EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Northwest Missouri State defeated Point Loma 64-58 in the NCAA Division II National Championship game to give the Sea Lions a runner-up finish on Saturday in the Ford Center.

Point Loma finished the season with a 31-5 record, while the No. 1 Bearcats completed a perfect season with a 38-0 record. In the 2018-19 season, the Sea Lions won the PacWest regular season title, the PacWest Championships title, the NCAA West Regional and the team's leading scorer Daulton Hommes finished as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year.

Hommes completed his first season at Point Loma with 26 points in the championship game, while Preston Beverly added 15 points and nine rebounds. Northwest Missouri State was led by Joey Witthus with 24 points as he helped the Bearcats confirm their No. 1 ranking in the nation.

The highlight of Point Loma's championship game came near the end of the first half when Hommes threw down a two-handed jam while being fouled to give the Sea Lions a 29-26 lead with two minutes left in the half. Northwest Missouri State answered with a 7-0 run to end the half, hitting a buzzer-beater to end the half with a 33-29 lead.

Hommes again completed a three-point play early in the second half that gave Point Loma a 34-33 lead, but that was the last lead that Point Loma had. The Bearcats got the lead back on the next possession with a lay-up and led the rest of the way. Point Loma kept it close in the second half with the deficit never reaching double digits. But in the championship game that was dominated by defense, the Sea Lions' deficit proved too much to overcome.

Playing in the final game of his collegiate career, Josh Rodriguez had eight points and three assists, adding to his PacWest career assists record that he set as only a junior.