Eastern Kentucky wins men's title

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Travis Ford has played in a handful of NCAA tournaments and even a Final Four. Coaching his own team to an NCAA appearance easily beats anything the former Kentucky standout ever accomplished on the court himself.

Zach Ingles scored 15 points, and Eastern Kentucky earned its first NCAA tournament berth since 1979 by holding off Austin Peay 52-46 Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference championship.

"This will be something that you remember for a lifetime," said Ford, who will be making his NCAA tournament debut as a head coach.

The Colonels set a school record for victories in a season by winning their seventh straight and improving to 22-8 overall. This will be Eastern Kentucky's sixth NCAA tournament berth overall.

Ford said he told his Colonels to seize an opportunity that may never come their way again in a conference where only the tournament champion is assured of an NCAA berth.

"I guarantee you if we win this game it moves to the very top without even questioning it, and it does. This is my greatest sports achievement to this date. I'm so happy for these guys that they get to experience it," Ford said.

Michael Haney added 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the second-seeded Colonels.

"It's just an unbelievable feeling," Haney said.