Hoboken, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team advanced to their sixth Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Final since 2019-20 with an 81-60 win over DeSales on Wednesday night from Canavan Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Anthony Loscalzo and
Matt Leming ignited the two-seed Ducks' offense early on, combining for 23 points with the duo outscoring the third-seeded Bulldogs team through the opening 14 minutes as Stevens opened a 33-20 lead; the pair were 8-for-9 from the field and 6-for-7 from three-point range during that stretch.
The lead for Stevens (17-9, 10-4) was still 35-22 when DeSales worked it back to 36-32 in the final 80 seconds of the half, then 38-35 in the final 40 seconds, but
Tommy Scholl put the final points of the half on the board with a layup for a 40-35 Ducks lead.
An eight-point lead for the Ducks was whittled down to two on three occasions in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but a
Kyle Maddison three and a
Evan Gutowski three-point play ignited a game-ending 29-10 run for Stevens over the final 9:30; after opening the half 5-for-17 from the floor and 2-for-9 from three-point range, Stevens went 10-for-15 and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc during that stretch, with Maddison outscoring DeSales by himself (12 points) and Scholl matching their 10 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Loscalzo's 17 points were a career-high and his four three-pointers made tied his career-high
- Scholl's game-high 23 points marked his 11th 20-point outing of the season and his 10 field goals were a season-high
- For the second time in three games, Harmehar Chhabra matched his career-high with 11 assists
- The 21-point margin of victory was Stevens' second-largest of the season (23 against Baruch on November 25)
UP NEXT
Courtesy of fourth-seeded Misericordia's buzzer-beating win at top-seeded Arcadia, Stevens will host the MAC Freedom Final for the second straight year on Saturday at 5 PM against the Cougars at Canavan Arena.
#AllRise
