HOBOKEN, N.J. - The No. 1 seed Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team's quest for back-to-back Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Tournament titles fell one possession short in a 64-63 defeat at the hands of No. 2 seed Delaware Valley Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena.
Jack Spellman tied his season high with 23 points, adding 15 rebounds (12 on the offensive glass),
Kyle Maddison had 12, and
Mike Goodall finished with nine.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the exception of the opening minute and a 34-second span midway through, Stevens led throughout the first half.
Tommy Scholl opened the scoring with a layup and, off a Spellman offensive rebound, Goodall made it 5-0 with a three. Spellman added a fast break layup off an assist from Maddison for a 7-0 lead before Delaware Valley (15-12) got on the board, pulling to within 9-5 at the 16:47 mark.
Spellman scored the Ducks' next six and Scholl added a three, leaving Stevens (19-8) up 18-9, but the Ducks went scoreless for four minutes while the Aggies seized a 19-18 lead. Spellman put Stevens back in front with a layup, and two Goodall free throws + an Anthony LoScalzo three later, Stevens was back in front by six, 25-19.
Two more layups from Spellman, another layup from from
Harmehar Chhabra, a LoScalzo three and a Spellman tip-in gave the Ducks a 36-27 halftime lead.
The Ducks still led 42-33 at the 14:26 mark, but a 20-6 Delaware Valley run shot them in front, 53-48, with less than seven to play. The Aggies held at least a two-point cushion under 2:30 before four straight Spellman free throws and a Maddison three off a Spellman tip-out put Stevens up 63-60 with just over 100 seconds left, the Aggies getting two back on a dunk with 65 seconds left.
After Delaware Valley took the lead on a fadeaway with eight seconds left, Goodall's last second three from the left corner hit the rim and backboard a combined five times but rolled off, denying the Ducks a chance at a fourth conference tournament title in six seasons.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Ducks were seeking to become the first MAC Freedom Tournament No.1 seed to win the conference crown since they did it themselves during their first season in the conference in 2019-20.
- Spellman posted his fourth 15-15 game of the season.
- Both teams finished with six three's made, but Delaware Valley shot 43 percent; Stevens shot 21 percent.
- Goodall's nine points gave him 360 points for the year, a new single-season best, surpassing his previous high of 351 during the 2022-23 season.
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