D3 basketball national championship live updates: Christopher Newport beats Mount Union

Mike Popovich, The Repository
·6 min read
Mount Union's Christian Parker (22) defends a shot by Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Levi Borchert in last week's NCAA Division III Elite Eight game.
Mount Union's Christian Parker (22) defends a shot by Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Levi Borchert in last week's NCAA Division III Elite Eight game.

FORT WAYNE, IND. — A long-awaited day for the Mount Union men's basketball team ended in heartbreak. The Purple Raiders, hoping to be crowned as national champions for the first time, lost at the buzzer in a thriller worthy of being part of March Madness?

Christopher Newport defeated Mount Union 74-72 in the NCAA Division III national championship game Saturday afternoon. The Purple Raiders (30-3) and Captains (30-3) each enter the final with 14-game winning streaks. Christopher Newport was ranked second in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll released before the NCAA Tournament. Mount Union was ranked third. It was no surprise to see each team here and it was no surprise they played a game requiring all 40 minutes to determine a winner.

Here's how the game unfolded throughout the afternoon with our live scoring updates from the arena:

Trey Barber wins title for the Captains

Trey Barber's layup at the buzzer lifted Christopher Newport past Mount Union 74-72.

Barber's layup was confirmed by review. It came after the Purple Raiders' Christian Parker converted a layup with four seconds left to tie the game.

The national championship is the first for the Captains.

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Mount Union trails 65-58 with under four minutes left

Do the Purple Raiders have one more run left in them?

As for Christopher Newport, Caleb Furr is 4-for-4 from 3-point range. He didn't score in the Captains' semifinal win over Swarthmore.

Christopher Newport regains the lead

The Captains regain the lead at 52-49 with 7:58 left on a Trey Barber free throw and a Jahn Hines pull-up jumper.

It's Christopher Newport's first lead since it was 2-0.

Mount Union off to fast start in second half

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Darrell Newsom and Jeffery Mansfield have given the Purple Raiders a 41-32 lead with 15:48 left.

The Purple Raiders are on a 12-6 run to start the second half.

Captains make late run in first half

Mount Union was outscored 14-3 over the final 5:10 of the first half and saw its lead cut to 29-26 at halftime.

Christian Parker has 15 points for the Purple Raiders. Jahn Hines leads Christopher Newport with 10.

Christian Parker helps Purple Raiders maintain advantage

Mount Union leads 26-17 heading into the homestretch of the first half.

First team All-American Christian Parker (see below) has 14 points and six rebounds for the Purple Raiders.

Defense fuels early Mount Union lead

If defense wins championships, Mount Union is off to a great start.

The Purple Raiders gave held Christopher Newport to 1 of 15 shooting in just over eight minutes. Mount Union leads 12-4.

Another All-American selection for Christian Parker

Mount Union junior forward Christian Parker was named a first team All-American by D3hoops.com prior to the game.

Parker became the first Purple Raider ever selected a first team All-American by D3hoops.com. He was named a first team All-American by the NABC earlier this week.

Is the Mount Union basketball game on TV?

The NCAA Division III championship game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.

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Who are the Mount Union basketball projected starters in the D3 championship game?

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Who are the Christopher Newport basketball projected starters in the D3 championship game?

  • Jahn Hines, 6-4, Jr., G

  • Trey Barber, 6-8, Jr., F

  • Ty Henderson, 5-9, Soph., G

  • Matthew Brodie, 6-5, Gr., G

  • Colin Hines, 6-4, Fr., G

Who are the Christopher Newport, Mount Union basketball coaches?

Mike Fuline is 224-97 in 12 seasons at Mount Union. Fuline has led the Purple Raiders to four Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances, including their first Final Four this year. He was named the D3hoops.com Region 7 Coach of the Year and the NABC District 7 Coach of the Year this season.

John Krikorian is 289-65 in 12 seasons at Christopher Newport. He has led the Captains to three NCAA Division III Final Fours. The first two came at the end of the 2015-16 and 2018-19 seasons. Krikorian has guided Christopher Newport to seven straight NCAA Tournaments and nine in his 12 years with the Captains.

Head coach Mike Fuline led the Mount Union men's basketball team to the Final Four for the first time this season.
Head coach Mike Fuline led the Mount Union men's basketball team to the Final Four for the first time this season.

How did Mount Union and Christopher Newport advance to the NCAA D3 championship game?

Mount Union beat Anderson 74-65, Lancaster Bible 90-66, North Park 102-85, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 78-67 and Wisconsin-Whitewater 83-79.

Christopher Newport defeated Farmingdale State 61-60, Hampden-Sydney 72-59, Mary Hardin-Baylor 72-60, Wheaton 76-70 and Swarthmore 69-66.

A look at Christopher Newport

Like Mount Union, Christopher Newport is playing in its first national championship game. The Captains reached the Final Four for the third time in the last six Final Fours played.

Junior guard Jahn Hines became the 34th player in Christopher Newport history to score 1,000 career points in Thursday's semifinal win over Swarthmore. Hines led the Captains with 22 points and eight rebounds. He averages a team-leading 17.2 points a game.

Christopher Newport went into the Final Four leading the nation in blocked shots per game. The Captains current currently average 5.6 blocks a game.

Junior forward Trey Barber had three blocks along with 21 points and seven rebounds in the win over Swarthmore. Barber averages 13.1 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game.

How many Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball teams have won national titles?

Mount Union will try to become the fourth Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball team to win an NCAA Division III national title.

Wittenberg, now a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference, beat Oneonta State 79-66 in the 1977 championship game. Ohio Northern defeated Augustana 71-68 in 1993. Otterbein rolled past Elizabethtown 102-83 in 2002.

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mount Union score vs. Christopher Newport NCAA D3 basketball updates

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