Tyler Evans lived the moment most basketball players only dream about.

The 6-2 senior guard will always remember his last shot as a student-athlete after his step-back three-pointer swished through the net at the buzzer to give Findlay a thrilling 56-53 overtime win over Cal Poly Pomona in the Division II Men’s Basketball Championship game Saturday afternoon.

Evans’ heroics also capped an undefeated season for the 36-0 Oilers. They are only the fourth Division II men’s basketball team to record an unblemished mark, joining Evansville (1965), Cal State Bakersfield (1993) and Fort Hays State (1996).

The winning shot came off an inbounds play underneath the basket that began with 2.4 seconds left on the clock. Evans caught the ball in the corner, then maneuvered to free himself for the game-winner.

“I had pictured that I was going to catch and shoot, but the guy was right there,” said Evans, who made 52 three-pointers on the season. “I took a dribble to the left to get some separation. I stepped back and let fly.”

It was his only field goal of the game.

“That’s one right out of ‘Hoosiers,’ ” said Findlay coach Ron Niekamp.

But Jimmy Chitwood and the fictitious Hickory Huskers didn’t have to go to overtime like the Oilers and Cal Poly Pomona, who played in the first Division II final to go an extra session since Kentucky Wesleyan defeated Tennessee State in 1973.

Broncos coach Greg Kamansky thought his team defended the winning play the best it could.

“You have to give them credit,” said Kamansky of his 25-8 club. “(Evans) hit the shot when he had to. We’ve been down that road before with our guys hitting game-winning shots. It was their turn.”

The game was a low-scoring affair. Findlay didn’t score the last 5:13 of regulation, and a free throw by Cal Poly Pomona’s Tobias Jahn tied the score at 42-42 with 1:42 on the clock. That’s how the teams made it to overtime.

After scoring only 12 points in the second half, Findlay found its offense and produced 14 in the five-minute overtime.

It was needed because Cal Poly Pomona grabbed a 51-48 lead with 2:01 remaining on a pair of free throws by Larry Gordon.

The Oilers rallied to take a 53-51 lead on a basket by Marcus Parker with 24 seconds left in the game.

Gordon tied the score with 12 seconds remaining by making a jumper from the right wing.

Findlay, which edged Central Missouri State, 65-63, in the semifinals, rushed the ball up court where Parker missed the go-ahead shot. Lee Roberts grabbed the rebound in traffic and was granted a timeout, which set up the game-winning scenario for Evans.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Cal Poly Pomona, which was trying to become the first team since North Alabama in 1979 to win the title as an unranked team.

The Broncos also had to travel to Bellingham, Washington, for their first- and second-round wins, then fly to Brigham Young-Hawaii for the third round where they scored the winning basket with 3.5 seconds left in 59-58 heart-stopper.

All five of their victories in the tournament came by single digits.

“We were down 14 in the second half and came back and didn’t quit,” Kamansky said. “Both teams had chances to win the game, but they hit the shot that counted the most.”

While the Cinderella story came to an abrupt end, the Oilers were able to win all their games despite having a target placed on them by being ranked No. 1 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll all season long.

“We're not an overpowering team,” Niekamp said. “We sort of live by grit and guts. To win in the way we did, that's magnificent.”

 Quarterfinals

Augusta St. 70, Christian Bros. 62; Cal Poly Pomona 79, Southwest Minn. St. 74; Central Mo. 86, Gannon 77; Findlay 89, C.W. Post 79.

Semifinals

Cal Poly Pomona 74, Augusta St. 70

Cal Poly Pomona: Dahir Nasser 3-5, 2-4, 5, 8; Dwayne Fells 3-4, 0-0, 3, 6; Tobias Jahn 5-12, 1-2, 3, 11; Larry Gordon 6-8, 6-9, 11, 20; Austin Swift 2-7, 3-4, 5, 7; Walter Thompson 3-10, 2-2, 2, 11; Robert Summers 3-6, 5-6, 4, 11. Totals: 25-52, 19-27, 36, 74.

Augusta St.: Fred Brathwaite 9-13, 2-2, 7, 21; Ben Madgen 4-16, 2-2, 7, 12; Steve Smith 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Garret Siler 8-11, 1-7, 9, 17; Greg Hire 2-2, 0-1, 2, 4; Tye Beal 2-3, 0-0, 1, 4; Caleb Brown 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Daniel Dixon 3-11, 2-2, 2, 10. Totals: 29-60, 7-14, 31, 70.

Halftime: Cal Poly Pomona 31, Augusta St. 27. Three-point field goals: Cal Poly Pomona 5-10 (Thompson 3-6, Gordon 2-3, Summers 0-1); Augusta St. 5-21 (Dixon 2-6, Madgen 2-11, Brathwaite 1-2, Smith 0-1, Brown 0-1). Officials: Charles Russell, Greg Langsdorf, Bill Jacobson.

Findlay 67, Central Mo. 65

Findlay: Nathan Hyde 2-5, 1-2, 3, 5; Marcus Parker 2-7, 1-2, 2, 7; Morgan Lewis 7-10, 2-2, 11, 16; Josh Bostic 6-19, 7-12, 6, 19; Lee Roberts 2-5, 2-3, 8, 6; Aaron Laflin 1-1, 1-2, 1, 4; Tyler Evans 3-4, 0-0, 1, 8; Michael Agunga 0-0, 2-2, 2, 2. Totals: 23-51, 16-25, 36, 67.

Central Mo.: Alex Moosmann 1-4, 2-2, 2, 4; De’Andre Byrd 4-12, 3-6, Sanijay Watts 8-14, 2-3, 5, 18; Tremaine Luellen 4-7, 1-2, 4, 11; Zach Redel 1-1, 2-2, 1, 4; Tyler Oakley 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Josiah Miller 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Nathan Frazier 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Joe Young 4-12, 2-4, 4, 11; Esian Henderson 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2. Totals: 24-54, 12-19, 30, 65.

Halftime: Central Mo. St. 32, Findlay 27. Three-point field goals: Findlay 5-18 (Evans 2-3, Parker 2-4, Laflin 1-1, Lewis 0-1, Hyde 0-3, Bostic 0-6); Central Mo. St. 5-16 (Luellen 2-4, Byrd 2-5, Young 1-4, Frazier 0-1, Moosmann 0-2). Officials: Bob Testa, Robert Riley, Chuck Jones. Attendance: 2,422.

Championship

Findlay 56, Cal Poly Pomona 53 (ot)

Findlay: Nathan Hyde 3-11, 0-0, 4, 8; Marcus Parker 3-10, 2-3, 1, 8; Morgan Lewis 5-9, 2-2, 6, 12; Josh Bostic 5-18, 1-3, 6, 13; Lee Roberts 3-5, 3-3, 8, 9; Aaron Laflin 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Tyler Evans 1-4, 1-2, 1, 4; Michael Agunga 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2. Totals: 20-58, 11-15, 34, 56.

Cal Poly Pomona: Dahir Nasser 1-4, 0-0, 3, 2; Larry Gordon 6-14, 4-4, 9, 17; Tobias Jahn 5-9, 4-8, 8, 14; Dwayne Fells 1-4, 0-0, 3, 2; Austin Swift 1-6, 0-0, 5, 2; Walter Thompson 4-7, 0-0, 1, 9; Robert Summers 2-3, 2-2, 6, 7. Totals: 20-47, 10-14, 38, 53.

Halftime: Findlay 30, Cal Poly Pomona 20; Regulation 42-42. Three-point field goals: Findlay 5-22 (Hyde 2-6, Bostic 2-7, Evans 1-4, Laflin 0-1, Lewis 0-1, Parker 0-3); Cal Poly Pomona 3-10 (Summers 1-1, Thompson 1-3, Gordon 1-3, Swift 0-3). Officials: Charles Russell, Bob Testa, Robert Riley. Attendance: 4,885.