HOLLAND, Mich. - A championship effort doesn't always make for a championship game win. The Adrian Bulldogs brought that type of effort today as they battled, fought, but fell to the top-ranked team in the nation Hope, 65-62 in overtime of the MIAA Championship game.

The senior-less Bulldogs played their game in the first-half, controlling the rebounding on the defensive in and playing tough in the paint. Adrian went into the locker room leading Hope 25-24. The Flying Dutchmen went eight minutes without scoring during an 8-0 Adrian run in the half. The Bulldogs held Hope senior Peter Bunn to 0 first half points, as Bunn is among the leaders in the MIAA with 12.2 points per game. In front of arguably the toughest crowd in D-III basketball, Hope started the second half with a 6-0 run.

The Flying Dutchmen led most of the half until the Bulldogs made a run of their own. Junior Dennis Mason had back-to-back Bulldog buckets, including a 3-point play that gave Adrian the lead with 9:53 remaining.

The rest of the half was a fight with many ties and lead changes but the Bulldogs had a chance to take over the lead with 49 seconds left, trailing 58-57. During the possession, Hope was able to get a steal, which led to a fast-break dunk at the other end by Colton Overway, to put the Flying Dutchmen up by 3. Adrian quickly got the ball up the court and Richaud Pack found an open Cody Barnes who hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 60 with 22 seconds remaining.

Both teams missed shots in the final 22 seconds of the game and the teams went to overtime. In the extra period, Hope jumped out to a four-point lead when freshman Adam Meier hit a jump shot to make the score 64-62. Hope led by three points late and the Bulldogs missed two potential 3-point shots that would have tied the game. The final buzzer sounded with the scoreboard reading Hope 65, Adrian 62.

"I'm very proud of our team, not just tonight but all season," Head Coach Mark White said. "The success we had this year shows we are going in the right direction."

Pack led the Bulldogs with 22 points, going 8-9 from the free-throw line. Meier added 15 points and five rebounds while Lewis scored 10 points. Mason ended the game with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Bulldogs finish the year 17-9. This was their best finish since the 1978-79 season.