LAKELAND, Florida -- Fortunately for Northeastern State, which downed Kentucky Wesleyan, 75-64, March 29 for the Division II Men's Basketball Championship, Darnell Hinson persisted like a telemarketing machine jammed on redial four years ago.

The summer after his senior year in high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Hinson rang future coach Larry Gipson's office an estimated 50 times. The future most outstanding player of the Elite Eight wasn't checking where he fit but if. He just wanted a chance to walk on.

Because Gipson never returned the calls, Hinson made an office visit. Finally, the coach who wears his hair shaved to the skin and the similarly shorn stubborn young man connected.

"I told him that six-foot guards were a dime a dozen but if he wanted it that bad, he was welcome to try," said the deep-voiced Redmen mentor, who has coached at most every level of the amateur game, having led Northeastern A&M to the 1989 national junior college championship.

All Hinson did was develop into the Tahlequah, Oklahoma, team's glue, something he displayed for the CBS national television audience in the Elite Eight title game.

Offensively, Hinson was a deadeye throughout the Elite Eight. He finished the title game with 19 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field, including three of four from behind the three-point line. In the three Elite Eight games, he shot 64 percent from the field (16-24), including 67 percent (8-12) from the three-point line.

Defensively, Hinson helped contain Kentucky Wesleyan's Marlon Parmer, who that same week was named Division II player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Parmer, who played three years at Division I New Mexico before transferring to the Owensboro, Kentucky, school, entered the game averaging 22 points, 8.5 assists and two turnovers per Elite Eight game. He finished with 17 points, six assists and five turnovers against the Redmen, charging into Hinson for two offensive fouls during the first 13 minutes, then having to fret about foul trouble the rest of the game.

In the semifinals against Queens (North Carolina) the day before, Hinson helped stifle Royals guard Spencer Ross, who finished that game with 12 points on five-of-17 shooting. That performance came after Ross torched Eckerd for 32 points in the quarterfinals, 26 of them coming in the second half on 10-of-12 shooting from the field.

Hinson credited his teammates for helping him guard both players.

"I knew that they had my back if they got by me," he said.

With Parmer out of the game with foul trouble midway through the first half, Kentucky Wesleyan turned to reserve guard Bobby Zuerner for a spark. The Owensboro product scored eight straight points, including two consecutive three-pointers, to give his team what would be its biggest lead, 16-12, with 9:25 left in the first half.

Northeastern State came back to tie the game at 25 at halftime.

The Panthers then fashioned a 40-37 edge with 13:47 left in the game. At that time, all 12 of Northeastern State's second-half points had come from three-pointers. The Redmen continued that trend, buckled down on defense and stormed on a 15-4 run that included four more treys. That barrage gave the eventual champs a 52-44 lead after all-tournament selection and Baylor transfer Shon Robinson's two-point bucket with 10:18 left. After that, the closest Kentucky Wesleyan got was 56-53 with 6:03 remaining on another trey by Zuerner.

The Redmen ended up shooting 64 percent (9-14) on three-pointers in the half. Northeastern State claimed its biggest lead, 70-56, with 45 seconds left after Robinson drained two free throws.

Hinson and Robinson were joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Derek Cline and Kentucky Wesleyan's Parmer and 6-11 Eugene Dabney, a transfer from Rutgers.

Northeastern State finished the season at 32-3, while Kentucky Wesleyan, which was appearing in its sixth straight championship game, all under coach Ray Harper, dropped to 31-4. The Panthers have won 30 or more games a Division II-record six straight times.

Gipson, who coached Division I Toledo from 1991 to 1996, deflected praise given to him for his team's disciplined passing and screening offense, which overcame an opponent that dramatically outsized the Redmen and, to most, accounts, had more talent.

"Any time you make shots, any offense is going to look good," Gipson said.

He credited the champions' shooting to something he said he learned long ago from the legendary Henry Iba, the former Oklahoma State coach.

"He told me that you better recruit shooters because you can teach them everything else, so that's what we've tried to do," he said.

Add a sharp-shooting guy who begs for a chance and you've got the formula for Northeastern State's first national championship.

QUARTERFINALS

Bowie State 72, Mass.-Lowell 62; Ky. Wesleyan 85, Cal Poly Pomona 60; Queens (N.C.) 99, Eckerd 78; Northeastern St. 84, Neb.-Kearney 69

SEMIFINALS

Bowie St. 84, Ky. Wesleyan 64

Bowie St.: Tim Washington 4-14, 1-2, 5, 9; Stephen Moss-Kelley 5-12, 3-4, 3, 15; Jon Smith 6-8, 0-0, 8, 12; Cornelius McMurray 3-12, 4-5, 8, 12; Omarr Smith 4-9, 0-0, 1, 10; Jamar Wood 0-1, 1-2, 0, 1; Allen Van Norden 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Shawn Hampton 0-1, 0-1, 6, 0; Shaun Ross 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1; Gabe Como 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Donte Wright-Nelson 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Arthur Lewis Jr. 1-3, 0-0, 2, 2; Nathaniel Fields 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 24-66, 10-16, 40 (4 team), 64.

Ky. Wesleyan: Dewayne Rogers 2-2, 2-2, 5, 8; Thad Key 3-5, 0-0, 4, 6; Eugene Dabney 11-17, 6-7, 8, 28; Marlon Parmer 6-17, 10-13, 9, 24; Huggy Dye 1-6, 0-0, 0, 2; Damon Garris 4-7, 1-1, 6, 9; Ryan West 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Bobby Zuerner 2-8, 0-0, 2, 5; Matt Enos 0-0, 2-2, 0, 2; John Foster 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Haven Mosley 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Trey Ferguson 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0; Eric Freeman 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Dean Smith 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 29-66, 21-25, 43 (2 team), 84.

Halftime: Ky. Wesleyan 39, Bowie St. 36. Three-point field goals: Bowie St. 6-21 (Moss-Kelley 2-6, J. Smith 0-1, McMurray 2-7, O. Smith 2-4, Van Norden 0-1, Como 0-1, Lewis 0-1); Ky. Wesleyan 5-19 (Rogers 2-2, Parmer 2-7, Dye 0-3, Zuerner 1-5, Ferguson 0-2). Disqualifications: Washington.

Northeastern St. 84, Queens (N.C.) 69

Queens (N.C.): Chris Benson 6-14, 1-1, 4, 17; Spencer Ross 5-17, 2-2, 4, 12; Carlos Andrade 5-10, 0-0, 4, 12; Moustapha Diouf 8-12, 0-1, 11, 16; Kendrick Harris 1-2, 0-0, 3, 3; Shane Thorson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Hector Valenzuela 2-3, 0-0, 3, 4; Guillermo Rausch 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Juwaun Seegars 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Anthony Thomas 1-5, 0-0, 3, 3; Zachary English 1-3, 0-0, 2, 2. TOTALS: 29-67, 3-4, 35 (1 team), 69.

Northeastern St.: Darnell Hinson 6-11, 1-2, 5, 18; Shon Robinson 5-15, 1-2, 8, 15; Reggie Battee 5-8, 1-4, 8, 11; Justin Barkley 0-4, 3-5, 8, 3; Jon Shepherd 5-7, 0-0, 6, 10; Derek Cline 5-10, 3-4, 0, 16; Ty Merchant 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Shiloh Shores 4-5, 3-3, 4, 11; Jeff Whitehead 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 30-60, 12-20, 41 (1 team), 84.

Halftime: Northeastern St. 43, Queens (N.C.) 26. Three-point field goals: Queens (N.C.) 8-27 (Benson 4-12, Ross 0-3, Andrade 2-6, Harris 1-1, Thomas 1-5); Northeastern St. 12-24 (Hinson 5-7, Robinson 4-8, Battee 0-1, Barkley 0-2, Cline 3-6). Disqualifications: Benson, Andrade.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Northeastern St. 75, Ky. Wesleyan 64

Northeastern St.: Darnell Hinson 6-9, 4-5, 5, 19; Shon Robinson 6-17, 11-13, 1, 26; Reggie Battee 1-3, 0-1, 7, 2; Justin Barkley 2-3, 1-1, 12, 7; Jon Shepherd 3-10, 0-2, 6, 6; Derek Cline 3-10, 3-4, 1, 12; Ty Merchant 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1; Shiloh Shores 1-3, 0-0, 1, 2; Jeff Whitehead 0-0, 0-1, 2, 0. TOTALS: 22-55, 20-29, 37 (2 team), 75.

Ky. Wesleyan: Dewayne Rogers 0-2, 0-0, 6, 0; Thad Key 1-5, 1-2, 2, 3; Eugene Dabney 4-7, 1-2, 7, 9; Marlon Parmer 6-12, 4-9, 8, 17; Huggy Dye 3-9, 0-0, 2, 7; Damon Garris 5-9, 0-0, 7, 10; Bobby Zuerner 5-9, 0-0, 1, 14; John Foster 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Trey Ferguson 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Eric Freeman 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Dean Smith 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 26-57, 6-13, 36 (2 team), 64.

Halftime: Tied at 25. Three-point field goals: Northeastern St. 11-23 (Justin Barkley 2-2, Darnell Hinson 3-4, Shon Robinson 3-10, Derek Cline 3-7); Ky. Wesleyan 6-17 (Dewayne Rogers 0-1, Marlon Parmer 1-3, Huggy Dye 1-5, Bobby Zuerner 4-6, Trey Ferguson 0-1, Eric Freeman 0-1). Disqualifications: Dye, Zuerner.