Sophomore forward Colin Mitchell's put back at the final horn lifted the University of Mary Washington men's basketball team to the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship, 75-73, over Emory University on Sunday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Eagles claim the first men's team national championship in school history, and cap a magical season in which the Eagles finished 30-3.

The two teams traded points in the early going amid the adjustment to playing in an NBA arena, as the score stood tied at 6-6 seven minutes into play. Mitchell hit a three pointer with 12:48 left in the first, and a slam dunk by junior Jay Randall followed to give UMW's Eagles (Emory's mascot is also an Eagle) some momentum. 

After a pair of Emory free throws, freshman Josh Seworder connected on a three pointer to extend the lead to 14-8 with 11:13 remaining before the halftime intermission. The lead swelled to eight on three free throws by junior Jadon Burgess with 9:55 left, but a 9-0 Emory run gave them the lead at 18-17 at 8:02. 

Junior guard Hasan Hammad stemmed the tide with a three pointer to return the lead to UMW, which was held until an Emory three pointer with 4:42 left swung the lead back. Emory led by four with 3:15 remaining, but a three pointer from sophomore Ulysses Young and a driving layup from sophomore Kye Robinson gave UMW a 27-26 edge with 2:26 to go. Emory knotted the score at 28-28, and grabbed the lead just before halftime with a basket with two seconds left.

Both teams came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. Junior guard Kaden Bates tied the score with a layup, before five straight Emory points gave UMW their largest deficit to that point, 35-30, with 42 seconds elapsed into the second half.  After the teams traded baskets, Bates connected for a three pointer to draw UMW to within two, but Emory countered with back-to-back three pointers to push their lead to eight, at 43-35, with 16:58 left.

UMW countered with a 9-0 run of their own, keyed by seven from Robinson, to take a 44-43 advantage after a hectic burst over the first five minutes of the second half that saw 29 points scored between the teams. 

After another Emory basket, the freshman Seworder hit another huge three pointer, and junior Jay Randall followed with a jumper to give UMW a 49-45 lead with 13:17 left. Emory pulled to within one with a three pointer, but a traditional three point play from freshman Preston White kept UMW ahead. After Emory pulled to within two, a 13-0 run from Mary Washington, with consecutive baskets from Robinson and Randall, a three from Bates, a jumper in the paint from Randall and another jumper from Robinson, gave UMW a cushion they would need heading down the stretch of the final 5:37.

UMW's Eagles led, 71-61, with 2:21 to go, but Emory answered with a run of their own, with a 9-1 run that pulled the margin to 72-70 with 47 second left. Mitchell hit a free throw to put UMW up, 73-70, with 18 seconds left, but Emory knotted the score with a three pointer with 10 seconds left.

Robinson pushed the ball from end to end, and stumbled as he released a shot with two seconds left, but the ball went into the hands of Mitchell crashing the boards for a rebound, and he calmly laid the ball into the basket as the final horn sounded, giving UMW a national championship.

Robinson was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player, scoring a game-high 27 points on 12-22 shooting from the field, including one three pointer in two attempts. He also grabbed eight rebounds and tied for the team lead with four assists to go with four steals. Randall was named to the all-tournament team with 14 points on 5-12 shooting, with six rebounds, and Bates joined the all-tournament team after scoring 10 points, going 2-2 from three point range. 

UMW shot 27-69 from the floor (39.1%), making 8-18 three point attempts and 13-19 free throws. Emory went 22-59 from the floor (37.3%), making 11-31 three point attempts and 18-29 free throws. UMW was outrebounded 47-39, but forced 15 turnovers while committing just eight.

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. The Eagles smashed the school record for wins (30) and winning percentage (90.9%).