SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Nichols men's basketball team had their incredible season end in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday night in a 78-77 defeat to No. 7 Swarthmore in the NCAA Division III Tournament Elite Eight. Nichols finishes the season with a 26-6 (16-2 CCC) record and the second-most wins in program history.
 
Nichols jumped out to an early first-half lead on the back of senior Quincy Ferebee who scored the team's first seven points. The teams traded baskets before a layup by Swarthmore gave them a 16-14 lead, their first of the game. A Ferebee three with 9:58 remaining in the half gave the Bison the lead right back, making it 22-20. Nichols controlled the half the rest of the way, going up by as much as nine points before the Garnet brought it back to three with just over two minutes to play in the half. Ferebee got two layups to fall before the break to give Nichols the 44-37 lead heading into the locker room. The San Diego native in Ferebee led the Bison with 21 first-half points while Tavon Jones chipped in with nine points and three assists.
 
The game remained tight through the first 10 minutes of the second half Swarthmore three cutting the Bison lead to three. Nichols responded by going on a 10-2 run to stretch their lead to 11, the largest of the game. Swarthmore began to slowly chip away, as a George Visconti layup with 2:47 left brought the Garnet within four. Nichols Junior guard Ty Rucker was able to cut through the defense on the other end and get the layup to fall, bringing the Bison lead back to six. Swarthmore answered once again, this time with a Vinny DeAngelo three with 1:31 remaining to pull within three. Swarthmore played the foul game, sending Ferebee to the line where he sank both to push the lead back to five. Swarthmore once again got the basket to fall on the other end to make it 76-73, and the Bison went 1-2 from the line to make it a four-point game. Visconti came up clutch again, this time burying a three to bring the Garnet within one with less than a minute remaining. Deciding to play for a stop rather than foul, Swarthmore forced a Bison turnover at the end of the shot clock to give them one last possession. After a timeout, Michael Caprise of the Garnet got the ball down low and put up the shot, getting the roll to give Swarthmore the 78-77 lead with five seconds remaining. Nichols was unable to get a shot off on the offensive end, ending their historic run just short of the program's first Final Four bid.
 
Ferebee was the game's leading scorer, pouring in 27 points on 11-20 shooting. Rucker and Jones also scored in double-digits for the Bison with 20 and 19 points, respectively, with each picking up four steals. Matthew Alectus chipped in with nine points to go along with nine rebounds. Nichols scored 58 of their 77 points from the paint.