Presidents get first NCAA tournament win in 32 years
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Much of the Washington & Jefferson basketball team’s foul-filled NCAA Division III first-round tournament game against 13th-ranked Mount Union was played at the free-throw line.
It was, however, decided from behind the three-point line and that’s where the Presidents held an edge.
Matthew Carte and Matt Seidl each made a three-pointer in the final 1:10 as W&J rallied for an 82-77 victory Friday afternoon in a game played at Christopher Newport University.
It is the first NCAA men’s tournament win by W&J since the 1993-94 season, when the Presidents defeated Otterbein, Kenyon and Illinois Wesleyan.
The win advances W&J (23-6) to the second round, against Christopher Newport, a 75-62 winner over Stevens. on Saturday. Tipoff will be at 5:45 p.m.
The Presidents beat Mount Union (23-4) by ending the game on a 9-2 run.
Mount Union led 75-73 after Kevin Moore, who scored 14 points, made a three-pointer with 1:27 remaining.
After a three-pointer by Carte, the Purple Raiders’ Chance Casenhiser put Mount Union back on top, 77-76, by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it in with only 50 seconds left.
Seidl put W&J ahead for good, 79-77, when he made a three-pointer with 30 seconds to play.
Following a Mount Union timeout, Casenhiser missed a three-pointer and W&J’s Michael Plasko grabbed the rebound. Plasko sank two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game, and teammate Nathan Plotner added a charity toss five seconds later.
Plasko led five W&J players in double figures with 17 points. Carte finished with 15 points. Twice in the final four minutes Carte made a three-point shot that gave the Presidents a lead.
Plotner had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked six shots. Seidl got off to a slow start but finished with 12 points, and Quinton Burlenski netted 11.
Mount Union’s Elijah Farrington scored a game-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds.
There were 43 fouls called in the game. Mount Union made 22 of 24 free throws and W&J was 21-for-29. The Presidents made two more three-pointers than Mount Union and forced 19 turnovers by the Purple Raiders.
Mount Union led 24-16 with less than eight minutes left in the first half but W&J closed on a 22-8 run to take a 38-32 lead into the intermission. Mount Union tied the score at 55-55 with 11 minutes to play and the lead changed hands 12 times down the stretch, the last happening on Seidl’s clutch three-pointer.