FORT WAYNE, Ind. — This time it took too much energy after trailing by 17 to claw all the way back for the win and the University of Saint Francis lost 84-71 to Indiana Wesleyan University in the NAIA Championship title game presented by Cypress Risk Management on Tuesday night.
USF seniors Bryce Lienhoop and Derek Hinen were named to the All-Championship team. Lienhoop scored 17
points while Hinen led USF scoring with 24 points and finished as the points scored leader for the Championship finishing with 133 points. Hinen set a USF NAIA Championship record scoring at least 20 points in all five games.
USF had rallied from a five-point halftime deficit on Monday night against The College of Idaho to win. USF had cut its deficit to 11, 40-29, at the half, but IWU bolted to another 17-point lead, 46-29, starting the second half with a 6-0 run.
The USF faithful were hoping for a reversal of 2016 when USF won first three meetings before losing in the title game 69-63 to IWU.
For a stretch of nearly five minutes, it appeared as though the Cougars would pull off the miraculous comeback pulling within a point of the tie six times between the 10:40 mark and the 5:29 point in the second half. Lienhoop’s twisting reverse layup at 5:29 cut the IWU lead to one 62-61 for the last time. The Wildcats surged to a more comfortable 71-63 lead with a 9-2 surge and the Cougars just could make shots down the stretch to keep it close.
“(Evan Maxwell) hit a big 3-pointer from the corner, we missed a 3-pointer, and that made the difference,” a disappointed USF Head Coach Chad LaCross lamented. “If he missed that 3 . . .” and he looked away leaving the rest of his answer suspended in thought. No doubt the small but very vocal USF contingent of fans had to wonder the same thing.
“Just so proud of the way we played in this tournament and though it doesn’t show on the scoreboard, these young men are winners,” LaCross emphasized in the quiet locker room.
Two more seniors — Evan Henry and Stephen Turner — played their final games as well.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. In 2016, the University of Saint Francis expanded its presence to downtown Fort Wayne. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 16 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships, and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.