DENVER, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs junior guard Derrick White scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mountain Lions claimed their first RMAC tournament championship in program history with a 82-65 win against Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Mountain Lions (26-5) will receive the RMAC's automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Division II National Tournament.

UCCS mounted a 19-5 run to take a 30-22 lead with 5 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half. Another seven-point rally put the Mountain Lions up by the 12 points, but the Roadrunners cut the lead down to four points at halftime at 42-38. UCCS shot 56 percent from the field in the first period and was led by White's 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Mountain Lions started the second half on a 12-3 run to push the lead to 54-41 with 14:52 to play, with half of the points in the rally coming from Alex Welsh. MSU Denver narrowed the game down to four points with a 9-0 rally, but a 10-3 run from UCCS put the Mountain Lions back ahead by double-digits, 64-53. UCCS led by at least eight points for the remainder of the game to claim the first conference championship in program history.

White was named the RMAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Alex Welsh and TreShawn Wilford. Welsh finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Wilford added 12 points.

UCCS is guaranteed to play in the NCAA tournament that begins on Saturday. The NCAA will announce the field of 64 teams on Sunday at 8:30 p.m., MDT.