Thanks to a 83-57 over Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory over William Carey, LSUS won its first championship and qualified for its first NAIA national basketball tournament at The Dock before a raucous capacity crowd.

Technically, the Pilots are co-champs of the GCAC along with the University of Mobile but LSUS claims the No. 1 seed to the conference tournament thanks to a tiebreaker.

"To do what these guys have done in two seasons," LSUS Coach Chad McDowell explained, "speaks volumes for the committment and attitude of our players. We really are a family."

The Pilots, who restarted their basketball program two years ago after a seven year absence, raised their overall record to 25-7 and finished 16-2 in the league.

Fredricko Payne and Derrick Rogers, the former Huntington standout, provided the impetus for LSUS as the Pilots' three spurts were enough to put the Crusaders away.

Payne fired in 29 points on 10 of 23 shooting from the field while Rogers brought his "A" game with 26. Rogers nailed 9 of 15 from the field, including 5 of 10 from three point range.

"It was my first good game at home," Rogers said. "It was senior night and I'm glad we're champions."

Payne, who did not score until 3:02 left in the first half, hit a basket beyond the arch for his first points. He followed that with two free throws and another three pointer to break the game open and give LSUS a 37-19 lead.

Fredrick Hughes' basket on a fast break actually gave LSUS a 39-19 lead moments later as the Pilots held a 39-21 lead at intermission.

"My shot felt a little better in the second half," said Payne, the NAIA's leading scorer. "I started to penetrate and Derrick had a good game."

William Carey (11-21, 7-11) got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Renaldo Dorsey. But the Crusaders shot only 30 percent from the field compared to 45.6 percent for LSUS.