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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Matt Crenshaw hit an 18-foot jumper with one second left, giving Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis a 66-64 win over Valparaiso in the finals of the Mid-Continent Conference tournament Tuesday night.
The Jaguars earned an automatic bid to their first NCAA tournament in only their fifth season in Division I.
Josh Mullins led the second-seeded Jaguars (20-13) with 18 points and offset what could have been a crushing late turnover with a steal that sealed the win.
Top-seeded Valparaiso (20-10), which had won seven of the last eight Mid-Continent Conference tournaments, managed only six field goals in the final 10 minutes. But the Crusaders hit three baskets in the final 1:03 and forced a 64-all tie when Raitis Grafs put back Stalin Ortiz's missed 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.
After Crenshaw - who scored five of his six points in the final 1:32 - drained his game-winner, Valparaiso called time and set up for a desperation play from under its own basket. Mullins stole the inbounds pass at midcourt to seal IUPUI's win and set off a frenzied celebration.
It was a shot of redemption for Mullins, whose turnover - he lost the ball off his foot and it rolled to Ortiz - set up Valparaiso's game-tying possession.
Josh Murray scored 17 points for IUPUI and was named the tournament MVP. Chris Sanders added 12 points and Odell Bradley had 11 for the Jaguars, whose last national tournament berth came in the 1990 NAIA Division II tournament.
The game was a rematch of last year's final, an 88-55 Valpo rout. This time, each team made a run in the first half but failed to take control in the second.
IUPUI led 63-56 on Crenshaw's steal and layup with 1:21 to go, but Ortiz hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left and Grafs hit another with 19.4 seconds to go to cut the margin to 64-62.
Grafs led Valparaiso with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Ortiz added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders, who lost despite a 42-27 rebounding edge.
Mullins hit two 3-pointers and scored eight straight points in a 10-0 run that gave IUPUI a 13-3 lead less than five minutes into the game, and the Jaguars were still up 25-16 with five minutes left in the half.
A 9-0 run late in the half, capped by Ortiz's layup, gave the Crusaders their first lead at 28-27 before Brandon Cole's basket with 40 seconds left gave the Jaguars a 30-28 halftime advantage .
The Crusaders scored the first six points of the second half to go up 34-30, but a 7-0 run gave IUPUI a 58-52 lead with 5:36 left and the Jaguars never trailed again.
