By Matt Bos, NAIA Meda Coordinator

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score) Union College forward Deante Johnson led the way scoring a game-high 20 points, as the No. 15 Bulldogs captured their first win all-time at the NAIA Division II National Championship on Wednesday morning, getting past No. 18 Northwestern Ohio, 64-58, in a First Round matchup at Keeter Gymnasium.
With the victory, Union won their 21st game in a row to extend the longest winning streak in all of NAIA Division II, improving to 30-4 in the process. The Bulldogs will take on the winner of No. 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Friends (Kan.) in the Second Round on Friday at 10:15 a.m. CST
Northwestern Ohio fell to 25-8 with the defeat.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Union head coach Kevin Burton. “Northwestern Ohio was the best team we played all year, they were so well coached. I was so impressed at how hard both teams were playing, we were both playing to win. Everybody got their money’s worth in this one, it was a classic.”
In the first half, Union came out and played well on both sides of the floor, opening up a quick 11-3 lead in the first five minutes of action. The roll continued for the Bulldogs for the majority of the first 10 minutes of action, as they held a 20-7 lead at that juncture.
But, the Racers clawed their way back in it, as they finally began to make shots. After dominating the majority of the final 10 minutes of action, UNOH ended the half on a 20-8 run of their own, as Union went into the half leading by just one point at 28-27.
To start the second half, UNOH continued to ride the wave of momentum and took their first lead of the game at 30-28 a minute into the period. Union, however, wrestled the lead back from UNOH, as both team traded the lead back and forth over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
With 8:25 left, Union clung to a 45-44 lead over UNOH, and began a run of scoring that essentially put the game away. A 12-3 run over a long period of time (over seven minutes) gave Union what turned out to be an insurmountable 59-47 lead with 1:11 left in regulation.
But, UNOH was not done, as they clamped down on defense and began to nail some shots. A three by Davon Payne with 23 seconds left chopped the Bulldog lead all the way down to three points at 61-58 after a quick 12-4 burst by the Racers.
However, the comeback for UNOH stopped there, as the Bulldogs made three free throws down the stretch and kept the Racers off the scoreboard the rest of the way, as Union finished off a First Round six-point victory in the process.
Overall, Johnson led the way with his 20-point effort, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. Elsewhere, DeAntray Stevens ended with 12 points, JD Tucker had 11 and Gerrard Newby finished with 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Union.
Northwestern Ohio was led in defeat by Lawrence Jackson and Ed Jenkins, who scored 15 points, apiece.