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It took nearly 37 minutes for Penn State Wilkes-Barre to connect on their first three-pointer in Wednesday night’s USCAA Small College national title game.
When Rashod Ballard did finally get one to fall from deep, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Ballard’s three-pointer with 3:26 left to play gave Penn State Wilkes-Barre the lead and the Mountain Lions refused to let it go, holding off Cincinnati-Clermont to win the USCAA Division 2 national championship, the program’s second consecutive national title and third in program history.
PSU Wilkes-Barre trailed by eight points at the half, and by as many as 11 in the second half, but the Mountain Lions wouldn’t go down, clawing their way back in after finding themselves down 60-49 with nine minutes to play.
Part of that was the Mountain Lions’ ability to get to the free throw line; the team shot 32 of 41 from the stripe, keeping themselves afloat.
After playing from behind right from the tip, PSU Wilkes-Barre took their first lead with four minutes left and, after Cincinnati-Clermont took it back, Ballard found the stroke from three-point range to give the Mountain Lions the last lead they would need to take.
Four scorers reached double figures for the Mountain Lions, led by Jalen Willis with 20 points. Anton Berga added 18, Teequan Holley had 17 and Jedidiah Ashton finished with 13 for PSU Wilkes-Barre, including the bucket with 4:02 left that gave the team their first lead of the night.