Home Buzzer-beater lifts Mary Washington past Emory, 75-73, in D3 national title game
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Buzzer-beater lifts Mary Washington past Emory, 75-73, in D3 national title game

Chris Graham
mary washington basketball
Photo: UMW Athletics

Kye Robinson scored 27 points, and Colin Mitchell scored on a putback at the buzzer, to lift Mary Washington to its first men’s team national championship in school history, with a 75-73 win over Emory in the D3 national title game on Sunday in Indianapolis.

UMW (30-3) seemed to take control with an 11-0 second-half run that opened up a 13-point lead with 4:49 on the clock, and it was 71-61 after a Robinson bucket with 2:21 to go.

Emory (27-4) stormed back with a 12-2 run, aided by a pair of missed 1-and-1 front ends by Robinson, and Mitchell missing the back end of a two-shot foul.

Emory tied the game on a stunning three from Ethan Fauss with 12 seconds left.

Mary Washington raced the ball into the frontcourt for a final shot, which was missed by Washington with two seconds on the clock, but Mitchell snared the rebound and banked in a short jumper as the buzzer sounded.

Robinson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, after averaging 23.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in UMW’s five-game run to the national title.

The national championship is the fourth in school history, the first for any men’s team, and the first since women’s tennis claimed the 1991 NCAA Championship.


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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].