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SALEM, Va. -- Tom Palombo said he knew he his Guilford College basketball team would have a difficult time winning Friday if Washington (Mo.) University shot the ball well.

The Quakers' coach was right. Washington, shot 54.5 percent and went on two 3-point shooting sprees that buried Guilford 77-58 in the NCAA Division III men's Final Four at the Salem Civic Center.

Washington (28-2) will play for its second consecutive national championship at 3 p.m. today against New Jersey's Richard Stockton (29-2), a 62-58 winner over Franklin & Marshall (Pa.).

Guilford's first trip to the final four went from looking like a blowout in the first half to looking like another comeback in the second half.

Washington led by as many as 17 points in the first half and was up 39-26 at halftime. Guilford's Clay Henson shot the Quakers (25-6) back into the game, scoring 12 of his 23 points to trim Washington's lead to 46-41 with 12:50 remaining.

"It gave us a lot of energy," Palombo said. "We just couldn't sustain it because they were better than us."

After a Washington timeout, the energy and everything else belonged to the Bears.

Cameron Smith began to guard Henson more closely, taking away the open 3-pointers he had been making and contesting other shots.

At the other end of the floor, Washington point guard Sean Wallis started shooting and it seemed as if he couldn't miss.

Wallis hit a driving layup to counter Guilford's run, then made three consecutive 3-pointers. Those 11 points came in a span of 1:35 to push the Bears' lead to 57-41.

"It was a great feeling to hit some shots like that in the final four," Wallis said.

Wallis' 11 straight points started a 16-0 run that ended the Quakers' chances of playing today for the championship.

"They have so many weapons," Palombo said. "We made a nice run and got our crowd into it. But they're really, really good if you haven't noticed."

Washington's other scoring weapon was 6-foot-4 shooting guard Aaron Thompson. He scored 30 points and made a career-high eight 3-point shots. His three 3-pointers during a 14-6 run in the first half pushed the Bears' lead to 21-11.

"He's just really hard to guard," Palombo said of Thompson, who uses screens effectively to get shots.

Guilford has played in Salem Civic Center in ODAC tournaments, but the final four is a different stage. This is Washington's third straight appearance and the Bears seemed much more comfortable with the surroundings.

"The fact that they have been to three final fours helped," Guilford junior guard Rhett Bonner said. "It's one thing to play here in the ODAC. With the lights and the cameras it's a whole different thing. But that's not why we lost."

Comebacks were a part of the Quakers' DNA this season. They trailed in 21 of their 25 victories, including four second-half deficits.

Last week in their quarterfinal victory over Texas-Dallas, the Quakers trailed by 12 in the second half and won 64-59 in overtime.

Henson, who scored late to force overtime, knew what the strategy would be again as his team fought back in the second half.

"We talk about playing the game in four-minute segments," Henson said. "We felt when we came out of the timeout (with the score 46-41) that there's no five-point shot. We were just trying to chip away."

That strategy was working until Wallis stopped passing to Thompson and started shooting.

"In the huddle they started calling plays for me," Wallis said. "When you've got it going, you've got to keep shooting."

WASHINGTON (MO.) (28-2) -- Thompson 11-16 0-0 30, Wallis 6-11 0-0 15, Nading 4-10 1-1 9, Toth 2-3 2-3 6, Smith 2-6 0-0 5, Wolf 2-2 0-0 4, Knepper 1-2 0-0 3, Kelley 1-1 0-1 2, Elder 1-1 0-0 2, Kelly 0-3 1-2 1, Appel 0-0 0-0 0, Gay 0-0 0-0 0, Greenberg 0-0 0-0 0, Sapp 0-0 0-0 0, Seymore 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 30-55 4-8 77.

GUILFORD (25-6) -- Henson 7-19 4-4 23, Sanborn 5-8 1-2 11, Bonner 3-6 1-2 9, Alston 1-1 2-2 5, Stephenson 1-2 0-0 2, Cloyd 1-1 0-0 2, Anderson 0-0 2-2 2, Stafford 0-1 2-2 2, Lowder 0-1 1-2 1, Neville 0-2 1-2 1, Cooney 0-0 0-0 0, Monroe 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Stanley 0-0 0-0 0, High 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-43 14-18 58.

Halftime--Washington, 39-26. 3-point goals--Washington 13-25 (Thompson 8-12, Wallis 3-6, Knepper 1-2, Smith 1-4, Nading 0-1), Guilford 8-18 (Henson 5-12, Bonner 2-4, Alston 1-1, Lowder 0-1). Rebounds--Washington 32 (Thompson 9), Guilford 23 (Sanborn 7). Assists--Washington 23 (Smith 6), Guilford 8 (Anderson 3). Total fouls--Washington 18, Guilford 16. A-2,223.