BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Alabama men's wheelchair basketball players Jared Arambula and Mark Booth waited five years for this moment. So when the hydraulic lift wasn't ready to cut the nets, they didn't wait any longer.

Hoisted up by able-bodied people while in his chair, Arambula took the first cut. Booth snipped the second piece.

The Crimson Tide won its first national championship in men's wheelchair basketball today, defeating seven-time winner Texas-Arlington 71-52 at Lakeshore Foundation. Alabama scored the last 17 points to break open a tight championship game of the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.

When Arambula and Booth started college in 2009, the Crimson Tide was a sub-.500 program that finished fifth out of eight national teams. Today, they had Alabama fans wearing crimson and white body paint and a national title to join three from the Crimson Tide women's team.

"It means respect and recognition among everybody else, especially because the girls have three," Booth said. "I'd say I'm on the wheelchair basketball team, and people will say, 'Oh, you're good, you're winning.' I'm like, 'Actually, that's the girls.' Now we won a national championship, just like our football team."

Wisconsin-Whitewater Defeats Alabama in the Womens Basketball National Championship Game: March 9, 2013 17 Gallery: Wisconsin-Whitewater Defeats Alabama in the Womens Basketball National Championship Game: March 9, 2013

Earlier today, Alabama lost 56-41 to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the women's championship game. Wisconsin-Whitewater completed a 27-0 season to capture its second straight championship after Alabama won three in a row from 2009 to 2011.

The Alabama women's team, first started in 2003, has been the face of the adapted athletics program for the past decade. Now the men have a title of their own as wheelchair college basketball teams fight for acceptance as a real sport, not just a feel-good story.

Texas-Arlington, the No. 1 seed, trailed the entire game but pulled within 54-52 with six minutes left and had become comfortable on offense. Then Arambula jumped the passing lane for a steal and went coast-to-coast for a momentum-shifting layup.

"I was looking for it," Arambula said. "I only had two fouls and I wanted to change the game. Our coaches have been warning us all year they make flat passes. We watch a lot of film and we bait them into passes. So we wait, wait, wait and then attack them at the right moment."

Arambula scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the final six minutes. Booth finished with 18 points, including 10 in the game's opening 5:34 when he found a hot hand beyond the arc with a quick release.

Alabama Mens Basketball Team Defeats Texas-Arlington for the National Championship: March 9, 2013 32 Gallery: Alabama Mens Basketball Team Defeats Texas-Arlington for the National Championship: March 9, 2013

"It comes from when I played in juniors," he said. "I was the primary scorer on my team and everybody was focusing on me and I had to get my shot off quick. Now it's so nice in college. I'm not the best player and I still have the ability to get it off quick."

In the women's game, Wisconsin-Whitewater's Becca Murray scored 28 points and sank 6 3-pointers. Alabama trailed 35-31 early in the second half but went six minutes without scoring.

"We really got good looks," Alabama coach Charlie Katica said. "We couldn't quite make them and then we started taking some shots that were a little rushed and we probably got a little tired. The shots were a little flat."

College wheelchair basketball players are classified according to their disability level, ranging from one to four. Teams cannot have players on the court with a total value of greater than 14, or more than three class-four players together at the same time.

Murray, the top Paralympic player in the U.S., has a 2.5 classification level.

"She has a more severe disability level," said Brent Hardin, director of Alabama's adapted athletics program and an assistant coach. "When you have one of your best players at that disability level, it really helps. It lets them play three bigs and it's really hard to match up."

E-mail:

jsolomon@al.com.