NEW YORK — Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander walked off the Madison Square Garden court a winner in perhaps the biggest postseason win for the tiny school in program history.

The Bisons stole the spotlight in New York and Alexander wanted his team to know they had the mettle necessary to cut down the nets Thursday night in the NIT championship game.

“If somebody could ask me what I’d want from a team, it would be, tough,” Alexander said in the locker room. “You guys coming back from 11 down with 8 minutes to go, freakin’ tough.”

The Bisons rallied to knock off Wichita State and advance to the NIT final for the first time in history. Up next, a date with Texas with a championship trophy and the claim of 69th best team in college basketball at stake.

It’s Lipscomb vs. the Longhorns at MSG.

“Any time that a team is playing in late March and early April, it’s a pretty big deal,” Lipscomb guard Garrison Mathews said.

The Bisons (29-7) were a one-time NAIA power. But the school with less than 5,000 students mostly floated along in basketball obscurity, well behind the Tennessee Vols in popularity and prestige in the state.

Alexander took over in 2013 and the team moved from mediocrity during his first three seasons into legitimate ASUN contenders in 2016-17. The Bisons won 20 games and finished second in the conference, then won 23 games a year ago and made the NCAA Tournament. Lipscomb’s reward, an 18-point loss in a game against No. 2 seed North Carolina.

Alexander had said he wanted his players to savor the experience even as they faced a daunting challenge. Lipscomb missed its last nine 3s of the first half as UNC surged ahead.