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Cal State San Marcos captured its second straight Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) crown March 7 with a 87-83 men’s basketball win over West Virginia Tech in Montgomery, W. Va.

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Senior guard Blake Nash won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after he scored a game-high 34 points in the title game.

Junior guard Akachi Okugo, who scored a career-high 25 points in the opening round, and senior forward Julian Camper, along with Nash, made the all-tournament team.

The next step for the Cougars (28-3, 3-1) is the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship.

This will be the team’s third consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championship in their fourth year as a program.

They will play Philander Smith (Ark.) on Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. in Kansas City, Mo. This will be the first ever matchup between the programs.

If they win they will take on either Arizona Christian or Georgetown (Ky.) on March 20 at 8:45 a.m., in Kansas City as well.

The Cougars enter the tournament ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 poll . They have not ranked outside the top four for the entire 2014-15 season.

Last season they won two games in the NAIA National Championship before being defeated in the quarterfinals.

All of the NAIA National Championship games will be video-streamed live on NAIANetwork.com

Live stats will be provided on CSUSMCougars.com.

Cougars Head to NAIA Championships After 2nd Straight Title was last modified: by

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