UNIONTOWN, Pa. — In a clash of styles, Concordia College Alabama (25-3) defeated Iowa Wesleyan 72-65 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championship game.

Iowa-Wesleyan (20-8) made 13-pointers and forced Concordia (25-3) into a man-to-man defense and out of its patented 2-3 zone, but even that couldn’t stop the Hornets. While the Tigers kept shooting from the 3-ball — 36 of their 64 shots were threes — Concordia kept doing what it did best all year: forcing the ball inside.

Shuntavia Harris scored 26 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and had a key block in the final minutes as the Hornets shot 51.8 percent from the field and put the Tigers away in the fourth quarter.

“We weren’t going to change what we do. You’ve got to stop what we do,” said Concordia coach Howard White. “We’re going to get the ball inside.”

Tournament MVP Erica Ousley, the only remaining player from the 2014 national championship team, scored 13 points and added five assists for the Hornets. Two Hornets players — Kimberly Clark and Carshava Sutton — overcame ankle injuries suffered against The Apprentice School in the tournament’s first round and started Saturday.

“They weren’t 100 percent,” White said. “That shows you the mark of a good team. You can have two players banged up and everybody else steps up.”

Concordia led by as much as 18 points but had to hold on down the stretch. Iowa Wesleyan pulled within five on a layup by Darby Massner with 1:36 left but wouldn’t get any closer. Harris blocked a shot attempt near the goal on Iowa Wesleyan’s next possession and then made a layup on the other end to extend the lead to seven.

At that point, the Concordia bench started to feel the excitement as they felt the championship closing in.

The Hornets were the No. 1 team in the USCAA polls throughout the year and were the No. 1 seed in the tournament as well. Last year’s team dealt with the same expectations and came up short with a loss to Daemen College in the USCAA Tournament.

This year the Hornets refused to let that happen again.

“That really motivated the kids coming back to go and get it,” White said.

Massner made six 3-pointers and led Iowa Wesleyan in scoring with 21 points.

The championship was Concordia’s fifth overall and second in the last three years.