MIDDLEBURY, Vt – The Nichols men's basketball team defeated No. 16 Middlebury on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament by the score of 73-66. The Bison extended their program-record win streak to 19 and head coach Brock Erickson picked up his 50th career victory.
 
Nichols found themselves behind once again in the first half, trailing by 12 with 8:06 remaining in the half. The Bison went on a 10-3 run to get within striking distance, with Matthew Alectus scoring half the points during the stretch. Nichols continued to chip away, eventually pulling within two on a Tavon Jones jumper. With less than a minute remaining before the break, Alectus came up with the steal and fed Jakigh Dottin with a nice bounce pass for the easy lay-in to even the score at 31. Nichols got another defensive stop before the half and Dottin went the length of the court for the score as the buzzer sounded, giving Nichols their first lead of the game at halftime. Alectus paced the Bison in the first half with 12 points while also swatting away two shots.
 
Middlebury quickly grabbed the lead back on a three-pointer by Jaden Bobbett and a layup by Alex Sobel to go up 37-36, but the Bison answered right back with a 9-0 run, capped off by an Alectus three, to give themselves an eight-point lead, their largest of the game to this point. The Panthers were able to cut the lead to six but for every Middlebury run, Nichols had an answer, and this time it was with a 7-0 run to give them a 13-point cushion. Middlebury refused to go away, cutting the lead to four with just under three minutes to play. After a few buckets by the Panthers and free throws by Nichols, the score sat at 68-64 with 42 seconds remaining. Dottin was fouled and headed to the line for two shots. He sank the first one and missed the second, but Middlebury missed a layup on the other end and was forced to foul once again. The Bison missed both free throws, leading to another layup by Sobel to cut the Bison lead to three with 10 seconds to play. Dottin was fouled once again, this time nailing both free throws to ice the game and send the Bison to their first Sweet Sixteen since the 2018-19 campaign.
 
Quincy Ferebee was the leading scorer for Nichols with 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Dottin added 18 of his own to go along with a team-high eight rebounds, while Alectus chipped in with 16 points and three blocks. The Bison forced 15 turnovers, converting them into 12 points.
 
Nichols will take on Stockton on Friday, March 10 at Tarble Pavillion on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa., with tip-off set for 4:15 p.m.