Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins became the first coach to win Division II titles in three different decades when the Panthers defeated Bryant, 63-58, in the Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 26 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Robbins, who guided Virginia Union to championships in 1980 and 1992, has been the Panthers coach for 27 seasons, and at age 62, he is ever so slightly contemplating retirement. Even Robbins, who gave himself a 10 percent chance of walking off into the sunset, was surprised to see all his team was able to accomplish this season -- it didn't have any players over 6-6 in its starting lineup.

"Going out in style is tempting," Robbins told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "There's no way I can have as good of kids as I had this year. It's going to be hard to replace these young men."

Robbins is going to take some time before officially announcing his intentions.

"I've got to see if I get the right kids who believe in what we do," Robbins said. "These kids will run through a brick wall if I asked them to. I'm going to see how recruiting goes. We have so many spots to fill."

The Panthers, who finished 30-4, lose seven seniors off their championship squad.

Senior forward Antwan Walton finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game en route to being named the most outstanding player in the tournament. In three games during the Elite Eight, Walton had 43 points and 31 rebounds.

He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Luqman Jaaber and Duan Crockett.

Jaaber registered a steal in the final seven seconds against Bryant with his team clinging to a 61-58 lead, then made two free throws to seal the victory for Virginia Union.

"I knew (Bryant's Cullen McCarthy) was looking for one of their shooters, and I just sat there, stayed low like a cat and tried to time it," Jaaber said in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Crockett had 12 points and six rebounds in the final.

Virginia Union relied on its defense most of the season, and the championship game was no exception. Despite shooting 29 percent (9-for-31) from the field in the first half, the Panthers were able to take a 24-22 lead at the intermission.

"We said, 'Gosh fellows, we played terrible,' " Robbins said. "It was the lowest percentage we had all year in the first half, and we still were up. We know we'll shoot the ball better in the second half."

The Panthers made 40 percent of their field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes.

Bryant, 25-9, also picked up its shooting by connecting at 52 percent in the second half. Chris Burns came off the bench to score 24 points for the Bulldogs, who grabbed a 50-49 lead at one point.

Virginia Union responded with a 9-0 run, but Bryant rallied to tie the game at 58 with 2:20 remaining.

Walton broke the tie by scoring while being fouled with 1:29 left in the game. He completed the three-point play, and Vir-ginia Union held Bryant scoreless the rest of the way.

Walton scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half.

Bryant leading scorer John Williams, who came into the game averaging 20.9 points per game, struggled with his shot in the final. Williams was limited to 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field.

Burns tried to make up the offensive production by making six three-pointers en route to his game-high 24 points.

"Because they were shading toward John so much, the only way for us to execute against that zone is if I start hitting shots," Burns said.

All of Virginia Union's players credited Robbins for helping them maximize their potential this season. Robbins said a day before the championship game that if his team brought home the national title, it would be a group that overachieved more than any other he's coached.

"All season long when this team has advanced, or even just won a game, I've referred to this team as being very lucky," Robbins said. "Now, I'm sure luck plays a part, but I'm going to change that statement to, 'These young men are very, very good.' "

Quarterfinals

Bryant 84, Mount Olive 69; Tarleton St. 58, Cal Poly Pomona 56; Lynn 75, Findlay 66; Virginia Union 78, Metro St. 63.

Semifinals

Bryant 60, Tarleton St. 55

Tarleton St.: LaShon Sheffield 7-17, 0-0, 4, 15; Cornell Jones 5-14, 3-3, 1, 17; Derek Atwood 1-4, 0-0, 5, 3; Nic Gamble 1-5, 0-2, 8, 2; David Stephens 6-8, 5-6, 8, 17; Chris Johnson 0-0, 1-2, 3, 1; Jake McWilliams 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Randall Williams 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 20-49, 9-13, 33 (3 team), 55.

Bryant: John Williams 8-16, 3-5, 2, 25; Nathaniel Sudlow 0-3, 0-0, 4, 0; Dan Hammond 2-3, 2-2, 4, 6; Mario Correia 3-8, 2-5, 4, 9; Mike Williams 5-8, 0-0, 7, 10; Jarett Love 1-1, 0-0, 2, 2; Jon Ezeokoli 1-1, 0-1, 4, 3; Chris Burns 1-8, 2-2, 3, 5; Cullen McCarthey 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 21-51, 9-15, 33 (2 team), 60.

Halftime: Bryant 29, Tarleton St. 24. Three-point field goals: Tarleton St. 6-25 (Jones 4-12, Atwood 1-4, Sheffield 1-9); Bryant 9-25 (Williams 6-10, Ezeokoli 1-1, Correia 1-3, Burns 1-7, Sudlow 0-1, Hammond 0-1, McCarthy 0-2). Officials: Mike Foote, Jeff Faircloth, Jim Barker. Attendance: 952.

Virginia Union 76, Lynn 61

Virginia Union: Luqman Jaaber 7-11, 2-2, 2, 19; Duan Crockett 6-13, 4-4, 9, 16; Antwan Walton 4-5, 2-2, 7, 10; Ralph Brown 2-8, 2-4, 8, 6; Darius Hargrove 2-9, 6-6, 2, 10; Steve Miller 0-1, 2-2, 0, 2; Emerson Kidd 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Arthur Kidd 3-4, 0-0, 0, 9; Phillip Moore 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Moore 2-5, 0-0, 3, 4. TOTALS: 26-58, 18-20, 34 (3 team), 76.

Lynn: Austin Faver 1-3, 0-0, 2, 3; James Cage 2-7, 0-2, 2, 5; Marcus Hayes 7-14, 2-2, 5, 17; Sheldon Edwards 3-4, 2-3, 8, 8; Justin Wingard 3-6, 7-7, 10, 13; Akil Lewis 2-8, 0-0, 3, 6; James Taylor 2-9, 1-1, 4, 6; Tommy Biggoms 0-2, 0-1, 0, 0; Hans Schur 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Temple 1-2, 1-2, 1, 3. TOTALS: 21-55, 13-18, 36 (1 team), 61.

Halftime: Virginia Union 28, Lynn 24. Three-point field goals: Virginia Union 6-13 (Jaaber 3-4, A. Kidd 3-4, Crockett 0-1, Miller 0-1, E. Kidd 0-1, Hargrove 0-2); Lynn: 6-23 (Lewis 2-8, Faber 1-2, Hayes 1-4, Taylor 1-4, Cage 1-5). Officials: Dave White, Brian Barr, Bo Boroski. Attendance: 1,030.

Championship game

Virginia Union 63, Bryant 58

Virginia Union: Luqman Jaaber 1-7, 6-6, 3, 9; Duan Crockett 5-17, 2-3, 6, 12; Antwan Walton 8-11, 3-3, 11, 19; Ralph Brown 2-8, 3-4, 7, 7; Darius Hargrove 2-8, 2-2, 3, 6; Lantrice Green 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Steve Miller 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Quincy Smith 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Arthur Kidd 2-4, 0-0, 1, 6; Chris Moore 1-4, 2-2, 3, 4. TOTALS: 21-61, 18-20, 40 (6 team), 63.

Bryant: John Williams 4-15, 2-2, 3, 12; Nathaniel Sudlow 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Dan Hammond 3-5, 0-0, 5, 6; Mario Correia 6-11, 0-0, 6, 14; Mike Williams 1-5, 0-0, 8, 2; Jon Ezeokoli 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Burns 8-13, 2-2, 3, 24; Cullen McCarthy 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 22-52, 4-4, 31 (5 team), 58.

Halftime: Virginia Union 24, Bryant 22. Three-point field goals: Virginia Union 3-14 (Kidd 2-4, Jaaber 1-5, Crockett 0-1, Smith 0-1, Hargrove 0-3); Bryant: 10-28 (Burns 6-10, Correia 2-5, Williams 2-11, Ezeokoli 0-2. Officials: Jim Barker, Mike Foote, David White. Attendance: 1,717.