Not to worry, it fits just fine and the Cardinals will be wearing it for the next year as 2025 NJCAA D1 MBB champion after a 69-61 win Saturday afternoon against the Connors State Cowboys in their first-ever championship game appearance at Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.
In claiming their first title, the Cardinals set a school record for wins in a season. They finished 34-3 to better the previous mark of 33 wins set by the Cardinal teams in 1982 and 2016.
"The season was a process and a long grind," first-year Cardinal coach Greg Heiar said afterwards. "These kids bought in and is one special group.
"I just can't say enough good things about them or how much they mean to me, and always will."
The title was the second for Heiar, who led Northwest Florida State to a championship in 2022. It was his fourth appearance in the title game, having also finished twice as national runnerup at Chipola.
Connors State, which made an amazing run to the title game as the No. 17 seed, including a 63-62 win against No. 1 Snow, ended the year 32-4.
After a tightly-contested first half, which resulted in a 32-32 tie at halftime, the seventh-seeded Cardinals slowly began to wrestle control in the second half. That was large in part to never letting up with their intense defensive approach and sophomore Garrett Nuckolls (6'6''-G) heating up. Nuckolls scored the Cardinals' first 11 points after intermission.
By the time there was 6:07 left in the game, the Cardinals had opened to a 51-41 lead. Connors State did not go away quietly, pulling with six, 57-51, with 1:01 to go.
The question then became, could the Cardinals be successful at free throw line?
Short answer: Yes.
The Cardinals were 10-of-13 from the stripe in the remaining time to close things out. They were 22-of-30 for the game.
Tournament MVP Zati Loubaki (6'8''-G/F-2004), who matched Nuckolls' 17 points, was 7-of-8 at the line. M.J. Wardlow (6'1''-G) was as well.
Loubaki also had four rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Along with Nuckolls, Tyler Smith (6'1''-PG) was named to the all-tournament team. Smith had six points, four assists and three steals.
With just over 30 seconds to go, Heiar looked at his assistant coaches with a smile, as to say "we've got this."
Yes, they did. And they will have it forever.

Courtesy of tvccsports.com

Danville, IL- Kirkwood (IA) claimed the 2025 NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship title on Saturday at the Mary Miller Center.
The Eagles were the No. 3 seed in the tournament and knocked off (4) Parkland in the final game, 55-54, to win the fourth national title in program history. The Eagles finished the season with a 33-3 overall record.
2025 was the Eagles’ first appearance since 2019 when Kirkwood also took home the title. Kirkwood has made the second-most Division II Men’s Basketball Championship appearances in the nation (14), and is the winningest team in Division II national tournament history (39-12).
Kirkwood opened the tournament with an 18-point win over (14) Kansas City Kansas. The Eagles then won a three-overtime thriller versus (6) Macomb, 78-77. The Semifinal saw Kirkwood beat (7) Kalamazoo Valley by 15 points to advance to the final.
The championship game was a defensive battle with 10 lead changes and six ties. It came down to the very end as Parkland tied the score with 29 seconds remaining. The Cobras then fouled the Eagles with one second left. Traijan Sain (6'5''-G) sank one free throw to win the game for Kirkwood.

Eagles are Champions
Fourth-seeded Parkland entered the tournament with their highest seed since 2017. The Cobras beat (13) Henry Ford by two in the Second Round, then defeated (12) Howard (MD), 60-54, in the Quarterfinals. Parkland handed (1) Pima their first loss of the season in the Semifinals, 95-74, to reach the championship game for the first time since 1988. Parkland Claims Silver

Pima Takes Third
Pima entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed with a perfect 32-0 record on the season. In their opening game, the Aztecs
breezed past (16) SUNY Niagara, 99-66, in the Second Round. Pima won a close game against (8) Davidson-Davie, 86-82, in the Quarterfinals before falling in the Semifinals to (4) Parkland, 74-95.
The Aztecs bounced back in the 3rd Place Game against Kalamazoo Valley. It was a competitive game, but Pima pulled away at the end to win 103-88.
This is the Aztecs best finish since 2018 when Pima was the runner-up.

Tim Sandquist, Kirkwood’s Head Coach, was named the Coach of the Tournament.
Pima’s Cohenj Gonzales (5'9''-PG) received the Jack Cistriano Best Small Man Award.
Kirkwood’s Lucas Lueth (6'7''-G) was named the Pin Ryan Most Valuable Player at the 2025 NJCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship.
The redshirt-freshman guard recorded 46 points, 26 rebounds, seven steals, and nine blocks in the tournament. Lueth shot 50% from the field (18-of-36). In the championship game, he logged 10 points, seven rebounds, one steal, and two blocks.

Twelve student-athletes from nine participating teams earned All-Tournament honors.

All-Tournament Team
Colby Dolphin (6'0''-SG) of Kirkwood (IA)
Traijan Sain of Kirkwood (IA)
JaMonte Williams (6'2''-PG) of Parkland (IL)
Drew Lewis (6'2''-PG) Jr. of Parkland (IL)
Jaiden Martin (6'4''-SG) of Parkland (IL)
Gabe Oldham (6'8''-C) of Pima (AZ)
Ramere Draper (6'4''-G) of Kalamazoo Valley (MI)
Josh Hines (6'2''-G) of Macomb (MI)
Lamonte Cousar (F) of Davidson-Davie (NC)
Alex McCray (6'2''-G) of Florida State College at Jacksonville
Steven Samuels (5'10''-PG) of Johnson County (KS)
Jon Carroll (6'7''-F) of North Central Missouri

Head Coach John Putyrski and Florida State College at Jacksonville were awarded the Fred Pohlman Sportsmanship Award.
Two teams made their first appearance at the DII men’s national championship: Bryant & Stratton (WI) and Raritan Valley.
Three teams won their first-ever game at a DII men’s national championship: Kalamazoo Valley, Bryant & Stratton (WI), and Kansas City Kansas.
The championship game set a new record for the lowest combined point total in Division II men’s tournament history (109).
Henry Ford’s Amari Allen was four rebounds shy (19) of the single-game record (23) for most boards in a DII men’s tournament game.
In The Numbers

Courtesy of njcaa.org

Mohawk Valley (NY) defeats host Herkimer (NY) 58-51 to win the battle of New York and its first national championship in program history. Hawks forward Isaiah Earl (6'10''-F) was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player after averaging 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game throughout the tournament. The Championship game featured two teams from Region 3 and were facing off for the fourth time this year. Herkimer was looking to avenge last year’s runner-up performance with a national title while Mohawk Valley was looking to secure their first in program history. The first half was a defensive battle among familiar foes. Both teams were coming up on the defensive end during the first half with Mohawk Valley holding the lead 27-16. Both teams stepped up the offense in the second half of the title game. The Hawks held an 16 point lead with 8:22 left in the second half 44-28. The Generals were able to come within seven points of the lead multiple times down the final moments of the game but Mohawk Valley was able to make key baskets and stops to hold on for a 58-51 victory. Mohawk Valley wins its first championship in program history. Head Coach Harley Fuller is in his fourth season and his second appearance in the National Tournament. The Hawks finish the season wining 10 straight and finishing with 29 wins and single defeat. The Herkimer Generals bounced back this season after finishing runner-up last year, with another impressive season for coach Matt Lee’s squad. Entering the national tournament as an at-large selection and the No. 5 seed the Generals defeated No. 12 Dallas-Mountain View, No. 4 Sandhills, and No. 9 Dallas-Richland to earn their spot in the title game. Oladele Oladitan (6'4''-G/F) and Jayson McGhee (6'1''-G) were named to the All- Tournament team. Mohawk Valley’s Isaiah Earl was named the Tournament’s MVP. Fellow Hawk Jamir Smith (6'0''-PG) won Small Man of the tournament while Jalen Bradberry (6'3''-G) and Andre Pasha (6'8''-C) were named to the All-Tournament Team. Head Coach Harley Fuller was selected as the Gary Cole Coach of the Tournament. Six teams were featured on the all-Tournament Team while Riverland (MN) won the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Courtesy of: njcaa.org