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WINONA LAKE, Ind. - At the end of every basketball season there are only a handful of teams throughout the country that can call themselves National Champions, and in 2014 Point Loma will be a member of that elite group as the Sea Lions took down Grace College 75-73 in the NCCAA title game.

This is the fourth NCCAA men's basketball title for Point Loma after winning three straight from 1984-87. The victory was the Sea Lions' 20th of the season and fifth in a row. It is also the second time in coach Bill Carr's three seasons with PLNU that the Sea Lions have reached the 20-win plateau.

This last victory of the season did not come easy for No. 4 seeded Point Loma who got all they could handle from tournament host and No. 7 seed Grace. The Sea Lions fought all 40 minutes and through a number of different Lancer comeback attempts to earn the NCCAA Championship.

"I am very proud of these guys for sticking with it all year," said PLNU head coach Bill Carr. "We had ups and downs, and injuries. Just to get to this point and play for a national title is all you ask for from your players as a coach. And to actually get it done is something they will remember forever."

Grace started the game out strong and had a five-point lead (28-23) with five minutes remaining before the Sea Lions found their rhythm on offense. PLNU would go on a 15-3 run to claim their first lead since it was 6-5 and take a 38-35 advantage into the locker room. 

After Grace made a free throw to start the second half and cut the Sea Lions' lead to two PLNU answered with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 45-36. The Lancers then started to chip away but the Sea Lions' never relinquished the lead. Grace cut it to two points twice during half, and had it down to one with 14 seconds left but each time PLNU answered with a basket to extend their lead.

The second time Grace cut it to two came with two minutes left as the Lancers' hit a three-pointer to slice the lead to 70-68. But Judd Welfringer had the answer for PLNU as he knocked down a jumper in the paint to make it 72-68 with 1:16 remaining. A free throw by Lescault extended that lead to five with 43 seconds left and PLNU looked to be in control but it missed a pair of free throws, including the front-end of a 1-and-1, to allow Grace to stay in the game.

A jumper by Greg Miller cut the lead to one point with 14 second left and then Lescault was fouled and knocked down both free throws to put PLNU back up by three. Coach Carr then elected to foul rather than allow Grace to put up a three-point shot. Grace's Logan Irwin made the first but missed the second and PLNU collected the rebound with 7.2 seconds remaining.

The Sea Lions tried to inbound the ball against Grace's press but got trapped in the corner and lost the ball out of bounds with just less than seven seconds left. Grace then inbounded the ball with a chance to tie or win the game but Logan Irwin was hounded by outstanding defense from AJ Ussery on the final possession and his 3-point attempt barely drew iron as the clock expired and the Sea Lions stormed the floor as the 2014 NCCAA Champions.

"I thought the whole group made big plays and answered every run Grace made," said Carr. "We had great scoring tonight. The ball was moving and the guys were relying on each other. It was a fantastic team win.

Hayden Lescault, who was named an NCCAA All-American this week, led five student-athletes in double-figures for PLNU with 14 points. He also added a team leading five assists. Junior Morgan recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds off the bench. AJ Ussery and Marek Klassen also added 13 points apiece, while Sam Okhotin came off the bench with 10.

Point Loma shot 53 percent in game and held Grace to just 42 percent shooting. The Sea Lions also dominated the glass as they outrebounded the Lancers 31-23 and outscored them 10-5 in second chance points.  PLNU's bench also outscored Grace's 21-11 thanks to the efforts of Okhotin and Morgan.

Greg Miller had 22 points to pace Grace. Brandon Vanderhegghen also added 19 points.

"I am really happy for the guys," Carr added. "They worked hard all year for the opportunity to play in the (NCCAA) national tournament. It was great for them to get three wins.

"We were efficient offensively and we got the job done defensively, and at the end we had 75 and they had 73. That is all that mattered tonight"

Coach Carr was very impressed with his team's defensive effort, especially in the final possessions of the game. 

"Our defense got a stop at the end and this is what we have built this program on," Carr explained. "The look in our guys' eyes going out on defense (on that final play) I knew we were going to give our best effort and whatever happened, happened," continued Carr. "We got a good switch on the ball and AJ got his hands up and the shot never even hit the rim."

Point Loma will lose just two players to graduation off its NCCAA National Championship team. The Sea Lions will return seven student-athletes from this team next year, including PacWest all-conference selection Hayden Lescault and honorable mentions Marek Klassen and Junior Morgan.

This was the second NCCAA Championship for Point Loma this season as the Sea Lions volleyball team won the national title back in December. 

This is also the second consecutive NCCAA Championship for the west region as California Baptist claimed the title last season.