Warriors win DII title

Jonte Flowers scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half and Winona State erased a 16-point deficit to win its second NCAA Division II championship in three years with an 87-76 win over Augusta State on Saturday in Springfield, Mass.

Flowers was named tournament most valuable player.

John Smith scored 18 points for Winona State (38-1). Travis Whipple added 10 points, and Quincy Henderson scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Warriors.

A.J. Bowman scored 26 points to lead Augusta State (27-7), which was playing in the title game for the first time. Bowman made 12 of 15 shots to set a record for the championship game.

Augusta State led 53-37 with 17:25 left in the game before Winona State’s defensive pressure sparked a rally that brought the Warriors back. Flowers’ basket tied the game at 58 with 10 minutes left.

Northern Kentucky takes title

Cassie Brannen scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half, helping Northern Kentucky rally from two big deficits and beat South Dakota 63-58 in the NCAA Division II women’s national championship game in Kearney, Neb.

Brannen scored nine straight points before fouling out with 1:13 left and the Norse (28-8) leading 54-52. By then, Northern Kentucky had erased deficits of 12 and nine points and was on its way to a second national championship.

Jeana Hoffman scored 19 points for South Dakota (33-2).

Christian goes to TCU

TCU hired Jim Christian away from Kent State, hoping his penchant for 20-win seasons with the Golden Flashes translates to the moribund Horned Frogs.

Christian was introduced during a news conference at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

Christian was 138-58 in six years at Kent State. The Golden Flashes were 28-7 this year, losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to UNLV.