Dunlap couldn't have practiced the situation Thursday. With a minute remaining, senior Lee Barlow made two of two free throw attempts, but Missouri Southerns' Carlos Escalera answered with a three pointer to tie the score at 74 points apiece. On the following possession, Barlow missed and the Lions had a chance to win. After two missed shots, Escalera and Ah Matt were on the floor battling for the basketball. A loose ball foul on Escalera sent Ah Matt to the line.
Competition is also about swings in momentum, something that crowds can play heavily into.
The Roadrunners knew going into the championship game that the Kentucky Wesleyan fans can create quite a riot, as they had seen in last year's championship game. At press conferences on March 24, one day before the championship game, both coaches claimed to be underdogs, something Dunlap found amusing. The Roadrunners witnessed how much fans can affect a team on Thursday when Kentucky Wesleyan rallied from 13 points down to force Seattle Pacific into overtime. When they were down, that crowd had a lot of will. Kentucky Wesleyan went on to beat Seattle Pacific, 87-81, to advance to the championship game.