HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 21, 2012) – Senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) grabbed his 1,000th career rebound and guards Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) and Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) each scored 18 points to help the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team move to 5-1 in the conference and 13-3 overall with a 73-53 win over St. John Fisher College Saturday afternoon in the Canavan Arena. Smith becomes the first member of the 1,000 point and 1,000 rebound club in program history, and the Ducks return to the top of the conference standings because of losses by Ithaca College and Nazareth College in other Saturday action.
Smith finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. He needed nine boards for 1,000 and he got it with 8:12 remaining in the game. Both Jones and Cutri had 18 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) had five points, a game-high five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) had eight points, seven boards, a game-high three steals and one assist, while sophomore forward Max Schwartz (Bridgewater, N.J.) had six points and two rebounds. Sophomore guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) scored six, pulled down a pair of rebounds and recorded two thefts.
Stevens shot 47.5 percent (28-for-59) from the field and 5-for-11 from three. The Ducks went 12-for-21 from the line.
Fisher was led by 14 points from sophomore guard Thad Wier (East Aurora, N.Y.) and junior center Jason Norsen (Hamburg, N.Y.). The Cardinals shot 19-for-53 (35.8 percent) from the floor and 5-for-20 (25 percent) from three. The Cardinals were 10-for-20 from the line.
Fisher held the upper hand in the early going, jumping out to a 15-9 lead, but the Ducks responded to take an 18-17 edge with 9:02 remaining in the half. With the visitors leading 25-22 with 4:42 remaining, the Ducks went on a 15-1 run over a span of 4:12 to open a 37-26 advantage and the guests never recovered.
Smith started things with a layup and Cutri forced a steal on the next Fisher possession and found Meszaros for a pretty layup on the other end. A three-point play from Smith gave Stevens a 31-25 edge and a triple from Jones helped push the margin to 11 with 18 seconds in the half.
The Ducks, who took a 39-28 lead into the locker room thanks to a Cutri steal and fast-break layup at the end of the half, shot 45.7 percent from the field and 2-for-6 from three. Smith, Cutri and Jones were all in double figures in the first 20 minutes. Stevens committed just three first-half turnovers and handed out six helpers.
Fisher (9-8, 2-4 Empire 8) was able to get within six midway through the second period and hung around for the next three minutes but a deep three-pointer on the right wing by Cutri pushed the Stevens lead back to 10 (55-45) with 7:17 on the clock. Fisher was able to get within single digits once more but the Ducks locked down on the defensive end and held the Cardinals to three field goals over the final 6:53 of regulation.
Stevens has now won eight of its last nine games and will take on Hartwick College on Tuesday night in Canavan Arena. Game-time is slated for 8 p.m. and it is a rematch of the 2011 Empire 8 Semifinals which saw the Hawks down Stevens in Hoboken. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv.
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