Division III Mary Washington captured its first national championship in as dramatic a fashion as one could imagine.
Colin Mitchell hit a put-back layup at the buzzer to defeat Emory 75-73 for the men’s basketball program’s first title.
The remarkable moment happened after Kye Robinson airballed an awkward-looking shot from the side of the basket.
Luckily for Mary Washington, Mitchell was in the right place at the right time to get the ball and quickly put up the layup that won them the game.
“We trusted Kye to get to the spot,” Mitchell said about the game-winning moment, per the Indianapolis Star. “And he got there and shot a good shot. Right place, right time.”
The championship capped a season in which Mary Washington finished with a 30-3 record, which is now the new program record for wins.
It was also Mary Washington’s first national title in any sport since 1991, when the women’s tennis team claimed the NCAA championship, and the first time a men’s program at Mary Washington has ever won a national championship.
Sunday’s Division III title game had already been a raucous affair and just moments before the buzzer beater, it looked as though Emery was about to force overtime.
Ethan Fauss hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds left before Robinson charged down the court to start the game-winning sequence.
“I feel like I was not taking the easiest shot possible,” Robinson said. “I feel like I was making it kind of hard on myself. And then once I felt my leg buckle a little bit, I was like, ‘Oh, I just have to get it up.’ Definitely the best missed shot of my life.”
Robinson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and he finished the championship game with 27 points along with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
