SALEM, Va.-Washington University in St. Louis shot 60 percent and scored 90 points, but defense also was a major factor in leading the Bears to their first NCAA Division III championship.Senior center Troy Ruths scored 33 points and Wash U defeated defending champion Amherst College 90-68 last Saturday, giving the University Athletic Association its first champion since the University of Rochester won in 1990. The Bears held Amherst's all-American point guard, senior Andrew Olson, to six points in the first half and a total of 16.

"It was a great defensive effort overall," Olson told reporters after the game. "They took us out of our game."

Bears coach Mark Edwards said the key to the defense was point guard Ross Kelley, who guarded Olson. Kelly began the year as the backup, but a season-ending injury to junior starter Sean Wallis opened the door for Kelly to step in.

"They did to us today what we've had the pleasure of doing to other people," said Amherst coach Dave Hixon, whose Lord Jeffs have been in four of the last five Final Fours.

Ruths, the winner of the Jostens Award for the best Division III?player in the nation, was nine-of-13 from the field, added 15 free throws and also had eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Aaron Thompson added 19 points for the Bears and senior guard Tyler Nading had 13.

"I really think free throw shooting is a huge thing," said Ruths, who averaged 75 percent from the line during the regular season and went 15-for-17 on Saturday. "You have to be prepared for whatever they throw at you."

Senior forward Fletcher Walters scored 17 points to lead Amherst. Junior guard Brian Baskauskas and senior forward Brandon Jones each had 12.

The Bears led all the way, with Ruths scoring 17 points in the first half to help build a 45-32 halftime lead.

WashU shot 70 percent in the second half, while the Lord Jeffs shot 47 percent for the game and made only five of 20 attempts from three-point range.

In the second half, Amherst cut the lead to six twice-when Walters hit a three-pointer with 15 minutes, 41 seconds to go, and at the 15:07 mark when a layup by Baskauskas made it 55-49. But jumpers by senior guard Danny O'Boyle and Thompson, followed by two Ruths foul shots, extended the Bears' margin.

This was WashU's second-straight appearance in the Final Four. The Bears finished third last year, losing to Virginia Wesleyan College in the national semifinals.

Earlier last Saturday, senior forward Marcus Vanderheide scored 24 points and senior guards Tyler Wolfe and Derek VanSolkema had 22 apiece to lead Hope College to a 100-86 victory over Ursinus College in the consolation game.