Sports: Mitchell College men earn NCAA Div. III basketball tournament berth
Mariners win NECC title with comeback OT win
New London — It didn't seem like Mitchell College wanted its New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball championship celebration to end.
The Mariners went right down the post-title victory checklist.
• Storm the Yarnall Center court at the final buzzer and pile on top of each other after their come-frombehind 77-69 overtime victory over sixth-seeded Newbury College.
• Collect the NECC tournament championship trophy and pose for a team picture for nearly every fan that packed the gym.
• Take turns clipping a piece of the net for a souvenir.
• Then finally, find coach Todd Peretz and douse him with a bucket of water.
The Mariners (19-9) may keep celebrating until finding out their NCAA Division III tournament opponent on Monday.
"The feeling is unmatched," senior Domenico Santiago said. "I've never experienced anything like this in my entire life. I'm pretty much at a loss for words, to be honest. The emotions that I feel right now are through the roof."
Santiago's inspired play made a loud statement, as he helped lead fourth-seeded Mitchell to its second-ever NCAA trip, the last one coming in 2014. He scored 16 points and grabbed his way to a school-record 25 rebounds while playing all 45 minutes, earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Fellow senior Steffen Brunson also was immense, scoring a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds and five assists, and junior Hasani Williams added 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
"I don't think it was the path that we thought we were going to take," Peretz said. "I don't think this team has done anything easy this year."
For the second straight game, Mitchell out-battled an opponent in overtime. Junior Matt Finke's buzzer-beating 3-pointer helped the Mariners upset top-seeded New England College 87-85 on Thursday, allowing them to host the title game.
The road to the title looked steep in the second half when Mitchell faced a nine-point deficit with seven minutes left. The Mariners never flinched. "The number one thing we're good at is fighting," Santiago said. "We fight, no matter what. With this group of guys here, we didn't worry
about nine points."
Mitchell dug in on defense, switching to zone, and kept chipping away. The Mariners eventually took a brief one-point lead with a 13-3 run.
It was a white-knuckle ride to the finish.
Santiago stepped to the foul line for two shots with Mitchell trailing 62-61 with 20 seconds left but made just one of two attempts. Shaky free throw shooting hurt the Mariners, who converted just 17 of 36 attempts.
The teams traded turnovers in the final 20 seconds, setting up a dramatic overtime.
Santiago gave his teammates a pep talk.
"I said to my teammates, 'let's stick together for another five minutes and we'll walk out as champions.' And we did."
Santiago opened overtime by converting a powerful drive to the basket, starting an 8-0 run. The Mariners never trailed again with Finke hitting a key 3-pointer and Mitchell sinking 9 of 14 free throws in the last 1:45. Brunson accounted for five points.
Credit Newbury (12-15) for pushing Mitchell to the limit. The Nighthawks, who were led by Pierce Weatherspoon (20 points, 11 rebounds), nearly completed their magical run in the program's final season. The school is closing this spring.
Newbury's Tank Roberson (17 points) and Omar Williams (eight points) joined Santiago and Brunson on the all-tournament team.
It is Mitchell's second NECC championship, the other coming in 2014 when it also earned the automatic NCAA bid. The Mariners also tied the program's Division III record for wins in a season.
"This is what college basketball is all about when you get a four and a six seed playing for the right to go to the NCAA tournament," Peretz said. "March Madness came to New London a little bit early."