Senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) had 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a hard-fought 74-65 win over Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham on Tuesday night at the Canvan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Senior guard Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) had 17 points, five boards and four assists as the Ducks improve to 3-1 overall. The Devils drop to 0-2 with the loss.
The first half was back-and-forth with each team making 16 of its 31 attempts from the field. FDU buried 6-of-12 from long range but the Ducks held an 18-14 edge on the glass and went into the break with a 39-38 lead.
Stevens led by four 3:46 into the action (11-7) but the Devils countered to take a six point lead at 19-13 with 12:02 in the first. Sophomore guard Trevor Sykes (Staten Island, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Andrew Stress (Wrightstown, Pa.) canned triples in the 12-2 spurt. The Ducks were able to come back with six-straight points of their own, knotting the score at 19-all after a layup from Smith and the two teams traded blows the rest of the period. In total, there were five ties and 14 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
The Devils tallied the first points of the second on a Derek Hall (Oak Ridge, N.J.) layup, but junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) was fouled on Stevens' next possession and hit 1-of-2 at the line to spark at 9-0 run that changed the game for the Ducks. Junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) and Cutri canned layups wrapped around two defensive stops, and Stevens was able to force a low-percentage look on the next FDU possession with Cutri benefitting from a transition layup to put the Ducks up six. A Cutri three ended the 9-0 streak that would give the Ducks a lead they would never relinquish.
The Devils were able to cut that margin to two with a quick seven points, but the Ducks came right back with six in a row, highlighted by a Jones three-pointer, to go back up by eight (57-49) with 8:54 to play. The lead swelled to as much as 12 with 3:34 remaining thanks to a tough offensive rebound and put-back from freshman Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.).
FDU fought back to within four at the 1:07 mark, but a pretty shot off the glass from Cutri erased any doubts about the outcome.
Smith added two steals, two assists and a block to his 18 points and eight rebounds, while Cutri had two steals along with his 17 points, five boards and four assists (no turnovers). Jones finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) gave Stevens excellent minutes off the bench with seven points, four boards and one helper. Sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) finished with five points, six rebounds, and three steals, while Gan ended with five points and four boards.
Stevens shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field, 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from long range and 13-of-20 (65 percent) at the line. The Ducks ended with a 43-30 margin on the glass, had 10 steals, and assists on 14 of their 28 made baskets.
FDU shot 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) from the field for the game and just 28.1 percent in the second half as the Ducks made several strong adjustments on defense. The Devils were 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from three and 6-for-10 at the line. Six players scored more nine or more points and five ended in double figures. Sykes led the way with 14 points and Hall had 12 points and seven boards.
The Ducks will practice on Wednesday before heading to the West coast Thursday morning. Stevens will battle California Institute of Technology Friday and Occidental College Saturday. Both games tip-off at 7 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Pacific).
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