HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Western Washington men’s basketball team will play in its first national title game today when the Vikings face Montevallo, Ala., for the NCAA Division II championship.

The 12th-ranked Vikings (30-5) face the 22nd-ranked Falcons (29-7) at 10 a.m. The game will be televised nationally by CBS.

Western is coached by former Washington State guard Brad Jackson, who captained the Cougars in 1973-74 and led the Pacific-8 Conference in assists that season. Jackson is in his 27th season in Bellingham.

Western is the first Great Northwest Athletic Conference team to advance to the men’s national championship contest in the 11-year history of the conference.

The Vikings, the West Region champion, defeated Midwestern State (Texas) 64-63 in a quarterfinal game Wednesday, and toppled Stonehill (Mass.) 71-66 in the semifinals Thursday.

Rory Blanche leads Western with 16.1 points and 7.0 rebounds a game.

The Vikings have held opponents under 41.0 percent shooting from the field in each of the last four contests, a feat they accomplished just five times in the first 30 games of the season.