MARION, Ind. -- The shots did not fall all night long in the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Championship for the top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball team.

No. 3-seed University of Saint Francis (Ind.) won the program's first MCC Tournament title Tuesday night 76-63 to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament.

The Wildcats struggled all night on the offensive end, finishing with a 35.5-percent (22 of 62) clip from the field. Their top three scorers combined to shoot 26.3-percent (10 of 38) from the floor for 35 points.

"Out scorers didn't score tonight and that was a big difference in the game," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "(Saint Francis) is a team that can do that to you."

Sophomore forward Patrick Hopkins led Indiana Wesleyan with 18 points but shot 7-of-19 from the field. Freshman guard Jordan Weidner was 2-of-11 shooting for 11 points and senior forward Will Hubertz ended the evening 1-of-8 for five points.

"There was some adversity tonight for our guys," continued Tonagel. "We just didn't respond and that's why we lost."

No. 16-ranked Saint Francis (24-9) never trailed Tuesday after scoring the first four points of the night. Indiana Wesleyan would quickly tie the score 4-4 three minutes in.

USF senior forward DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis connected on a 3-pointer on the next possession to give the Cougars a 7-4 lead. USF did not surrender the advantage the rest of the night.

Indiana Wesleyan sophomore guard Aaron Martin drilled a 3-pointer which cut the deficit to one at 10-9 with 15:24 to play in the opening stanza. But a 16-4 Saint Francis run put Indiana Wesleyan into a hole that they could not overcome as USF led 26-13.

The Wildcats would trim the lead down to seven before halftime and went into the break trailing 41-33.

Sawyer-Davis was the key for the first half success for Saint Francis as he put up 23 points. Sawyer-Davis hit 7-of-8 shot including a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Only one Wildcat scored more than five points in the first 20 minutes and that was senior forward Josh Williams with 14. His big opening half output left him one shy of his career-high as Williams was 7-of-9 from the field. He also contributed three rebounds and two blocked shots to help keep Indiana Wesleyan in striking distance.

"Josh played really well for us tonight and provided a big boost to the team," said Tonagel. "He came in and brought lots of energy. Josh was the reason we kept it close in the first half."

Early in the second half, Indiana Wesleyan used a small 5-0 spurt to close within seven at 50-43. The game was still a seven point contest at 52-45 when Saint Francis made their biggest run of the second half with a 12-3 run to open a 64-48 advantage with nine minutes left to play.

The 16 point cushion for Saint Francis would be their largest of the night. Indiana Wesleyan continued to struggle down the stretch and could get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Williams completed his career-day with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Hopkins added a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. Junior guard Derrick Troyer returned for the first time since late January and provided 10 minutes off the bench. Troyer tied for team-highs in assists with three.

Saint Francis shot 46.2-percent (24 of 52) as a team and 40.0-percent (6 of 15) from 3-point range. USF out-rebounded IWU 43-33 and got to the free throw line 30 times, hitting on 22 (73.3-percent).

The Cougars got a majority of their scoring from Sawyer-Davis and junior guard Q Owens. While Sawyer-Davis did most his damage in the first half when he scored 23 of his 30 points, Owens did his in the second half where he totaled 20 of his 24 points.

No. 10-ranked Indiana Wesleyan has reached the MCC Tournament championship in each of the last three seasons, winning in 2010. Overall, IWU has played for the championship five times since its beginning in 1994.

Despite the loss on Tuesday, Indiana Wesleyan will gain an at-large selection into the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament in Point Lookout, Missouri. The tournament will be March 9-15 near Branson as College of the Ozarks will host.

"How much rest do the guys need?" asked Tonagel. "We need to find the balance between rest and keeping them playing so they don't get rusty and are peeking at the national tournament."

Indiana Wesleyan (26-7) will learn the tournament draw tomorrow night and will discover its first round opponent in the 32-team national tournament.

"It's time to get excited," added Tonagel. "We didn't accomplish our second goal tonight but it's time to look forward. We want to have these guys ready to go for the national tournament."

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