INDIANAPOLIS — Mary Washington's first Division III championship came in dramatic fashion. Mary Washington took down Emory, which was also in search of its first national championship 75-73 in the waning seconds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
Mary Washington guard Kye Robinson sprinted down the court, and his contested mid-range shot from the left baseline airballed. However, the ball landed directly into the hands of Colin Mitchell, who laid the ball in as time expired to secure the victory.
Mary Washington (30-3) led 71-61 with 2:21 left, but a series of empty possessions led to a 12-2 Emory run that saw forward Ethan Fauss drill his sixth 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at 73 with 12 seconds left.
"We trusted Kye to get to the spot," Mitchell said. "And he got there and shot a good shot. Right place, right time."
"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."
The game's first half was back and forth, and Emory entered the locker room with a two-point edge. Emory (27-4) started the second half strong and held a 43-35 lead with 16:58 left before Mary Washington punched back and took a lead that was as large as 13 points with 4:49 to play.
Mary Washington was led by Robinson, the second-team All-American who won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. The sophomore guard dropped 27 points while having eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Robinson was the best player on the floor from the moment he scored the first points of the game with a layup. The 6-foot-2 guard did most of his work inside the arc, as just one of his two made field goals was a 3-pointer.
Robinson's stellar performance is why the ball was in his hands near the end, although his leg buckled and caused the airball. Mary Washington had no timeouts left after Fauss' game-tying shot, meaning its players had to get the best shot possible without help from their coaches.
"If we had a timeout, calling a timeout would have been bad coaching," Mary Washington coach Marcus Kahn said. "Because that gives them a chance to set up, maybe take time away, now put the ball in somebody else's hands. So it worked out ideally for us that ended up with (Robinson) in transition, going to the other end."
Jair Knight, one of Emory's two All-Americans, also did damage, as he finished with 24 points. But the other All-American, National Player of the Year Ben Pearce, tallied only 10 points and was 1 of 8 from the field. Mary Washington held Pearce, who entered Sunday averaging 24 points per game, to his lowest scoring output of the year. Fauss tacked on 24 points for Emory, but it still wasn't enough.
Mary Washington's depth wore on Emory as the game progressed, outscoring them 18-0. Each of Emory's starters played more than 30 minutes, as the three players it brought off the bench combined for just 11 minutes. Down the stretch, it became clear that Mary Washington's players were fresher than Emory's.
Once the Mary Washington offense got going, Emory was out of answers. In the second half, Mary Washington shot 48.6% from the field and 4 for 9 on 3s en route to glory.
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