Recap
Senior DeAnte Bruton knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the Nichols College men's basketball team to a thrilling 74-72 win over Stevens Institute of Technology Friday night in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.Y.

VIDEO: Nichols Press Conference
 
The Bison (21-8) trailed 70-65 with 1:08 on the clock before a layup from junior Matt Morrow cut the deficit to three with 49 to go. A steal by classmate Nate Tenaglia on the inbounds pass led to a pair of free throws by Bruton to make it 70-69. Nichols then forced a 10-second violation and Bruton knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Bison the lead at 72-70 with 16 seconds left.
 
Ducks senior Michael Zignorski was fouled at the other end of the floor and sank both free throws to tie the game at 72, setting the stage for Bruton's heroics. He dribbled the ball up the left side of the court and knocked down a fade away jumper to put the Bison ahead. Graduate student Kevin Florio had one final look for the Ducks, but his long three-pointer rimmed in-and-out.
 
Bruton scored 15 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and also collected six assists and four steals. Morrow notched his 15th double-double of the season with 25 points and 13 boards while sophomore Jaekwon Spencer grabbed 10 rebounds to go with seven points.
 
In the first half, the Bison came out of the first media timeout on a 7-0 run to grab a 15-8 lead on a layup from Bruton, a jumper from Morrow, and the second triple of the frame from senior Kash Jackson. The Ducks responded with a 10-0 run to grab an 18-15 lead, the final two points coming on a layup from senior Spencer Cook.
 
Following a jumper from Bruton to put the Bison ahead by one at 27-26, he stole the ball and converted a fast break layup to stretch the lead to three. Nichols eventually settled into a 40-36 halftime lead as Bruton led NC with 13 points (6-of-10 FG) while Morrow tallied eight and Jackson had six. Cook led all student-athletes with 16 for Stevens. Both Nichols and Stevens canned 50 percent of its shots in the opening 20.
 
Bruton netted eight points in the opening eight minutes of the second half as Nichols led 53-52 at the 12-minute media timeout mark. The Ducks responded with a 16-10 run to move in front by five (68-63) at the final media timeout behind five points from junior Alec Dipientrantonio and four from Florio.
 
Cook finished with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting; he was held to only four points in the second half. DiPietrantonio registered 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Ducks (24-5) finished with a 41-36 edge on the glass.
 
Three things you need to know...
            -The Bison are now 5-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
            -With the win, Brandon Linton becomes the third head coach to lead the Bison to a win in the NCAA Tournament, joining Tom Glynn (2017) and Scott Faucher (2019).
            -Bruton is averaging 36.0 ppg in his last four games – all playoff contests.
 
Quote
"This was an unbelievable game. Stevens is as good of an opponent as we have faced all season. They were tough but our guys met the match. Both DeAnte and Matt played outstanding. It was a gritty effort. We have talked about (facing) adversity and this game was no different. We dealt with adversity at different points of the game tonight, but we kept coming and believing, and we came out on top." –Nichols head coach Brandon Linton
 
"All season, my teammates and the coaching staff has believed in me to take those shots. I was pretty confident because they put the belief in me to take a shot like that." –Nichols senior DeAnte Bruton, on the game-winning shot
 
Next game
Saturday, March 7 vs Christopher Newport (Hoboken, N.J.), 6:30 p.m.