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SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Following victories over Rochester (NY) and No. 16 Middlebury in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Nichols men's basketball team is gearing up for a showdown with Stockton in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, March 10 at Tarble Pavilion on the campus of Swarthmore College. Nichols hopes to advance to the Elite Eight on Saturday, March 11 where they will take on the winner of No. 7 Swarthmore and No. 5 Keene State.
 
The Bison pulled off an improbable comeback in the first round on Friday, March 3, coming back from down 20 points in the first half to defeat Rochester (NY) 74-71. The following day Nichols took on No. 16 Middlebury in the second round, once again erasing a double-digit first-half deficit to knock off the Panthers and clinch the second-ever Sweet Sixteen birth in program history with the other coming in the 2018-19 campaign when the team made it to the Elite Eight before losing to Swarthmore.
 
Nichols is currently riding a program-record 19-game win streak, breaking the previous record of 17 with the win over Rochester last week. The team is led by the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Defensive Player of the Year Matthew Alectus who is fifth nationally in double-doubles (19), 10th in rebounds per game (11.9), and 28th in blocks per game (2.19). The Bison have a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging over 13.5 ppg. Alectus (17.0), Ty Rucker (16.6), Tavon Jones (16.5), Jakigh Dottin (15.0), and Quincy Ferebee (13.9) all possess the ability to score when needed. Nichols will also get minutes from starting guard Nate Duckworth who is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.3), and freshman Shea Doherty who played a career-high 20 minutes in Saturday's win over Middlebury. The Bison have proven that they know how to win the close games, as they are 14-0 under head coach Brock Erickson in overtime games and games decided by five points or less in the past two seasons.
 
Stockton, a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, despite falling to Rowan in the conference tournament championship game, thanks to their 22-5 record. During the regular season, Stockton picked up key wins over NCAA Tournament teams in Widener, Baruch, and Mary Washington to help improve their overall body of work. The Ospreys hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, defeating La Roche 86-70 in round one, and then knocking out Mary Washington with a thrilling 68-65 victory. The team is led by junior guard DJ Campbell, who averages 18.5 ppg while shooting 36.8% from behind the three-point line. Guards Kyion Flanders and Kadian Dawkins also score in double figures for the osprey, with 11.7 and 11.2 ppg, respectively. As a team, Stockton averages 77.9 ppg while holding opponents to 72.6 ppg.
 
No. 7 Swarthmore is the host for the weekend after cruising through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with 29- and 23-point victories over SUNY Delhi and St. John Fisher. Swarthmore has been ranked inside the D3hoops.com Top 25 since December 11 when they entered at No. 24, climbing all the way up to inside the top 10. The team finished the regular season with a 22-3 record, including wins over No. 11 Johns Hopkins, No. 22 Wesleyan, and Rowan. Swarthmore won the Centennial Conference Tournament with a 76-73 victory over top-seeded Johns Hopkins, erasing a 13-point halftime deficit in the process. Junior Vinny DeAngelo is the leading scorer for the Garnet, averaging 17.3 ppg on 50% shooting. Guard George Visconti also scores in double-digits for Swarthmore, averaging 14.0 ppg to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. As a team, the Garnet shoot 46.8% from the floor, while holding their opponents to just 65.4 ppg. Swarthmore will look to avenge last year's loss to Keene State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
No. 5 Keene State is back in the Sweet 16 for the third time since 2016 after they took down Baruch in the first round 89-78 and mounted a second-half comeback versus Tufts in round two. The Owls finished the regular season 24-1 and undefeated in the Little East Conference (LEC), with their lone loss coming to Middlebury at home on January 16. Keene State went to overtime with Western Connecticut in the LEC Championship, with the Owls prevailing 83-79. Jeff Hunter, the 2022-23 LEC Player of the Year, averages 18.9 ppg for the Owls and is currently third in the country in rebounds per game with 13.5. Sophomore Octavio Brito is the leading scorer for the Owls, averaging 20.6 ppg while shooting 43.3% from three-point land. LEC All-Defensive Team selection Nate Siow collected 61 steals this season and led the team in assists with 102. The Owls are looking to get back to their first Elite Eight since the 2016-17 season when they lost to No. 3 Babson.
 
Stockton vs Nichols is the first game of the weekend, with the tip-off set for 4:15 p.m. The Bison are considered the home team in the matchup and will be wearing their home white uniforms.