When Troy Ruths was making his decision on where to attend college, the lure of a Division I athletics scholarship wasn’t enough to sway his mind that Washington U. in St. Louis was the best fit for him.

Four years later, Ruths put an exclamation point on his career by leading the Bears to a 90-68 win over Amherst in the title game of the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Saturday in Salem, Virginia.

Ruths, the tournament’s most outstanding player, poured in 33 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 15-of-17 from the foul line to end Amherst’s bid for a second consecutive national title.

The 6-6 senior’s combined averages over the weekend in Salem -- including his numbers in an 89-74 victory over Hope in the semifinals -- were 31.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.

“We're bringing that banner home,” Ruths told the assembled media after the championship game. “Talk about icing on the cake for me. I came here to win a national championship, and I'm proud that I did that my last year.”

It’s the first men’s NCAA title in any sport for Washington-St. Louis. Bears fans are pleased that Ruths choose to have his student-athlete experience at their institution instead of accepting one of the dozen or so offers he had from Division I programs.

“In the end, the academics, and honestly the chance to play on a winning team, won me over,” Ruths said. “Looking back, it would have been miserable. None of the Division I schools who recruited me are winning any national titles.”

Ruths was a lethal 20-for-28 from the floor and 23-of-26 from the free-throw line in the semifinals and finals.

“I wonder why he didn't do that in all of (the games)?” joked Washington-St. Louis coach Mark Edwards to the Roanoke Times. “Certainly, it was two special days and what a way to end your career.”

 Edwards didn’t have to stress much over the weekend because of his team’s offensive efficiency. The Bears shot 55.8 percent from the field in the semifinals and were 30-for-50 (.600) against Amherst.

“They did to us what we've had the pleasure doing to other people,” said Lord Jeffs coach Dave Hixon. “Every time we'd do good things, they would match us. That's what we've been doing all year long, and they did it right back to us ... in triple.”

Edwards improved to 477-233 in his 27 years at Washington-St. Louis. After all waiting for a moment like this, he enjoyed every moment of this championship experience.

“It's a tremendous thrill to come out here and win the championship, to play two good games against two good teams and be able to execute and run our style, and just to have fun,” Edwards said.

Washington-St. Louis ended the season 25-6, while Amherst finished 24-4.

Semifinals

Washington-St. Louis 89, Hope 74

Washington-St. Louis: Ross Kelley 2-5, 0-0, 3 (reb.), 6; Tyler Nading 5-7, 5-6, 4, 15; Aaron Thompson 6-10, 0-0, 4, 15; Cameron Smith 1-6, 0-1, 3, 3; Troy Ruths 11-15, 8-9, 6, 30; Moss Schermerhorn 0-0, 3-4, 6, 3; Brett Sapp 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; John Wolf 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; 1, 0; Danny O’Boyle 3-5, 4-4, 2, 12; Zach Greenberg 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Caleb Knepper 0-2, 2-2, 1, 2; Zach Kelly 1-1, 1-1, 1, 3; Michael Young 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Tom Blount 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Tyler Gordon 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 29-52, 23-27, 37, 89.

Hope: Jesse Reimink 6-14, 0-1, 5, 15; Ryan Klein 3-5, 2-2, 3, 9; Tyler Wolfe 3-11, 2-4, 3, 9; Marcus Vanderheide 2-6, 5-6, 4, 10; Derek Vansolkema 7-19, 0-3, 2, 19; Kelvin Carter 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Will Bowser 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2; Steven Kratz 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Ty Tanis 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Brandon Bosch 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Cody Canan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Doug Sharples 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Scott Glaser 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Zach Osburn 4-7, 0-0, 9, 8; Dan Holt 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. Totals: 26-65, 11-18, 32, 74.

Halftime: Hope 33, Washington-St. Louis 32. Three-point field goals: Washington-St. Louis 8-19 (Thompson 3-6, Kelley 2-3, O’Boyle 2-4, Smith 1-4, Knepper 0-2); Hope 11-26 (Vansolkema 5-11, Reimink 3-5, Klein 1-2, Vanderheide 1-2, Wolfe 1-4, Osburn 0-2). Officials: Doug Aphrhamian, Bob Spence, Jim Moran.

Amherst 84, Ursinus 58

Ursinus: Remy Cousart 1-6, 3-6, 10, 5; Matt Hilton 1-5, 1-2, 2, 3; Nick Shattuck 3-16, 3-4, 3, 10; John Noonan 8-13, 0-0, 3, 18; Michael Shema 6-8, 1-3, 10, 13; Sean Butkus 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Keith Page 0-1, 2-2, 0, 2; Eric Burnett 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Kevin McGarvey 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Matt Howell 1-1, 1-2, 0, 3; Matt Brundage 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; T.J. Jones 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 22-56, 11-19, 35, 58.

Amherst: Andrew Olson 7-14, 2-2, 10, 21; Brian Baskauskas 6-13, 3-4, 6, 17; Fletcher Walters 8-15, 2-2, 8, 18; Kevin Hopkins 2-3, 2-4, 2, 6; Brandon Jones 4-12, 0-0, 3, 11; Ben Kaplan 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Glenn Wong 0-1, 0-0, 4, 0; Marcus Bradley 1-2, 2-2, 2, 5; Conor Meehan 0-4, 0-0, 0, 0; Billy Butler 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Matt Goldsmith 1-2, 2-4, 6, 4; Kurt Bennett 1-1, 0-1, 1, 2; Mike Holsey 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 30-68, 13-19, 46, 84.

Halftime: Amherst 42, Ursinus 31; Three-point field goals: Ursinus 3-12 (Noonan 2-4, Shattuck 1-5, Burnett 0-1, Hilton 0-2); Amherst 11-28 (Olson 5-7, Jones 3-7, Baskauskas 2-7, Bradley 1-1, Kaplan 0-1, Wong 0-1, Walters 0-3). Officials: Larry Jacobson, Todd Burchyette, Donnie Harris.

Third-place game

 Hope 100, Ursinus 86

Ursinus: Remy Cousart 4-8, 2-3, 11, 10; Matt Hilton 3-10, 0-0, 1, 7; Nick Shattuck 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; John Noonan 9-11, 0-0, 7, 24; Michael Shema 4-5, 0-0, 3, 8; Sean Butkus 4-5, 0-0, 3, 8; Keith Page 0-5, 0-0, 2, 0; Eric Burnett 4-7, 0-0, 0, 10; Kevin McGarvey 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Matt Howell 6-10, 1-2, 6, 13; Matt Brundage 1-4, 1-1, 1, 3; T.J. Jones 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1. Totals: 35-67, 5-8, 37, 86.

Hope: Jesse Reimink 8-15, 1-1, 7, 18; Ryan Klein 2-6, 0-1, 5, 4; Tyler Wolfe 6-11, 7-7, 8, 22; Marcus Vanderheide 8-17, 7-11, 8, 24; Derek Vansolkema 7-13, 2-3, 3, 22; Kelvin Carter 0-1, 1-2, 0, 1; Will Bowser 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Steven Kratz 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Ty Tanis 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Brandon Bosch 1-1, 0-1, 1, 2; Cody Canan 0-0, 1-2, 1, 1; Doug Sharples 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Scott Glaser 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Zach Osburn 3-4, 0-0, 3, 6; Dan Holt 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 35-70, 19-28, 37, 100.

Halftime: Hope 50, Ursinus 42. Three-point field goals: Ursinus 11-20 (Noonan 6-7, Butkus 2-2, Burnett 2-5, Hilton 1-3, Cousart 0-1, McGarvey 0-1); Hope 11-24 (Vansolkema 6-10, Wolfe 3-5, Vanderheide 1-3, Reimink 1-4, Tanis 0-1). Officials: Chuck Docken, Sean Toohig J. John.

Championship game

Washington-St. Louis 90, Amherst 68

Amherst: Andrew Olson 6-12, 2-2, 1, 16; Brian Baskauskas 5-9, 2-2, 2, 12; Fletcher Walters 6-12, 3-4, 5, 17; Kevin Hopkins 3-6, 0-0, 1, 6; Brandon Jones 3-7, 5-5, 7, 12; Glenn Wong 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Marcus Bradley 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Conor Meehan 0-1, 0-0, 1, 4; Matt Goldsmith 2-3, 0-1, 1, 4; Mike Holsey 0-2, 1-2, 4, 1. Totals: 25-53, 13-16, 23, 68.

Washington-St. Louis: Ross Kelley 1-2, 0-0, 3, 2; Tyler Nading 5-12, 3-5, Aaron Thompson 7-12, 2-2, 0, 19; Cameron Smith 3-4, 0-0, 4, 7; Troy Ruths 9-13, 15-17, 8, 33; Moss Schermerhorn 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Brett Sapp 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1; John Wolf 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Danny O’Boyle 3-5, 0-0, 2, 8; Zach Greenberg 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Caleb Knepper 1-1, 2-2, 0, 5; Zach Kelly 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Michael Young 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Tyler Gordon 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 30-50, 23-28, 28, 90.

Halftime: Washington-St. Louis 45, Amherst 32. Three-point field goals: Amherst 5-20 (Olson 2-6, Walters 2-6, Jones 1-4, Goldsmith 0-1, Baskauskas 0-2); Washington-St. Louis 7-15 (Thompson 3-8, O’Boyle 2-3, Knepper 1-1, Smith 1-2, Nading 0-1). Officials: Bobby Walker, Ken Pike, Jason Page. Attendance: 2,607.