HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. | Led by a career-high 26 points from senior shooting guard Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.), Farmingdale State College picked up its first win in NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship play since 2012 on Friday night, defeating Stevens Institute of Technology at Kirby Field House, 80-66.

The Rams (27-2), who have now tied the program record for single-season victories, now advance to Saturday night's 7 p.m. second-round tilt at Hampden-Sydney College's Kirby Field House, where they will face the winner of Friday's first-round game between the top-ranked (and host) Tigers and La Roche University.

FSC's most-recent win came in the first round of the 2012 edition of the tourney, when it won at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., 98-88. This season's outfit is now tied with the 2008-09 Rams squad for most wins in a season; the '08-09 team advanced to the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship. 

"My guys have fought hard all year and worked their butts off to get back here," said Farmingdale State 11th-year head coach Brendan Twomey, whose team opened NCAA play one year ago at Kirby Field House in a one-point contest against eventual national champion Christopher Newport (Va.) University. "It just so happened that we ended up back here at Hampden-Sydney. They have played with a little chip on their shoulder all year. They wanted this game, and have been working towards this game all year."

Davis -- who scored 15 points at Kirby last March against Christopher Newport -- continued his offensive surge at Kirby with an 8-for-17 on the night (4-of-6 3FG) to go with a game-high six assists. Senior swingman Nick Hurowitz (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) added 16 points (4-of-9 3FG), nine rebounds and three steals, while senior point guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) registered 10 points, three assists and two steals. Senior Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.; seven rebounds, four assists) and sophomore Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored eight points apiece in the victory.

"I definitely agree that we have played with a chip all year. It was sweet to come back to the same gym and have a different outcome," said Davis, who was an Academic All-District selection in 2022-23. "We have been focusing all year on taking it one game at a time, and one practice at a time, and just focusing on what we have to do to win that match up. It has been a team effort."

Powell's 3-pointer 1:24 into play was the start of FSC's 6-0 spurt to start the game, before the Ducks (22-6) responded with seven points of their own. A pair of free throws by senior forward Jovayne Walters (Cambria Hts., N.Y.) at the 14:57 mark sparked the Rams to score 10 straight points, as part of a 16-1 run that pushed Farmingdale State ahead 22-8 on Powell's driving lay-in with 11:18 left in the half. Notias hit back-to-back layups prior to Powell's bucket, while Davis and Santos hit consecutive 3-pointers during the stretch.

After Stevens closed to within a 44-30 margin with 98 seconds left in the period, Davis hit a pull-up jumper and Hurowitz followed with a trey to send FSC into the locker room with a 49-32 advantage. FSC shot 7-of-11 (.636) from long range in the opening half, used a 24-13 rebounding edge to score 10 second-chance points, and converted 10 Ducks turnovers into 15 points in transition. 

Davis scored Farmingdale State's first 12 points in the second half, including his 3-pointer with 12:56 left to give his side a 61-44 advantage. Eleven of the next 13 points went to Stevens, who sliced its deficit to 63-55 at the 9:55 mark. Santos stopped the scoreless drought with a free throw at 7:37 -- a point that started a spurt of 10 straight on the scoreboard by the Rams, with Hurowitz's left-wing 3-pointer pushing his side ahead by a 73-55 count with 3:55 to go.

The Ducks ripped off eight consecutive points before a long possession by FSC on a clutch offensive rebound by Powell ran the clock under the 1:20 mark. From there, Davis knocked down two free throws with 1:11 remaining, before freshman forward Liam Buckley (Manhasset, N.Y.) followed with a pair at the charity after a strong defensive rebound with 57 seconds to go to help the Rams close out the contest.

Farmingdale State limited Stevens to a 37-percent (20-of-54) field-goal percentage on the night, while holding edges in fast-break points (28-18) and points off turnovers (23-14). The nation's leading rebounding squad at a plus-13.3 per-game margin entering the tourney, the Rams controlled the glass, 47-39.