Box Score

SALEM, Va. – Joey Flannery's block of a Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) layup Saturday denied Augustana's bid to win its first national title, as Babson survived a late Viking push to win 79-78 at the Salem Civic Center. Coach Grey Giovanine's club finished the year 24-9, while the third-ranked Beavers claimed their first national championship with a record of 31-2.
 
A Flannery layup with 2:40 to play gave Babson a 79-72 lead. Ebel answered with a three-pointer 12 seconds later to pull Augustana to within three. After a defensive stop, the Vikings got three shots on their next possession, but couldn't convert any of them. The teams alternated empty possessions until a Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) three-pointer cut the deficit to 79-78 with 10 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, the Beavers inbounded to Flannery, who was fouled with 8.8 seconds remaining. The odds-on favorite to win his second straight national Player of the Year award had been perfect on nine previous free throw attempts, but his first of a bonus opportunity caught back iron, with Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) grabbing the rebound for Augustana. He passed to Ebel, who drove the right side of the lane for a potential game-winning layup, but Flannery, trailing the play, swatted it off the backboard and Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) fouled Matthew Droney on the rebound with less than two seconds left.
 
Droney missed the front end, with Benning rebounding again and calling timeout with 1.5 seconds left. Coming out of the break, Johnston attempted a three-quarter court inbounds pass to Benning, but Babson batted it away to preserve the win.
 
Despite getting beaten in transition four times by the Beaver big men for layups and dunks early on, the Vikings came back to forge a pair of 10-point leads midway through the first half. A Sortillo three-pointer put Augustana up 26-16 at the 9:56 mark. However, the Vikings would get just one field goal in the next 10:42 and Babson went on a 25-3 run to take a 41-29 lead. Two Ebel free throws with two seconds left cut the deficit to 41-31 at halftime.
 
The Beavers led 54-43 after a Flannery jumper with 15:29 to play, but Augustana responded with a 9-2 run, capped by two Johnston baskets that trimmed the margin to 56-52 with 10:35 remaining.
 
Babson extended its advantage back to ten (71-61), but six straight Viking points tightened the game again. Eventually, a Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) three-pointer from the right side pulled his club to within 77-72, setting up the final three-minute sequence.
 
Ebel led the Vikings with 20 points and five assists. The 6' 1" sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds. Johnston added 15 points in his final game, while Orange scored 14 and Benning 11. Sortillo added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds and freshman Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) contributed six points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Flannery had game highs of 23 points and seven assists without committing a turnover for Babson.
 
Augustana shot .466 (27-58) from the field, .417 (10-24) from three-point range and .737 (14-19) from the foul line. The Beavers hit 30 of 62 (.484)  from the floor, seven of 19 (.368) from long distance and 12 of 17 (.706) at the foul line. The Vikings won the rebound battle 35-30, but Babson turned it over just four times to Augustana's 10.
 
Ebel and Orange were named to the all-tournament team.