SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- 4th-ranked Briar Cliff University rallied from 13 points down to defeat 20th-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan 103-97 in an exciting GPAC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game that lived up to all its hype.

The contest between the top two scoring teams in NAIA Division II came down to the final seconds with both heavyweight offenses trading punches.  In the end it was the Chargers that hit the key baskets to claim their first GPAC Tournament Championship.

NWU, which had their nine-game winning streak snapped in the title match, still receives an automatic berth to the NAIA II National Tournament which runs March 9-15 in Point Lookout, Mo.

The Prairie Wolves built up a 75-62 lead with 11:32 to play after a pair of free throws by Cooper Cook.  From there, the Chargers used a 18-4 run over the next four minutes to overtake the lead at 80-79 on a basket by Austin Pohlen.

Trey Bardsley came down the court and nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession to give the Prairie Wolves the lead and the battle was on.

With 2:20 to play and NWU trailing by three points, senior Nick Stine drained a 3-pointer in the baseline corner to tie the game at 90-90.  BCU responded with a 3-pointer from Austin Leffler to go ahead 93-90.  BCU would go up by five points after a NWU miss and two free throws with just over a minute remaining.

Not to be denied, junior guard Max Cook drove the lane and converted an old fashioned 3-point play to make the score 95-93 with 1:05 left.  Briar Cliff turned the ball over on their end after a charging call to give NWU the basketball.

Proving why he is one of the top players in the country, Trey Bardsley knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the game to put NWU ahead 96-95 and send the P-Wolf nation to their feet.  BCU's Bryan Forbes drove the paint and made a layup with 25.2 seconds left giving NWU the 97-96 lead.

Bardsley tried to answer with a long 3-pointer, but he missed the attempt and NWU was forced to foul.  Clay Harreld converted both of his attempts with 12.9 seconds left giving BCU the 99-96 lead.  The Chargers fouled Bardsley so he couldn't get off a 3-point attempt.  Bardley missed the first attempt, his first miss in 30 attempts, then made the second but NWU trailed by two with 8.0 seconds left.

Briar Cliff sealed the game with four free throws to earn the tournament trophy.

BCU shot 52.6 percent for the game and the big advantage was at the free throw line where they made 36-40 attempts, compared to just 11-19 for NWU.

The Prairie Wolves shot 48.0 percent and made 14-37 from 3-point land.

Bardsley led the Prairie Wolves with 36 points, but made only 5-16 from 3-point land.  He also had five assists.

Travis Giesselmann had a big second half and finished with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.  Cooper Cook also reached double figures with 15 points.

NWU now awaits the unveiling of the NAIA II bracket which will be announced at 6 pm on Wednesday.  The Prairie Wolves are hosting a watch party in Snyder Arena to view the Selection Show.