2013 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Atlanta, Ga. -- Sunday, April 7 Philips Arena -- Free Admission
2012-13 NCAA-II national champion Drury's Alex Hall

(April 7) -- Not even a 17-point deficit against a team that spent time as the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II was going to deny Drury of reaching the pinnacle for the first time.

The Panthers captured their first NCAA Division II national title in men's basketball and second in school history Sunday as they rallied from that deficit to take a thrilling 74-73 win over Metropolitan State at Atlanta's Philips Arena.

Metro State jumped on the Panthers early with its hot shooting, taking a 39-22 lead with just under three minutes to go in the first half. Drury cut that lead down to 12 by halftime, then trailed by 13 early in the second half before making a run that drew them even.

The Panthers outscored the Roadrunners 23-10 over a span of 5:28 to draw even at 53, tying the game on Lonnie Boga's three-pointer at the 13:29 mark. With 9:31 to go, Alex Hall drilled a three-pointer to give Drury its first lead since the early stages of the contest, but Metro State scored six straight points to regain the lead.

With the score tied at 64, Metro State's Mitch McCarron hit a trey and Nicholas Kay scored moments later to put the Roadrunners back up by five. Kay scored with 3:51 to play to give Metro State a 73-67 lead, but Drury's defense locked in to keep the Roadrunners off the scoreboard and set up the game-winning comeback.

Hall hit a pair of free throws after Kay missed the front end of a one-and-one with the Roadrunners holding a one-point lead with 24 seconds to go, then after McCarron missed a potential game-winning shot with four seconds left, Metro State couldn't get another shot up before the buzzer.

Hall completed an outstanding performance at the Elite Eight with a game-high 21 points, while Brandon Lockhart added 14 as the Panthers -- who finished the season with 23 consecutive wins -- had four players in double figures. Metro State had all five of its starters in double figures, led by Brandon Jefferson with 19 points.

Complete NCAA Division II national poll (March 12)

(Photo by Drury University)

Additional Division II Information:

Pre-Season conference rankings (2012-13 season)

NCAA Division II coaches directory