CHICAGO -- Senior forward Nate Hainje (Brownsburg, Ind./ Brownsburg) scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the 25th-ranked University of Chicago men's basketball team defeated #7 Washington (Mo.) University 74-66 at the Ratner Athletics Center to win the University Athletic Association championship and earn an automatic berth to the 2008 NCAA Division III tournament.

Chicago and Washington began the day tied for the top spot in the UAA standings, each at 10-3 in league play. With the win, Chicago (18-7 overall, 11-3 UAA) claimed its second straight UAA title and sixth in school history -- all since 1996-97.

Washington (19-6, 10-4) connected on six of its first seven shots as it jumped out to an early 13-2 lead.

Trailing 22-10, Chicago buried seven three-point baskets -- two each by Hainje, junior forward Adam Machones (Duluth, Minn./ Marshall), and sophomore point guard Jake Pancratz (Schaumburg, Ill./ Schaumburg) -- during the final nine minutes of the half to take a 36-35 lead at the intermission.

Troy Ruths led the Bears with 14 points in the first half, while Machones and Hainje each tallied 10 points for Chicago.

Machones sunk a pair of three-pointers as Chicago opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run to take their first double-digit lead, 47-37, just over two minutes into the period. Machones was 4-for-4 from behind the arc en route to a career-high 18 points.

For the game, Chicago hit 12 of 27 three-point attempts, good for a 44.4% clip.

A layup by junior guard Matt Corning (Wauconda, Ill./ Mundelein) gave Chicago its largest lead of the day, 54-43, at the 13:46 mark.

Washington then launched a 13-2 run, capped by an Aaron Thompson three-point shot, to even the score at 56-56 with 7:33 to go.

Hainje gave Chicago the lead for good, 58-56, with a pair of free throws at the 5:16 mark. The Maroons increased their lead to 65-60 when sophomore forward John Kinsella (Chicago, Ill./ University High) converted a three-point play with 3:19 on the clock.

Thompson's fourth three-point basket of the contest pulled the Bears to within a point, 67-66, with 1:21 remaining, but Hainje answered with his third trey with 49 seconds left to seal the win.

After making just one of its first seven free throw attempts, Chicago -- which entered the game as the top free throw shooting team in the conference -- converted its final 11 tries, including four in the game's final 29 seconds.

Ruth led all scorers with 24 points, while Thompson and Tyler Nading contributed 18 and 12 points, respectively.

Saturday’s game marked the fifth time since 1995-96 -- and fourth time in the past eight years -- that the Chicago/Washington season finale determined the UAA champion.

Chicago concluded the regular season with a six-game winning streak and a 12-2 homecourt mark.

The NCAA will announce its 2008 Division III tournament bracket on Monday, Mar. 3.

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