SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Fairmont State's historic postseason run came up just one win shy of a national championship on Saturday afternoon in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, as Northwest Missouri State slowed down the pace of the game to defeat the Falcons 71-61 in front of a sellout crowd of 3,250.
 
Fairmont State was held to a season-low 21 points in the opening half and a game-low 61 points in the loss. Fairmont also recorded its second-lowest field goal percentage of the season (36.5) and hit just three shots from behind the arc, which was also a season-low.
 
Northwest Missouri opened a 13-3 lead in the opening five and a half minutes of the game and completely slowed down the pace of the game for 40 minutes on Saturday afternoon. Justin Pitts, the NABC Player of the Year, finished the afternoon with 23 points on 9-of-20 from the field. Pitts was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Division II Elite Eight Tournament.
 
After making just 9-of-29 field goals attempts (31.0%) and turning the ball over seven times in the first 20 minutes of play, Fairmont trailed by just 11 at the break (32-21).
 
Early in the second half following a three by Pitts, Fairmont faced its largest deficit of the season at 14 points (36-22). However, a quick 6-0 run by the Falcons, led by three-straight field goals from Matt Bingaya, cut the Northwest lead to just eight (36-28). But Pitts once again answered with a three to push the lead back to double-digits on the next possession.
 
Northwest Missouri's lead teetered between eight and 14 for the rest of the second half, as the Bearcats would not allow FSU to cut the lead to two possessions in the second half.
 
Bingaya, who battled foul trouble for the third-straight game, dropped in a game-high 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Falcons. Thomas Wimbush also reached double-figures with 17 points and eight boards. Wimbush and Jason Jolly were each named to the Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team.
 
In addition to struggling from the field, FSU was also just 12-of-21 from the free throw line.
 
Northwest (35-1) also got 17 points and 18 rebounds from Chris-Ebou Ndow and 13 from Anthony Woods. The Bearcats shot 50 percent from the field (23-of-46) and outrebounded the Falcons by six (41-35).
 
The Falcons, who set a program record with 34 wins in a season and won their first regional title since 1998, will say goodbye to a group of four seniors who left unforgettable marks on the program.
 
Thomas Wimbush scored over 1,700 career points as a four-year starter for the Falcons and is also in fourth in school history in career blocks. Shammgod Wells leaves Fairmont State as the all-time school leader in both assists and steals. Trevor-Andrews-Evans made a living blocking shots during his career, ending his senior season in second place in FSU history. Matt Bingaya also scored over 1,200 career points in just two seasons at Fairmont State, becoming just the second player in school history to be named an NCAA Division II All-American.
 
Fairmont State also brought home its first regular season conference championship in 21 years earlier this month and was ranked in the top five in the country for the final 13 weeks of the 2016-17 season.
 
In just five seasons at the helm of the Fairmont State men's basketball program, Jerrod Calhoun is 124-38, leading the Falcons to just their second appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and first appearance in the National Championship Game since the program moved from NAIA to NCAA. Calhoun was named the MEC and Basketball Times National Coach of the Year.