Senior guard Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) scored his 1,000th career point and led Stevens Institute of Technology with 25 tallies, but the Ducks fell to Hartwick College 68-66 in an Empire 8 men's basketball game on Tuesday night at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the loss, Stevens falls to 5-2 in the conference and 13-4 overall. Hartwick improves to 16-2 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 with the victory.
The Ducks were able to turn a two-point halftime lead to eight 3:34 into the second half thanks to a 9-0 run keyed by a three-pointer from Cutri and four points from junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.). The Hawks quickly answered with a run of their own to tie the game at 49-all with 13:12 remaining following a triple from sophomore guard Victor Angeline (East Brunswick, N.J.).
The game, tied nine times in all, went back and forth for the next five minutes before the Hawks were able to create some space with a 7-0 spurt that saw the guests hold Stevens without a field goal for 5:36 of game time, making a 55-54 Duck lead into a 62-56 Hartwick advantage.
Cutri ended the run with a jumper from the top of the key and after getting a stop on the next Hartwick possession, junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) nailed a triple from the left wing to bring the Ducks back within one at 62-61 with 2:56 remaining.
The Hawks were able to push the lead to five once again, but a Cutri three from the right side, which ended up giving him 1,001 points for his career, made it a one possession game (68-66) with 58 ticks on the clock.
Stevens was able to get the stop it needed on the next Hartwick possession but was could not generate a clean look on the final possession and fell by the 68-66 final.
In the first half, Hartwick grabbed the game's first solid edge, using 7-0 run over a span of 3:28 to open up a 15-9 lead with 11:47 left in the first. The lead moved to as much as seven (20-13) before the Ducks came right back with an 8-0 run of their own to take a 21-20 advantage with 6:23 in the period. Cutri hit a three-pointer and sophomore forward Max Schwartz (Bridgewater, N.J.) buried a pair of jumpers in the spurt.
Over the final five minutes, the two teams went bucket-for-bucket but the Ducks were able to take a 34-32 lead into the locker room thanks to a pretty inbounds play with 2.7 seconds left. Thompson found a cutting Jones who converted a pretty layup with a foul to turn a one-point deficit into a two-point lead.
Cutri was 10-for-19 from the field and 3-for-7 from three. He scored 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had a pair of helpers. Jones scored 14 points and pulled down three rebounds, while senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) finished with 10 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists. Thompson had a game-high six assists for the Ducks who shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the floor and 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from three. Stevens was 9-for-13 from the line, had 16 assists, 11 turnovers and totaled eight steals.
Hartwick was led by senior guard Mark Blazek (Erie, Pa.) who scored 19 points and had a team-high five assists. Sophomore guard Anthony Keane (Staten Island, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Jared Suderly (Newport, N.Y.) each were in double figures and Suderly added 12 rebounds. The Hawks shot 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the floor and 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from long range. They converted 11 of their 13 attempts at the line and totaled 13 assists, 13 turnovers and six steals.
Stevens, Hartwick, Ithaca College and Nazareth College are now all 5-2 and tied for first in the Empire 8 standings. Alfred University is in fifth place at 4-3.
The coaches of both teams wore sneakers in support of the National Association of Basketball Coaches "Suits & Sneakers" initiative to support cancer awareness.
The Ducks will return to action Friday night at Ithaca College. Game time is slated for 8 p.m.