The Jostens Trophy is presented to the best player in NCAA Division III men’s basketball at the conclusion of every season.
When the 11 finalists for this year’s honor were announced last Thursday, University of Mary Washington star guard Kye Robinson was not among them.
After his performance in Saturday’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game against Wisconsin-La Crosse, the selection committee may need to rethink that snub.
Robinson scored 35 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and made some clutch shots in the contest’s final minutes to will the Eagles to a 73-68 victory over UWL in front of a packed Ron Rosner Arena.
UMW (27-3) is headed to the Elite Eight for just the second time ever. It will face the University of Chicago (24-4) on Thursday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Robinson’s immediate reaction in the aftermath of Saturday night’s win was one of gratitude.
“I’m just grateful, honestly,” he said. “God’s a big part of my life. … I’m just grateful for Him.”
The Eagles are certainly grateful that Robinson is on their side.
Trailing 62-60 with just over five minutes to play, Robinson connected on a pair of 3-pointers that seemed to knock some of the wind out of UWL (24-7). UMW never trailed again, and the visitors didn’t score again until Dustin Derousseau converted two free throws to make it 66-64 with 2:15 remaining.
Robinson later sank a pair of free throws to give the Eagles a 71-68 advantage with 17 seconds left. UWL’s Sam Grieger had an opportunity to tie the score in the final seconds, but his 3-point attempt from the top of the key misfired. UMW’s Josh Seworder rebounded the miss, was fouled, and converted two free throws to slam the door shut with just a second remaining on the clock.
When asked about his big shots, Robinson talked about the importance of staying calm in big moments in front of a packed gym.
“I try to just ground myself,” he said. “I try to just take deep breaths to calm myself down, because it can be a lot with 1,000-plus people in [the crowd].”
Robinson’s big night also helped offset the absence of starters Jay Randall and Jadon Burgess, both of whom saw limited action due to foul trouble.
The Eagles also got quality minutes off the bench from Colin Mitchell, Seworder, Hasan Hammad and Preston White.
Mitchell played 21 minutes, nailing a pair of treys and pulling down four rebounds. Seworder scored seven points in 15 minutes, Hammad had four points in 14 minutes, and White grabbed three offensive rebounds in 14 minutes.
The rebounding and size of Mitchell and White, who are both 6-foot-5, also helped to offset a 16-point, nine-rebound effort from UWL’s 6-7 J.J. Paider.
“That’s the development of everybody on our team over the last five months,” UMW head coach Marcus Kahn said. “Preston White had those offensive rebounds, and Colin had one that gave us an extra possession when things weren’t going great. Those things can be the difference in a game.”
“Coach trusts everyone on the bench,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t matter who he puts in. Our effort is [there] on the court, at practice, off the court. So whoever he puts in is gonna shine.”
UWL was buoyed by its three top scorers coming into the game — Grieger, Derousseau and Paider.
Grieger finished with a team-high 23 points, and Derousseau had 20.
Grieger, a junior guard, made the Jostens Trophy list that omitted Robinson. He was averaging 25.8 points per contest entering Saturday, while Robinson was at 24.6.
“That Sam Grieger is good,” Kahn remarked. “But so is Kye Robinson.”
Robinson admitted that he was well aware of the award snub.
“I saw it,” the sophomore said with a grin. “I don’t know what goes into the [selection process], but they clearly prioritized older guys.”
There will be no denying Robinson and the Eagles their chance to make the first Final Four in program history next week.
“The longer I do this, the more thankful I am to have the opportunity to participate and be a part of games like this,” said Kahn, who advanced to the Final Four twice while he was the head coach at Cabrini (Pa.) College. “Right now, I’m just really appreciative.”
UMW’s only other trip to the Elite 8 came in 2014, which was the season before Kahn arrived in Fredericksburg.
