Men’s Basketball prevailed champions this past Saturday, February 24, with their 54-53 win over the top-seeded DeSales University. The Ducks previously won the MAC Freedom Semifinals 73-70 over third-seeded Arcadia last Wednesday, February 21, to send them to the championship.
In Bulldog territory, the game was low-scoring throughout the majority of the first half. Stevens was unable to score until the 17:12 mark as graduate student Stephen Braunstein made a jumper. The next Duck field goal came two minutes later from graduate student Conor Coffey. DeSales went up 12-6 before first-year Kyle Maddison made a triple, and first-year Tommy Scholl made his first three with 8:31 left in the half to get the Ducks within one. DeSales went on a streak to end the half and took a 27-19 lead into the second half.
Stevens quickly got within three to start the second as first-year Xander Singh made a basket, followed by a triple from junior Jack Spellman. DeSales then went on a 13-4 run to take their largest lead of the game. From there, it was all Ducks, with Scholl scoring the next four to bring the deficit down to single digits. With 9:29 to go, Singh made a three from the top of the key, making it 42-34. A few minutes later, Spellman converted an and-one inside the paint that cut the Bulldog’s lead to five. Singh scored the next three, followed by a game-tying layup from Richard Machado with just under five minutes remaining.
DeSales went up four with 4:21 to go, but Scholl came back with another triple 13 seconds later. Singh scored the next four for Stevens, taking their first leads of the game and leading 51-50. On the next possession, Scholl remained hot as he drilled a corner triple to extend the Ducks’ lead with 2:15 on the clock. DeSales did not budge, making a three with just over a minute left to make it a one-point game.
With just eight seconds remaining, DeSales missed the go-ahead three, which was rebounded by Scholl. Scholl then missed two free throws, and the Bulldogs secured the rebound. DeSales went the length of the floor and got fouled with two seconds left, still trailing by one. Head coach Bobby Hurley called timeout prior to the free throws. The Bulldogs missed both free throws and time expired on the chase for the rebound as Stevens secured the victory.
Scholl scored a career-high 16 points, including going 4/4 from three-point range, earning him the tournament’s most valuable player. The Ducks secured the MAC Freedom Championship for the third time since joining the conference and the first since the 2021-2022 season.
By winning the conference tournament, Stevens secures a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks will face Farmingdale State College on Friday, March 1, as part of a four-team regional hosted by No. 1 Hampden-Sydney College.
