DENVER – It was 18 years ago today that the MSU Denver men's basketball team won its second national championship in three years with an 80-72 victory over top-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan. It was the third time in four years the teams had met in the final, with the Roadrunners winning two of three.
 
That game highlights our latest installment of "On This Date in Roadrunners History," which looks back at the biggest accomplishments in MSU Denver athletics on that particular calendar day.
  
On This Date, March 23:
 
2002 – Patrick Mutombo had 29 points, Lee Bethea added 19, Lester Strong had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Clayton Smith had nine points, 12 assists and four steals in the title game win over Kentucky Wesleyan, played at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. The 22^nd-ranked Roadrunners, who finished the season 29-6, scored 52 second-half points after trailing 32-28 at halftime, shooting 65.5 percent (19 of 29) after the break. MSU Denver had just six turnovers for the game. Mutombo was named the most outstanding player of the Elite Eight and Smith was also named to the all-tournament team.
 
Also on March 23:

2000 – Shane Ah Matt made a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining to make the difference as MSU Denver defeated Missouri Southern 75-74 to advance to the men's basketball national championship game for the first time in program history. Lee Barlow scored 15 points, DeMarcos Anzures had 14 and John Bynum and Kane Oakley each scored 12 in the game played at the Kentucky International Convention Center. MSU Denver shot 55.2 percent in the second half to overcome a 40-34 halftime deficit.

2014 – Darryl Baca hit two homers, including a go-ahead, two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh, to lift the MSU Denver baseball team to a 6-5 win over Colorado School of Mines in the first game of a doubleheader.

2017 – Josh Graetz won 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 singles and paired with Joey Tscherne for an 8-3 win in No. 1 doubles as the MSU Denver men's tennis team beat host Dallas Baptist 9-0.
 
2018 – Donny Ortiz Jr. was 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs in a 16-10 baseball victory over Adams State.

2019 – Matt Malkin homered in the first game – running his streak to seven straight games with a homer, two short of the Division II record – and MSU Denver upped its winning streak to nine games by sweeping host Adams State 9-5 and 13-3 in a baseball doubleheader.