CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (February 24, 2024) - First-year Tommy Scholl scored a career-high 16 points, including going 4/4 from three-point range, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated #1 DeSales 54-53 in the MAC Freedom Championship Saturday afternoon.

Scholl was named 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 2021-22 season. By winning the conference tournament, Stevens secures a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks improved to 22-5 on the year. In what were two very close games, Stevens won both contests in the MAC Freedom Tournament by just a combined four points. DeSales loses to their first MAC Freedom opponent since the 2022-23 season, falling to 24-3 on the year.

The two teams had championship jitters, as the game was low scoring throughout the majority of the first half. Stevens didn't 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 would go up 12-6 before first-year Kyle Maddison made a triple for the visitors. Scholl would make his first three with 8:31 left in the half to get the Ducks within one. DeSales would go streaking to end the half, and take a 27-19 lead into the break.

Stevens quickly got to 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 at 13. From there, it was all Ducks, with Scholl scoring the next four to bring the deficit back down to single digits. With 9:29 to go, Singh made a three from the top of the key that made it 42-34. Just a few minutes later, Spellman converted an and-one inside the paint that cut the home side's lead to five. Singh would score the next three followed by a tough driving layup from first-year Richard Machado that tied the game at 44 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 Duck lead with 2:15 on the clock. DeSales would not go away, making a three with just over a minute left to make it a one-point game. With just eight seconds remaining now, DeSales missed the go ahead three, which was rebounded by Scholl. On the other end, Scholl missed both free throws, and DeSales secured the rebound. The Bulldogs then 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, potentially "icing" the DeSales shooter. The Bulldogs would end up missing both, and time expired on the chase for the rebound as Stevens secured the victory and the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Top Performers

• Scholl also added four rebounds.
• Singh scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Spellman had nine points and nine rebounds.
• Braunstein and Machado provided four assists.
• Stevens shot 35.4 percent (17-48) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-22) from three. The Ducks also went 11-18 (61.1%) from the line.

The Opponent

• Will Bowen scored 13 points.
• Caleb Gibbs had 10 points and 19 rebounds.
• Mason Barnes had six points, six assists, and seven rebounds.
• DeSales shot 33.8 percent (22-65) from the field and 23.1 percent (6-26) from three. They also went 3-7 from the free throw line (42.9%).

Up Next: Stevens will be in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament that starts next week. The selection show is on Monday at 1 p.m. Stay tuned to stevensducks.com for more information.

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