Mariners Draw Williams in NCAA First Round

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team will face host Williams College in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Friday, March 7 at 8 p.m.

The Mariners (19-7 overall) will make their NCAA debut against one of the top teams in the Northeast. Williams (23-4) is making its 14th NCAA appearance and is ranked ninth in the country in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. The Ephs, who earned an NCAA at-large bid, had won 10 straight games before falling to seventh-ranked Amherst College in the finals of the NESCAC Championship.

Mitchell earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by winning the New England Collegiate Conference Championship. The second-seeded Mariners defeated top-seeded Elms by a 72-71 final in the title game to secure the league's automatic bid.

Williams will host the first and second round of the tournament, which begins on Friday at 6 p.m. with a contest between Babson College (20-6 overall) and Gordon College (17-10 overall). The winners of Friday's first round game will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tickets, which go on sale beginning Thursday morning, will cost $6 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.