Center Valley, PA (February 22, 2023) - First-year Nate Ellis had a game-high 20 points and tied his season-high with six assists leading the DeSales University men's basketball team past Stevens, 65-62, in the MAC Freedom Semifinals on Wednesday evening in Billera Hall.

The Basics

• Final Score: DeSales - 65, Stevens - 62
• Records: DeSales (21-5 Overall); Stevens (13-14 Overall)
• DeSales has now won five straight over the Ducks and improves to 8-2 all-time in the series between the two teams.
• The Bulldogs advance into the MAC Championship game for the 13th time in 21 MAC Freedom postseason appearances and will be looking for its fifth title on Saturday.
• DSU will host Arcadia University in the championship game on Saturday with tip set for 4:00 pm after the Knights earned a one point road win at Lycoming College on Wednesday in the other semifinal.

How it Happened

• This game was tight throughout featuring 15 ties and seven total lead changes.
• Stevens scored six straight points mid-way thru the first half to take a 17-12 lead, the largest for either team over the first twenty minutes, before a 7-2 DeSales run tied the score at 21 with 3:36 left in the opening half.
• Back-to-back 3's from senior Jordan Holmqvist and junior Christian Guldin gave DSU a 27-24 advantage but the Ducks scored the final five points of the half to take a 29-27 halftime lead.
• Stevens led by three five minutes into the half a three-point play from sophomore Devin Atkinson and a corner three from Ellis put the Bulldogs up three (40-37) with 14:20 left.
• The two teams traded punched back-and-forth over the next several minutes as DSU clung to that three-point lead (56-53) with 3:35 left on the clock.
• Atkinson hit a corner three and Ellis put what seemed like an exclamation point on the win with a deep step-back three at the 1:37 mark to make it 62-53.
• The Bulldogs led by eight after two Ellis free throws with 1:04 to go before a big block on a dunk attempt on the fast break was countered with a three by the Ducks with 34 seconds left pulling the visitors within five (64-59).
• Junior Ryan Boylan hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it a six-point game before Conor Coffey nailed a fallaway triple with 17 ticks left to pull the Ducks within three points.
• The Bulldogs missed two free throws on the next possession but Coffey missed two straight highly contested 3's that would have tied the game as time expired on the comeback.

Top Bulldog Performers

• Ellis was just outstanding off the bench scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second-half, shooting 7-for-11 from the field.
• Junior Elijah Eberly also reached double digits with 10 points and added two blocks and three steals.
• Guldin had nine points off the pine, hitting three 3's and sophomore Caleb Gibbs had a strong outing with eight points and six boards.

For the Foes

• Coffey and Jack Spellman each had 19 points for the Ducks.
• Spellman added 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.
• Alex Ratner came off the bench to score 10 points.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bulldogs shook off.a poor shooting first-half to hit 46.4 percent in the second-half.
• DeSales got 37 points from its bench and committed just six turnovers, taking excellent care of the ball.
• DSU was just 9-for-19 from the free throw line, while Stevens was a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Up Next

• The championship game will tip at 4:00 pm on Saturday in Billera Hall.