Mary Washington Secures DIII Crown on Buzzer-Beater Rebound
Colin Mitchell's putback rebound at the buzzer gave the University of Mary Washington its first NCAA Division III men's basketball national title, capping a 76-74 victory over Emory University on April 5, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Mary Washington guard Kye Robinson missed a fallaway jumper while falling out of bounds with time expiring, but Mitchell grabbed the ball and scored as the horn sounded. The win avenged a tournament loss to Emory the previous year.
Emory forward Ethan Fauss tied the score with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left after he and Jair Knight fueled an eight-point lead three minutes into the second half. Mary Washington responded with a 14-2 run to regain control. The Eagles from Fredericksburg, Virginia, advanced by defeating defending champion Trinity in the semifinals.
Robinson led Mary Washington with 27 points on 12-of-22 shooting, plus eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Jay Randall scored 14 points and Kaden Bates added 10. Knight and Fauss each tallied 24 points for Emory, while all-time leading scorer Ben Pearce, who surpassed 2,000 career points, made just one field goal—a late 3-pointer—and went 7-of-11 at the line.
The victory marked a program-record 30 wins for Mary Washington this season and its first national championship.
