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.
ICYMI
- Mary Washington coach Marcus Kahn named D3 Coach of the Year
- Harrisonburg grad Jadon Burgess aims for national title at Mary Washington