CHAMPS! Stevens Downs Misericordia 68-59 to Win MAC Freedom Championship

The No. 2 seed Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team claimed its fourth Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championship, knocking off No. 4 Misericordia University 68-59 on Saturday night.
Tommy Scholl (6'3''-G), who was named the MAC Freedom Tournament Most Valuable Player, led the way with a team-high 19 points for Stevens (18-9).

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars jumped out to a 9-3 advantage nearly six minutes into the game, with the lone basket coming on a three-pointer from Matt Leming (6'3''-G). Kyle Maddison (6'3''-G-2005) and Scholl followed with back-to-back layups to pull within two, before a Scholl three-pointer gave Stevens its first lead at 13-11.
That triple sparked a 9-0 run for the Ducks, as Evan Gutowski powered home two layups during the spurt. A Gutowski jumper extended the lead to 22-13 before Anthony Loscalzo (6'2''-G) pushed the margin to double figures with a driving layup with 5:43 left in the half. Stevens closed the first half with nine of the final 13 points, highlighted by seven from Harmehar Chhabra (6'7''-F), to take a commanding 38-22 lead into the break.
The Ducks shot 50% (15-of-30) from the floor in the opening half while holding Misericordia to just 23.3% (7-of-30).
Misericordia responded quickly to open the second half, embarking on a 6-0 run over the first 1:44. A Chhabra layup and a Scholl three-pointer pushed the lead back to 15. Loscalzo followed with a jumper to make it 53-37, but the Cougars countered with a 15-5 run to close within six at 58-52 with 3:23 remaining.
After the teams traded baskets, Chhabra stretched the lead back to eight with a layup. A Misericordia free throw with 55 seconds left made it 63-57, but Stevens sealed the victory with four straight points from the charity stripe—two each from Loscalzo and Chhabra. The Cougars converted one final layup, and after Maddison went 1-of-2 at the line, Stevens secured a defensive rebound and dribbled out the clock.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Scholl averaged 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.0 steals over the MAC Freedom Tournament. He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in the championship game.
Chhabra totaled 15 points and seven rebounds, while Loscalzo chipped in 10 points.
Despite scoring just one point, Olu Olaniran (6'5''-F) made an impact with six rebounds (four offensive) and two assists. Gutowski added eight points off the bench.

Courtesy of gomacsports.com