At last, the Eagles are National Champions

by THOMAS JACKSON

Associate Editor

On April 5, the University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team won its first NCAA DIII Championship in program history, claiming victory against Emory University. Sophomore forward and business administration major Colin Mitchell scored a game-winning buzzer-beater to end the match with a final score of 75-73.

Capping off a historic season, the Eagles came into the game with the best record in program history. Starting strong, Mary Washington led 17-9 with 10 minutes left in the first half.

This lead would diminish, before vanishing, with Emory leading 30-28 going into halftime. When reflecting on the game, Head Coach Marcus Kahn said that while the first half was not the team’s strongest, the group showed resilience in the second.

“I’m so glad and proud of our group for being resilient,” he said. “It was a tough first half.”

Going into the second half, both teams exchanged runs before Mary Washington built a comfortable 13-point lead with five minutes remaining. This lead would once again vanish after Emory forward Ethan Fauss tied the game, shooting a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. 

Having the final shot, sophomore guard and business administration major Kye Robinson attempted a shot from the left baseline, missing the rim entirely before having the ball rebounded by Mitchell. 

Mitchell shot the ball, scoring in the last second and giving the Eagles a two-point lead to end the match. 

“So much about the game was amazing, but the fact we won from a buzzer beater was even better,” said Erin Landfair, a senior communication and digital studies major who was in the audience. “Getting to see the exact moment we knew we were winning the championship was worth the moments where we didn’t think we would.” 

When asked about his shot, Robinson said that it was the best miss he could have made, allowing his team to win a championship. 

“Definitely the best missed shot of my life,” he said. “Because it led to a game winner.”

According to an email sent by Executive Director of University Communications Amy Jessee, students were offered the chance to register for a seat on the fan bus, which also included two nights in a hotel, a reception and a ticket to the game to support the team.

“It was the most amazing experience getting to watch the fieldhouse be overtaken with Blue and Gray,” said Landfair. “The UMW crowd was four times as loud as the others, and wrapped around the whole stadium.”

Robinson said this support was great to see, especially from their fellow athletes.

“The community is everything to us really,” he said. “Our men’s lacrosse team had played a game either yesterday or today and then they drove up here immediately so it was pretty cool to see just everybody there.”

Junior forward and business administration major Jay Randall agreed, adding that University President Troy Paino’s attendance, along with everyone else, meant everything.

“Having the community at our back, our president even being here just means the world to us,” said Randall.

This is a rematch from last year’s NCAA Tournament, where Mary Washington fell to Emory in the Sweet 16. When asked in a conference before the game about this team, Kahn ensured that they were very different from last year due to their experience.

“We’re certainly a different team, much more experienced team than we were last year,” said Kahn. “We’re a different, and I think better, team. More poised for this moment team.”

Going into the championship game, junior guard and business administration major Kaden Bates said that their goal was to stay focused in practice and not be distracted by all the attention.

“We’ve been trying to stay locked-in in practice and not getting distracted by all the outside variables and just listening to coach and trying to play hard and not goof off,” he said.

With both the semifinal and final of the Tournament being played in Indianapolis, sophomore guard and computer science major Ulysses Young said that this opportunity was something that he had dreamed of. 

“When you’re a kid, you dream about playing in places like this,” he said.

To avoid a repeat of Mary Washington’s loss, emphasis was put on Emory’s point guard Ben Pearce, the player who led Emory with 27 points in last year’s game. When asked how they would stop him, Robinson said that when he is playing his best, no one on the court is better. 

“I feel like no one can really compete with that if I play my best game,” he said. “But he’s a great player as well, so I think just containing him and making sure he doesn’t get off too easy of buckets.”

Limiting Pearce to only 10 points in the championship game helped the Eagles put an end to the best season in school history. Ending with their best ever record of 30-3, Mary Washington also received many individual honors including Robinson winning the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year award and Khan receiving the Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year award.

“We’ve all really enjoyed this experience,” Khan said. “It’s been a long hardfought season. So to get to this point is quite an accomplishment.”

Ky Huynh contributed to reporting for this article.