FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Senior Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had 14 points and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as the top-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team defeated No. 16 Elmhurst 75-45 Saturday evening in the Championship Game of the 2022 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament for the school's first NCAA national title, extended its win streak to 27 games, a program record, and reached 33 wins for the first time.

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The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 75, Elmhurst 45

Venue: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Records: R-MC 33-1, EU 27-7

How it Happened:

• Sophomore Will Coble (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day) hit a three-pointer to start the scoring for the Yellow Jackets. R-MC led 9-8 before a field goal by junior Noah Lindsay (Moseley, Va./Benedictine), two free throws by senior DaQuan Morris (Philadelphia, Pa./Hill School) and a steal and layup by junior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) made up a 6-0 run as the Yellow Jackets went up 15-8 with 11:30 remaining in the first half. The Bluejays had a 10-2 spurt to take their first lead at 18-17 before treys by senior Ian Robertson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) and Morris and four points by junior Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) made a 10-0 run as R-MC took a 27-18 lead with 5:22 left. Elmhurst cut it to six at 29-23 with 3:40 remaining before triples by Anthony with the shot clock running down, Robertson and Coble pushed the lead to 15 at 38-23 at the half. Robertson had eight points to lead the Yellow Jackets. The R-MC defense held the Bluejays to 28% shooting from the floor (9-32) and 15% on three-pointers (2-13).
• After Elmhurst had the first bucket of the second half, Anthony and sophomore Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had layups to give the Yellow Jackets a 42-25 advantage with 18:35 remaining. A layup by Mbangue put R-MC up 17 at 49-32 with 15:25 left. The Bluejays had a 6-1 spurt that was halted by a three-pointer from Morris that ignited a 12-0 run, half scored by Talbert, as the Yellow Jackets led 62-38 with 7:20 remaining. Anthony hit a three-pointer with 1:08 left and sophomore Lance Johnson (South Riding, Va./Freedom) had a layup in the final minute to make the final score 75-45.

By The Numbers:

• The Yellow Jackets had four score in double figures. Talbert had 15, Anthony 14, Mallory 10 and Mbangue 10.
• Talbert had his second career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Yellow Jackets had a 36-18 advantage on points in the paint.
• R-MC had a 42-35 advantage on the boards. Talbert had 11 and Mallory grabbed nine.
• Anthony and Talbert both had four assists and three steals.
• The Yellow Jacket defense held the Bluejays to 45 points, their lowest point total of the season. The previous low was 57 for a team that was averaging 82 points per game. Elmhurst shot 27% from the floor (17-62) and 13% on three-pointers (3-23).

For The Record:

• The 30-point win was the largest margin of victory in the history of the Division III National Championship Game, dating back to 1975. It matched the largest in any division. UNLV beat Duke 103-73 in the 1990 Division I title game.
• The 45 points by Elmhurst was the lowest point total in a title game since 1990, when Rochester edged DePauw 43-42.
• Mallory joined Anthony on the All-Tournament Team.
• Earlier in the day, Anthony was named National Player of the Year and All-America First Team by D3hoops.com. Josh Merkel was National Coach of the Year and Mallory was All-America Second Team.
• Merkel is now 10-1 in NCAA Tournament games, including eight consecutive wins.
• The Yellow Jackets extended the program record for wins in a season with 33. R-MC had won 28 in 2002-03, 2014-15 and 2019-20.
• R-MC has won 27 straight games and 50 of its past 51 contests. The Yellow Jackets broke the program record for consecutive victories. R-MC won 25 straight during the 2014-15 season.
• Over the past four seasons, R-MC is 100-7 overall (.935) and 49-2 in ODAC contests (.961).
• Mallory had three blocks to raise his season total to 90 and his career total to 189, both program records.
• Mallory had 10 points to give him 1,015 for his career, tied for 40th in program history.
• Anthony had 14 points to give him 1,988 for his career, the third-highest total in program history.
• Anthony had four assists to give him 798 for his career, a program record.
• Anthony had three steals to give him 256 for his career, the most in program history.