John Brown used an 11-3 run with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game in which Smits hit both of his treys to catapult from a 49-48 deficit into an insurmountable 59-52 lead with just over a minute left in the game.
Junior guard Brandon Cole of JBU led all scorers with 25 points, while Smits added 13, including 7 in the second half.
Azusa Pacific was paced by Adam Greenaway’s 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half when he led the Cougars back from 12 down by spurring an 18-5 run in which the Cougars took a 49-48 lead with 5:12 left in the game.
The Cougars seemingly ran out of gas, however, missing its next 4 shots and turning the ball over.
Azusa Pacific took quick control of the game. Lance Soderberg dropped in his first 2 shots to give Azusa Pacific a 4-0 lead and a Larry English trey from the top of the key gave the Cougars a 14-5 lead less than 8 minutes into the game. Soderberg, however, took an elbow to the eye and momentarily left the game.
"We tried to nurse Lance but he couldn't focus out of one eye," said Odell. "That took a little zip out of us."
The Cougars made 6 of their first 12 shots, but JBU defense tightened, and the Cougars struggled to get good looks the rest of the way, missing 8 of their final 11 shots while committing 6 turnovers over the final 11 minutes of the half.
"They (John Brown) are a very good defensive team," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "They did what they needed to do. They clogged the middle and rooted us out."
Cole caught fire midway through the first half and led the Golden Eagles back. JBU out-scored 26-9 to close the half with Cole scoring 11 of his 14 points in the run. As a result, John Brown held a comfortable 31-23 lead at the break.
John Brown was up by 12 at 48-36 wiht just under 10 minutes to play when Greenaway sparked a Cougar comeback, hitting 4 straight shots to pull Azusa Pacific to within 1 at 48-47. And when Soderberg made 2 free throws, Azusa Pacific led 49-48 with 5 minutes to play.
Again, JBU dug in and held Azusa Pacific without a point for nearly 4 minutes, while Smits knocked down his treys and Cole rebounded his own baseline jumper and laid it in to keep Azusa Pacific at bay.
"The subs brought us back as they have been doing all year," said Odell. "Adam lit it up in the second half and gave us a lift. We had a chance to win, but they had shots bounce in and we didn’t."
John Brown, which becomes only the third unseeded team ever to win the national title, finishes the season at 24-11, while Azusa Pacific, playing in its first-ever national championship game, concludes at 29-10.
