It was the classic everyone hoped it would be.

RIT never trailed in the final 27 minutes, but Tufts’ potent offense left the door open for a comeback. The Jumbos didn’t go down easily, but RIT still prevailed 18-16 to punch its ticket to the NCAA championship game.

The Tigers face Salisbury for the national title next Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.

Tied at 9 at the half, neither side could assert itself. Jumbos led 9-5 after Bryce Adam found Mac Bredahl with 7:38 before the break, but RIT closed the half with a four-goal run that saw two scores each from Quinn Commandant and Dawson Tait.

Tufts opened the second half in this battle of unbeatens by taking the lead when Matt Treiber put one into the back of the net. That was the last time Tufts would see a lead.

RIT scored the next six goals, a stretch during which Larson Sundown had two goals and two assists.

Tufts trailed 16-11 entering the fourth quarter and came alive with its season on the line. Bredahl’s feed to Cam Kelleher cut the deficit to 16-14 with 7:48 to play, but RIT put a stop to the momentum by taking a 17-14 lead.

Tufts threatened inside a minute left, as Jack Boyden made it 18-16 with 52 seconds to play. But there wasn’t enough time to complete the comeback.

SALISBURY OFFENSE LEADS THE WAY AGAIN

RIT’s defense has another tough offense ahead.

Salisbury, which has scored 94 goals in four NCAA tournament games, is on to the championship game after beat Christopher Newport 18-8. CNU led 5-1 in the first quarter, but Salisbury scored the next 14 goals to turn a deficit into a 10-goal lead.

Josh Melton led the charge with five goals and one assist. Jarrett Bromwell scored four goals, and Jack Dowd had three goals and one assist.

The Sea Gulls dominated in all phases. They led in faceoffs (21-8), shots (46-23) and ground balls (43-24).