SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Theron Colao had one last chance to send the game into overtime and keep his team's dream of a national title alive.

The California University of Pennsylvania guard, who came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, let go with a 3-point shot from just inside the half-court line. The ball hit the rim but bounced away, along with the Vulcans' hope for an NCAA Division II men's basketball championship.

"I was just praying it was going to go in," said Colao, minutes after Alaska-Anchorage eliminated the East Region champions, 55-52, yesterday afternoon at the MassMutual Center.

"It was a tough shot, but I was thinking I was going to make it. It looked good when I let it go."

In a game where California led by as many as nine points in the first half and there were nine ties in the second, a jumper by Alaska-Anchorage's McCade Olsen with 27 seconds left put the Seawolves on top for good. They clinched the victory by hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds.

"We knew it was going to be a close game," said Colao. "It's the Elite Eight. We knew it was going to come right down to the end."

Julian Logan added 12 points for the Vulcans (28-6).

Alaska-Anchorage (29-5) will play Augusta (Ga.) State tonight in a semifinal. Augusta State beat Central Oklahoma, 106-104, in double overtime.

California and Alaska-Anchorage entered the game as two of the best defensive teams in the country.

The Vulcans were giving up 57.7 points per game (fourth in Division II); Alaska-Anchorage 60.7 (12th).

Alaska-Anchorage held California's top two scorers under wraps as Ron Banks (15.6 points per game) and Alioune Mbaye (12.3 points) managed just four and three points.

Cal did lead, 4-0, with 18:25 left on baskets by Jesse Brooks and James Hairston. The Vulcans held the Seawolves without a point until Jeremiah Trueman scored with 14:26 to play. Alaska-Anchorage managed a 25-23 halftime lead as California went without a point for the final four minutes.

The Seawolves' Chris Bryant hit a 3-pointer at the start of the second half, putting his team up, 28-23, but the Vulcans countered with a 12-4 run and moved in front, 35-32, on a Colao 3-pointer with 14:02 left in the game.

Cal was able to extend its lead to seven, 42-35, when Logan hit a hook shot from the right block with 10:40 to play.

Alaska-Anchorage, ranked fourth in Division II, chipped away at the deficit and tied the score on Olsen's jumper with 3:20 left. Olsen, who averaged nearly 16 points per game, had been held scoreless until then.

It took him nearly three minutes to score again, but when he did, he put the Seawolves ahead for keeps.

Carl Arts had 17 points to lead Alaska-Anchorage; point guard Luke Cooper added 12.

"I'm proud of my guys," said Bill Brown, who finishes his 12th year at California. "We lost four starters from last year; three were all-conference players. We started off the year getting beat by Tennessee [106-46 in an exhibition]. I thought it was going to be a long year.

"We've grown, we've come together to do the things we knew to do."