PASADENA, Calif. (November 27, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team improved to 5-1 on the season Sunday, gutting out a 63-49 win over Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. Stevens was led by 20 points and 14 rebounds from senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) and a game-high 23 points from junior forward Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.).

The Ducks came out quickly, jumping out to an 8-2 lead five minutes into the game, but Occidental clawed back and was able to take a 26-25 lead into the locker room behind strong defense and some come cold shooting by the Ducks.

Oxy opened the second period with five points to extend its one-point halftime lead to six at 31-25. Stevens, which missed its first seven shots of the half, came back with a 16-5 run to regain the edge at 41-36 with under 13 minutes remaining.  The spurt was highlighted by three-pointers from junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) and sophomore forward Kevin McManamy (Charlotte, N.C.), and a nifty three-point play Jones.

Stevens maintained a solid working margin for the next six-plus minutes, and following 2-for-2 at the line from Smith and a put-back from sophomore forward Max Schwartz (Bridgewater, N.J.), the Ducks were quietly up 10 with 6:30 to go.

A pair of second-chance buckets from the Tigers trimmed the Stevens lead to seven with 4:11 on the clock, and after a stop on the next Duck possession, 1-for-2 at the line from Dashon McCoy (Los Angeles, Calif.) made it a six-point game (55-49) with 4:11 on the clock.

Stevens kept its composure and received a pair of big buckets from Jones, one set up by McManamy and one facilitated Cutri to push the margin back to 10 and coast to the win.

Stevens shot 23-for-67 (34.3 percent) from the field and 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from three. The Ducks did however convert 13 of their 14 free-throw attempts and win the battle on the glass 43-34. Stevens had 13 assists against just 11 turnovers.

Smith added two assists, two steals and a block to his 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Jones shot 9-for-17 from the field for his 23 points, grabbed for rebounds, and handed out a pair of helpers. McManamy had six points on 2-for-5 from three-point land while also grabbing four boards and handing out two assists.

Occidental (1-3) was paced by forward Jake Copithorne (Los Angeles, Calif.) who scored 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field. The Ducks held the Tigers to 29.9 percent shooting from the field (20-for-67) and 19.0 percent from long range (4-for-21).

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