Cal State Bakersfield Falls in Final, 93-79 : College basketball: Green scores 31 points, but Kentucky Wesleyan wins Division II national championship.

Wade Green just couldn’t do it by himself.

Green scored 31 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep Cal State Bakersfield from losing to Kentucky Wesleyan, 93-79, Monday night in the NCAA Division II championship game at the Springfield Civic Center.

It was enough to earn Green most valuable player honors.

“(The MVP) is all right, but I would have preferred the championship,” Green said.

Green knew the Roadrunners (29-5) were in trouble even though they were within 40-35 at halftime.

He had 22 of the 35 points and sacrificed a bit of his game in the second half in an effort to turn things around.

“I tried to get everyone involved (in the second half) because I knew they had to contribute for us to have a chance to win,” Green said.

“It was a great season and we would have liked to come out of here with the championship, but we have to take second.”

The victory gave Kentucky Wesleyan (31-2) an unprecedented sixth national championship. It was the second title in the past four years for the Panthers.

Kentucky Wesleyan needed a little luck to advance past the quarterfinals. Southeast Missouri State missed a free throw with no time on the clock in overtime to give the Panthers a one-point victory.

Kentucky Wesleyan used the three-point shot and some clutch performances off the bench to spoil Bakersfield’s chances.

The Panthers made 11 of 23 shots from three-point range and outscored the Roadrunners, 37-21, off the bench.

All-American forward Corey Crowder had 25 points and reserve center LeRoy Ellis scored 16 points in 16 minutes. Tim Griffin added 14 points for Kentucky Wesleyan.

Center Beau Redstone added 14 points and reserve Fred Eckles scored 12 for the Roadrunners.

“You have to take your hats off to Kentucky Wesleyan,” Cal State Bakersfield Coach Pat Douglass said. “They shot the three-pointer well and got good support from their bench. They did a good job limiting the other players. Wade had 22 points at the half, but I think the next man had four points.

“We tried to accomplish everything possible this season. We would have liked to have been victorious tonight, but it didn’t happen.”

Kentucky Wesleyan held a 58-48 edge midway through the second half when when Bakersfield scored the next seven points to pull close.

Eckles hit a three-pointer and another basket in the run and Redstone added two free throws. But after a timeout, Crowder hit a three pointer to give Kentucky Wesleyan a six-point lead.

“It seemed every time we started to make a little run one of their kids would hit a three,” Douglass said.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump. If we had been able to get the lead, I think we could have done some different things, but we never got the chance.”

A pair of free throws by Tim Griffin with 3:36 left boosted Kentucky Wesleyan to a 73-63 lead and the Panthers coasted home from there.

Cal State Bakersfield got off to a good start and opened up a 13-7 lead when Green hit a jumper and Redstone made one of two free throws with 5:30 gone.

Kentucky Wesleyan came back with a 10-4 run that was concluded with Ellis’ layup that gave the Panthers a 20-19 edge with 8:32 remaining.

From there, the Panthers got a jumper from Steve Divine and two free throws from Ellis to open a five-point lead. The Roadrunners kept Kentucky Wesleyan from pulling away and moved into a 28-28 tie with 4:10 left in the half.

Three pointers by Mitchell and Crowder enabled Kentucky Wesleyan take its five-point lead into the dressing room.

“Bakersfield got out of the gate quickly, while we had a couple of shots that didn’t drop,” Kentucky Wesleyan Coach Wayne Chapman said.

“Then we made a rush with our second team, so I knew we’d be fresh and all right in the second half. I felt a lot better when we got that 10-point lead in the second half.”

In addition to Green, Ellis, Crowder and Mitchell made the all-tournament team along with North Dakota’s Dave Vonesh.

In the third-place game, North Dakota defeated Morehouse College of Atlanta, 98-77, behind Vonesh’s 35 points.