ALFRED, N.Y. (January 6, 2012) – Junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) led three Ducks in double figures as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team opened Empire 8 play with a 68-60 win at Alfred University on Friday night. Jones scored 15 points, while senior guard Mike Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) and junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) notched 12 apiece as the Ducks improve to 9-2 overall and 5-0 on the road.

Alfred was strong early on, jumping out to a 15-6 lead and pushing the margin to 11 12:54 into the action, but the Ducks fought back over the rest of the first half. A three-pointer from sophomore forward Kevin McManamy (Charlotte, N.C.) and a layup from Jones trimmed the margin to five, and following an Alfred  bucket, four-straight Duck points cut the lead to four.

Sophomore Michael Hill (Whitesboro, N.Y.) hit a three for the Saxons (7-3, 0-1 Empire 8) to up their lead back to seven but a trio of layups from sophomore guards Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) and Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.)  and senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) made it a one-point game with 2:26 to go in the first.

One minute later, Thompson tied the game at 29 with a jumper before a triple from junior guard Sean Curran (Honesdale, Pa.) sent Alfred into the locker room with a 32-29 lead.

A Cutri three-pointer 44 seconds into the second half tied the game, but the gritty Saxons continued  to maintain a slim lead until a Meszaros triple gave the Ducks a 43-42 edge with 11:56 left in the game. That three would prove to give Stevens a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the night, but the Ducks were unable to extend their advantage until the final five minutes and did not pull away until the final minute.

With Stevens leading 56-51, the Saxons were able to pull within three but a long ball from Skrelja gave the Ducks some breathing room and Alfred could not get closer than five the rest of the way.

The Ducks struggled from the field but did a nice job at the free-throw line, canning 19 of their 24 attempts. Stevens shot 39.3 percent from the floor (22-for-56) and 29.4 percent from three-point land (5-for-17). The Ducks finished with a 41-33 edge in rebounds and committed a season-low 13 turnovers.

Jones went 4-for-8 from the floor and 7-for-9 at the line for his 15 points, while Thompson added 12, four assists and three rebounds. Cutri hit a pair of three's and pulled down six rebounds, while Meszaros gave the Ducks excellent minutes off the bench, scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high seven boards. Smith finished with eight points and six boards, while Skrelja had seven points and four rebounds.

Junior guard Josh Parker (Tonawanda, N.Y.) led the Saxons with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Alfred shot 21-for-53 (39.6 percent) from the field and 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from long range. The Saxons hit 15 of their 19 attempts from the line.

Stevens will look to improve to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference on Saturday when the Ducks take on Elmira College at 4 p.m. All the action is scheduled to be broadcast live at www.Empire8.tv.