Men's Basketball | 3/6/2026 6:30:00 PM

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team (23-6) downed the Mount Union Purple Raiders (23-4) in the First Round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, 82-77. This marks the first NCAA Tournament victory since the 1994 season, where the Presidents bested Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Sophomore guard Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) led the W&J offense with a 17-point performance along with a team-high four steals. Junior forward Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Junior guard Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) ended the day with 15 points and three rebounds. Senior guard Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and sophomore guard Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) capped off the scorers in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
W&J worked to the first lead of the NCAA First Round clash with an 11-6 lead with 16:57 remaining. Triples from Burlenski and Seidl propelled the early run. Mount Union flipped the script rapidly by building their largest lead of the opening half, 24-16. After a W&J timeout paused the opposition's momentum, the Presidents went on a 7-0 run capped by a staple Plotner dunk to cut the lead to one, 24-23.
 
Eight points from Plasko put the Presidents back in the driver's seat with a 33-28 lead with over two minutes left in the opening half. A three pointer and two free throws by Burlenski allowed the Jaymen to enter the half up 38-32.
 
Burlenksi and Plasko each ended the first half in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Plasko had three first half steals while Plotner had three blocks in the first 20 minutes. Each unit shot slightly over 40% from the field with the difference being the Presidents' ability to control the turnover margin (13 UMU – 7 W&J) and score off turnovers (12 W&J – 5 UMU).
 
The Purple Raiders came out of the halftime break efficient offensively, scoring the opening five points of the half, 38-37. After battling to a tie at 42, the Presidents gained a brief 50-44 edge. With Mount Union battling back again, the Presidents prevented a Purple Raider lead with three free throws from Carte, 58-55. Mount Union gained their first advantage of the half with a three pointer, 62-59.
 
Each side traded one-point leads down the stretch until Mount Union drained a triple to hold a 75-73 lead with 1:23 remaining. Carte and Seidl drained crucial three-point attempts to help the Presidents hold a 79-77 lead with 24.9 seconds remaining in regulation. With misses from the Purple Raiders and made free throws from Plotner and Plasko, the Presidents marched to an 82-77 victory.
 
W&J held strong advantages in points off turnovers (16 W&J – 11 UMU), second chance points (18 W&J – 11 UMU) and the turnover margin (19 UMU – 13 W&J). The Presidents also help edges in fast break scoring (12 W&J – 10 UMU) and in paint points (36 W&J – 34 UMU).

W&J's win is their first in the NCAA Tournament since a 97-82 victory over Illinois Wesleyan, which was in the 1994 Sweet Sixteen to advance the Presidents to the Elite Eight. It's also the first win by a PAC team in the NCAAs since 2020 when Grove City College knocked off Wooster 67-62 in the opening round.
 
The Presidents will return to the Freeman Center to face either the host Christopher Newport University Captains or the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks on Saturday (March 7), pending the winner of the first-round matchup. Tipoff is set for a 5:45 PM start.

Photo courtesy of Kate Kirsch / Story courtesy of W&J Sports Information