Box Score

Highlights

HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 29, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team earned a gritty, 62-55 win over Hartwick College Tuesday night in the Canavan Arena. With the win, the Ducks improve to 16-3 overall and 7-2 in the conference. Hartwick falls to 11-9 overall and 3-6 in the Empire 8.
 
On a night when they were struggling from the field and beyond the three-point line, the Ducks used strong defense and excellent free-throw shooting to defeat the rival Hawks.
 
In the opening period, the Ducks used a 12-2 run over a span of 4:51 to break 13-13 tie and open a 25-15 lead. Senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) combined for nine points in the run, and a Jones three-pointer with 3:21 left in the first put the Ducks up 11 as they ended up taking a 32-22 edge into the intermission.
 
The Hawks came out sizzling in the second half, cutting the lead to one point (34-33) with an 11-2 run over the first 4:47 of the period. Several stops and a Jones jumper gave the Ducks some breathing room but the game would remain tight the rest of the way.
 
Hartwick tied the score at 36 thanks to a layup from junior guard Anthony Keane (Staten Island, N.Y.), but the Ducks responded with a three-pointer from junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) and a layup from sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) to go back up five with 10:49 on the clock.
 
After the Hawks sliced the lead back down to one, a big three-pointer from senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) made it 49-45 Stevens with exactly six minutes to play. Again the Hawks snuck back, getting within two points, but again the Hawks were unable to get over the hump, this time fouling Jones hard on an attempted three-pointer. Jones would go on to sink all three of his shots at the line to give the Ducks a five-point lead at 54-49 with just 2:20 remaining.
 
Hartwick had a chance to tie down three with 39 seconds left, but a turnover and two free throws from Thompson essentially sealed the win. In total, Stevens went 11-for-11 at the line in the last 2:20 with Jones and Thompson – the team's two seniors – accounting for each make.
 
Jones finished with 22 points to lead Stevens, with Thompson getting 20 points and four assists. Sabatino tallied 10 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals, with Skrelja notching three points, four assists, a team-high 10 rebounds, three steals and one block in a typical solid all-around performance. Gan was without a doubt one of the Ducks' keys, getting a career-high seven blocks and setting the tone inside. He finished with eight rebounds, seven points and two steals to go along with his seven rejections.
 
The Ducks shot 37 percent (20-for-54) from the field, 25 percent (4-for-16) from three and 18-for-22 (81.8 percent) at the line. They finished with a 37-35 edge on the glass, had 11 blocks and eight steals as a team.
 
Hartwick shot 38.5 percent (20-for-52) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from three and 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) at the line. Junior guard Christian Laputka (Freeland, Pa.) and junior forward Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, N.Y.) each scored 12 points to lead the Hawks.
 
Stevens will return to action on Friday when it hosts Utica College at 8 p.m. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.TV.
 
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