Heartbreak for Mount Union men's basketball as Purple Raiders left out of NCAA Tournament
The final dagger was administered Monday afternoon.
After playing for a national championship last March, the Mount Union men's basketball team will not be in the NCAA Division III Tournament this season.
The Purple Raiders did not receive one of the 20 at-large berths to the tournament. They came within a fraction of a second of earning an automatic berth Saturday before losing to John Carroll in overtime in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.
The end of regulation Saturday led to a couple of frustrating days for head coach Mike Fuline and his team.
After rally from a 22-point deficit, Mount Union took a 79-77 lead with two seconds left on two Elijah Farrington free throws.
John Carroll was out of timeouts and had to inbound on the Purple Raiders baseline. Luke Chicone took the inbound and dribbled up the sideline against Mount Union's Corey Hudson. After Chicone crossed midcourt, he spun around Hudson, who fell to the court.
Hudson was whistled for a foul as the buzzer sounded. Fuline was incensed. A video review showed the call came with four-tenths of a second left. Chicone hit two free throws to tie the game.
The Purple Raiders finish at 20-7. Despite taking the nation's No. 2-ranked team to the wire Saturday, they didn't help themselves by losing two OAC games to 9-16 Wilmington during the regular season. Some conference tournament upsets over the weekend also helped seal their fate.
John Carroll is the only OAC team that made the tournament. The Blue Streaks (25-2) will be the host school this weekend in a four-team pod that also includes Calvin, Elmhurst and SUNY New Paltz. They will face SUNY New Paltz in the first round Friday at 8:20 p.m.
Christopher Newport, which beat Mount Union in last year's championship game, will have a shot to defend its title. The Captains (21-6) are heading to Widener, where they will face Hobart in the first round.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mount Union men's basketball team does not receive NCAA at-large berth
