EVANSVILLE, Ind. — For the second day in a row, Minnesota State Mankato is celebrating.

After Wednesday saw the Minnesota State women’s basketball team punch its ticket to a National Championship game, the Mavericks men followed that accomplishment by doing the same Thursday.

Minnesota State defeated West Texas A&M 79-72 on Thursday afternoon at Ford Center in an NCAA DII Men’s Final Four game, earning a National Championship game berth this Saturday.

The Mavericks men will play Nova Southeastern University at 2 p.m. Saturday for the DII title at Ford Center.

Malik Willingham paced the Mavericks (34-2) on Thursday with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Justin Eagins added 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Also for the Mavericks, Dylan Peeters had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Brady Williams added 14 points and five rebounds.

Ahamed Mohammed led West Texas A&M (30-5) with 19 points, while Larry Wise added 18 points, Ryland Holt had 13 and Kieran Elliott had 12.

Minnesota State had a 43-35 halftime lead and did enough to stave off a West Texas A&M comeback in the second half as it outscored the Mavericks 37-36 in that half.

Minnesota State is just the second school in DII history to have both its men’s and women’s team competing for a National Championship in the same season. Central Missouri University was the first DII college to accomplish that in 1984, with both of its teams winning the championship.