The Vikings downed Carroll College 82-71 in the Midwest Conference Tournament Championship Game and earned the school's second trip to the "Big Dance," the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lawrence (21-4) got a stellar effort from standout sophomore Chris Braier, who scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. But the Vikings also got a huge contribution from senior captain Brent Vandermause. He filled in when fellow captain Rob Nenahlo fouled out with 4:59 left, and all he did was score a season-high 11 points in seven minutes of action, including nine in that final five minutes.
The victory gave Lawrence an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The Vikings, who also played in the national tournament in 1997, will find out Sunday evening when and where they will play in the 48-team field. First-round games are Thursday at campus sites around the country, and second-round games are next Saturday.
Carroll (17-8) was set to spoil the day for the capacity and partisan crowd of 1,350 inside Alexander Gym when it took a 49-47 lead on Meguel McCleave's 3-pointer with 8:22 left.
Braier gave Lawrence the lead back for good when he nailed a 3-pointer with 7:27 left for a 52-49 lead. Lawrence was up by five when Nenahlo fouled out, but Vandermause came in and immediately gave the Vikings a lift.
Vandermause hit a 3-pointer to stabilize the Vikings, but Carroll battled back to cut the lead to 64-59 on a pair of Greg Monfre free throws with 3:34 left.
Braier pumped in another 3-pointer for Lawrence and that sparked an 8-0 run that gave the Vikings a 72-59 lead and control of the game with 2:20 left. It became a free throw shooting contest from that point, and Lawrence hit 10 of 14 free throws in the final 1:48 to seal the victory.
Braier hit 10 of 12 shots from the floor, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range, and recorded his 16th double-double of the season. Chris MacGillis added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings, who won all three meetings against Carroll this season.
Ben Hickethier led Carroll with 17 points, and Kevin Lauer added 11. Lawrence limited Carroll big man Jason Scheper to eight points on 4 of 8 shooting.