HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 18, 2011) – Junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) had 28 points and senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) tallied his second double-double of the season as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team topped SUNY Purchase, 75-57, Friday night at the Canavan Arena in the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament. The Ducks used a smothering defense to limit the Panthers to 31.1 percent shooting, improving to 2-0 on the young season. Stevens will take on William Paterson University for the tournament title on Saturday at 4 p.m. after the Pioneers downed King's College in the opener, 82-66.
With the score at 7-6 five minutes in, the Ducks went on a 14-5 run over the next 6:04 to open up their first double-digit lead of the night and never looked back. A Jones layup and three-ball started the spurt and a layup from senior co-captain Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) after a steal from junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) ended it.
A three-pointer from junior guard John Pressley (New York, N.Y.) trimmed the lead to seven but the Ducks kept a nice working margin the rest of the half. A pair of free throws by Jones with 1:18 left gave Stevens its largest lead of the evening at 34-20, and the Ducks eventually went into the locker room plus-18 thanks to a 45-foot three from Thompson as the buzzer sounded.
Cutri started the second with a triple from the left wing and his second three-pointer of the half gave Stevens its largest lead with 15:41 left at 53-29. The advantage grew to as much as 25 following a three-pointer from sophomore guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Purchase never came closer than 16 the rest of the way.
The Ducks opened the game with a three-pointer from Jones 29 seconds in. From that point, the game was tied only once (3-3) and the Panthers never held the lead.
Stevens scored 20 points off 17 Purchase turnovers, and despite turning the ball over 25 times themselves, the Ducks held a 49-39 edge on the glass and shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field. Stevens hit eight of its 21 attempts beyond the arc and was 13-for-21 from the free-throw line.
Jones was efficient scoring his 28 points, going 9-for-13 from the field, 2-for-2 from long range and 8-for-8 from the line. He also added eight rebounds and two assists to his line. Smith finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds (five offensive), two steals, a block and an assist, while Cutri had 10 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high seven assists in a solid all-around effort. Thompson had nine points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal for the Ducks.
Sophomore forward Kevin McManamy (Charlotte, N.C.) gave Stevens strong minutes despite not scoring. The sophomore grabbed seven rebounds and added an assist and a block. Sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.), Meszaros, sophomore forward Max Schwartz (Bridgewater, N.J.), freshman forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.), and sophomore guard Phil Deseignora (Boston, Mass.) all played solid minutes for the Ducks as well.
Senior Jake Stevens (Far Rockaway, N.Y.), freshman Christopher Fazio (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) and Pressley were all in double figures for the Panthers who are coming off a second-straight Skyline Conference title and trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship second round.
King's and Purchase will battle at 2 p.m., with Stevens and William Paterson tipping off at 4 p.m. The Ducks beat the Pioneers for last year's Stevens Tip-Off title. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv.