final to Fort Hays State last year, had a chance to win, but Andy Listerman missed a five-footer off an inbounds pass as time expired.
Bakersfield (29-4) led by as many as 15 points in the first half, before Northern Kentucky’s rally.
Gaines finished with 15 points for Bakersfield, which also won the title in 1993 and 1994.
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Bryan Crabtree scored 28 points, Brent Niebrugge had 24 and Illinois Wesleyan squandered a huge second-half lead before hanging on to win the men’s NCAA Division III championship with an 89-86 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan at Salem, Va.
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