Bowdoin heads into the NCAA Tournament as the NESCAC champions after knocking off No. 1 Tufts on Sunday afternoon. Bowdoin athletics photo

Last season Tufts sent Bowdoin into the NCAA Tournament on a downnote by beating the previously-perfect Polar Bears in the NESCAC title game. Today, the teams reversed roles as No. 5 Bowdoin topped No. 1 Tufts, 70-60.

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Like the first meeting between these teams, Bowdoin and Tufts battled each other evenly in a back-and-forth affair. The Polar Bears opened the game on a 13-2 run, only to have Tufts rally to tie the score at 19 at the end of the first period. Bowdoin pulled in front 40-32 at the break and the Jumbos rallied again, evening the score at 52 midway through the fourth quarter. Bowdoin pulled out to a four-point lead and then extended it to seven, 63-56, on Sela Kay's sixth made three of the day. The Polar Bears made their free throws down the stretch to ice the victory. Box score

Maddie Hasson posted 24 points and 17 rebounds for Bowdoin (25-2) while Erica DeCandido had 27 and 10 for Tufts (26-1). The Jumbos' loss clears the way for No. 2 Hope to take over the top spot in the national rankings since the Flying Dutch will enter the NCAA Tournament as the last unbeaten team in Division III.

The early women's finals preserved at-large bids for anxious teams awaiting the bracket announcement on Monday afternoon. No. 15 Transylvania crushed Hanover 91-61 in the HCAC final behind 22 points and nine rebounds for Zenoviah Walker. No. 13 Oglethorpe handled Rhodes 84-67 for the SAA championship.

Ithaca, which likely would've received an at-large bid with a loss, won't need one. The Bombers held off Vassar 73-71 in the Liberty League. Coincidentally that result probably clears the way for arch rival Cortland to receive an at-large bid into the field.

After losing both regular season games to Rhode Island College, Eastern Connecticut sunk the Anchorwomen 49-44 in the Little East Conference championship game. Anna Barry, Mya Villard and Danielle O'Brien scored 39 of the Warriors' 49 points in the victory.

All-American Kelly Williams, who missed much of last season with an injury, had a vintage performance in the ODAC title game. She posted 22 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in the Yellow Jackets 68-50 win over Guilford. Williams and Michal Ross powered RMC to a 13-2 lead to start the game and the Yellow Jackets led the rest of the way.

The bubble didn't make it through Sunday entirely unscathed, though. No. 23 Austin dropped No. 12 Trinity (Texas) in the SCAC championship game and turned it into a two-bid conference. Kacie West scored 20 points for the Kangaroos, mostly from the foul line where she went 12 for 13. Trinity (23-3) entered the weekend perched atop the NCAA's South Region rankings.

Edgewood outscored NACC top-seed Benedictine 32-11 in the third period and went on to win the conference's automatic bid, 88-72. The Eagles shot a blistering 69 percent in the third quarter, including four 3-pointers. Benedictine needs an at-large bid and entered the weekend with a significantly lower strength-of-schedule than any team that made the Tournament last season.

Men: Bottom's up -- Coast Guard wins NEWMAC

Coast Guard, which was the lowest seed in the NEWMAC Tournament, rallied from a 24-point halftime deficit to beat WPI 89-86 in overtime and win the conference title. The Bears shot 52 percent in the second half and converted 19 of 26 free throw attempts, including one from Justin Kane in the closing seconds of regulation that tied the game. Tyler Perez led Coast Guard (14-13) with 23 points and seven rebounds. The Engineers (20-7) join conference mates Springfield and Babson in waiting for an at-large bid.

The NESCAC often produces surprise champions on Sunday, but this time home court held as Tufts outlasted Colby 102-94 in double-overtime. With time running down in regulation, Eric Savage lost the handle on the ball on the perimeter for Tufts. He tracked it down about 35 feet away from the basket and heaved an off-balance shot at the basket. It went in, tying the game at 74. Dylan Thoerner rescued Tufts in the first overtime by sinking two free throws that tied the game at 85. The Jumbos put the game away with a 7-1 run to start the second overtime. This is the first time since 2014 that the NESCAC men's 1 seed has won the tournament.

Randolph-Macon's reserves outscored Virginia Wesleyan's 42-2 and that was the difference in the Yellow Jackets' 72-57 victory over the Marlins. Terry Woods and Miles Mallory shot a combined 12 for 17 with 26 points for Randolph-Macon.

Jim Calhoun is headed back to the NCAA Tournament, this time on the Division III side, after St. Joseph (Conn.) held off Albertus Magnus 88-84 for the GNAC's automatic bid. Delshawn Jackson, Jr. poured in 46 points in 40 minutes for the Blue Jays. Riley Thompson scored six straight points in overtime to lift Ithaca over RPI in overtime of the Liberty League tournament finale, 80-69.

Zach Larimore drained a jumper to put Transylvania in front of Rose-Hulman 49-48 in the HCAC title game, and neither team scored again in the remaining 80 seconds. Michael Jefferson flirted with a quadruple-double, tallying 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists for the Pioneers.