Coppin State was ahead the first half of the game, but the Mount took control during the second half. Jeremy Goode, a 5-foot 9-inch sophomore guard, scored 21 points—including four three throws in the final 27 seconds--to lead the Mountaineers to victory. When Coppin State went five minutes without scoring, the Mountaineers took on a decisive lead at the end.

With the win in Dayton, Ohio, the Mount advances to face North Carolina, the top-seed team in the tournament, for the first-round game. That game will be in Raleigh, N.C. on Mar. 21. If the Mountaineers can win that game, they will make history. A 16th seed team has never beaten a No. 1 seed team, according to the Associated Press.

This is the third time that the team has played in the NCAA tournament since becoming a Division I school in 1988-89 and the first under Coach Milan Brown. In its previous appearances in 1995 and 1999, the team lost its first round game. However, as a Division II school, the Mount won a national championship in 1962 under Coach Jim Phelan.

The Mount earned its place in the competition when the team beat Sacred Heart 68-55 to win the Northeast Conference Championship on March 12. The win over Coppin State gives the Mount a 19-14 record this season, including a streak of six wins so far.

Sixty-four teams compete in the first-round of the NCAA tournament, but 65 teams actually earn spots in the competition. Two teams from smaller conferences—this year it was the Mount and Coppin State—play a prelimary game to win the 64th spot in the NCAA competition.