ROCHESTER, N.Y. (January 7, 2011) – Junior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) netted 24 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to move into eighth-place all-time on the Ducks' career rebounding list, but the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 73-70 loss to Rochester Institute of Technology at Clark Gym in Rochester, N.Y. Down 66-51 with 2:53 left, the Ducks mounted a furious rally, hitting four threes over a two-minute span, briefly taking a one-point edge with 49 seconds remaining before eventually falling to the host Tigers.
Sophomore guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) put the Ducks on the board with a layup on the game's first possession, but RIT junior Justin Heisig (Levittown, N.Y.) drained his first three of the evening to put the Tigers up by one.
On the Ducks' next possession, Smith grabbed a pair of rebounds – moving into a tie for eighth on the Ducks' all-time charts – before laying the ball in to put Stevens back on top. Heisig responded by tallying five-straight points on a jumper and a three-pointer to give RIT an 8-4 edge.
Ducks' junior Mike Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) hit a three of his own to pull Stevens back within one, but the Tigers mounted a 15-1 run, capped off by a Shawn Roe (Corning, N.Y.) trey to open up a 23-9 edge. The Ducks battled back by putting together a 10-4 stretch of its own – book-ended by a pair of Thompson triples – cutting it to eight just under the 10-minute mark.
Senior Nate Korinchak (Strongsville, Ohio) later connected on a jumper to momentarily slow the Ducks' surge, but sophomore Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) kicked-off a quick 6-0 Stevens spurt, capped off by back-to-back Simon layups, trimming the lead to four at 29-25 with just over five minutes to go before the break.
After a couple scoreless minutes, Heisig sparked a 6-2 RIT rally, connecting on his sixth field-goal of the night, giving him 15 first-half points. With 16 seconds remaining in the frame, Jones drove into the lane for two, making it a 36-29 Tigers' advantage heading into the break.
Heisig picked up right where he left off following the intermission, starting the second by burying his first shot of the half to put RIT up nine. Still up eight after a Cutri tip-in at the 17:44 mark, senior Darryl Anderson (San Diego, Calif.) hit a jumper to kick-off six-consecutive Tigers' points that staked RIT to a 48-34 lead.
Jones then connected on a jumper to bring the Ducks within 12, but an RJ Kalb (Rochester, N.Y.) bucket, followed by a Korinchak three and another Kalb two put the Tigers up 19 with 10:24 to go. Hoping to keep Stevens close, Jones hit another basket before a Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) jumper and Smith three-point play trimmed the Ducks deficit back down to 55-43.
Looking to extend the lead, Korinchak drained another three, putting RIT up 15, while kick-starting a 5-2 run that gave the Tigers a 60-45 lead. Undaunted, Smith then notched six of the game's next eight to cut it to 11 with 3:30 remaining. Trailing by 13 with 1:46 to go, Thompson buried another three before an RIT turnover led to a Kevin McManamy (Charlotte, N.C.) triple that cut it to seven with 1:31 on the clock.
Cutri then stole the ball, finding a Smith who converted a three-point play to make it 69-65. After an RIT miss on the other end, Stevens pushed it into the frontcourt as Thompson found a slight opening, burying yet another trey to make it a one-point game with 1:03 left.
Continuing to apply the full-court press, Cutri again came up with the steal, as McManamy dove into the lane, turning a Simon pass into two points as the Ducks took their first lead since it was 4-3 just over two minutes into the game. Trying to regroup, RIT turned to Heisig with the game on the line and the junior guard delivered, hitting the go-ahead three from the left wing with 27 seconds remaining.
Down 72-70 coming out of the timeout, Cutri got an open look from the left side of the floor, but just missed as Korinchak grabbed the rebound, forcing a Ducks foul. The Strongsville, Ohio native went 1-for-2 from the line giving Stevens one last chance to tie, but McManamy's would be three went half-way down before rattling out to seal the RIT win.
Thompson finished with 17 points, while Jones added 12 points and three rebounds. Cutri had eight points and six rebounds in the loss, while McManamy finished with seven.
Heisig led all RIT scorers with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting and four three-pointers, while Korinchak added 16 points and six rebounds. Kalb finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
The Ducks, now 7-2 on the season and 1-1 in Empire 8 play, will look to rebound on Saturday, January 8 against Nazareth College.