Mid Massachusetts News

Following their 86-68 victory over Stockton in the Sweet Sixteen, the Nichols men's basketball team is set to take on No. 7 Swarthmore in the NCAA Division III Tournament Elite Eight on Saturday, March 11. The game will begin at 7:15 p.m. from Tarble Pavilion on the campus of Swarthmore College.
 
The Bison pulled away from Stockton on Friday to advance to their second Elite Eight in program history, the first since the 2018-2019 season. Senior Jakigh Dottin powered Nichols to their program-record 20th straight victory, currently the second longest in the NCAA, with a season-high 34 points on 13-17 shooting.
 
No. 7 Swarthmore dominated No. 5 Keene State from start to finish, coming away with the 82-58 victory to advance to Saturday. The Garnet used strong defense to beat the Owls, holding Keene to just 29.9% shooting from the floor.
 
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.
 
The two teams will be meeting for the second time in program history, with the other game also happening in the Elite Eight in 2019. Swarthmore ended Nichols's Cinderella run that year with a 69-65 win to advance to the program's first and only Final Four before losing to Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the National Championship game. The Bison found themselves down 32-23 at the half but climbed their way back into the game before ultimately falling just short.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the Final Four in Fort Wayne, Ind. on Thursday, March 16. 

Original source can be found here.