NEWARK, N.J. (January 31, 2012) – Senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) put together a monster 22 point, 19 rebound and four assist performance to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 82-69 win at Rutgers-Newark Tuesday night in The Golden Dome Arena. With the victory, Stevens moves to 16-4 overall and 9-0 on the road. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 12-9 with the loss.
Stevens came out clicking on all cylinders hitting its first six shots to open up a 14-4 lead just 3:20 into the game. Junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) and junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) each canned triples and the Ducks were able to maintain a solid margin for the next seven minutes, finding themselves up 26-16 with less than 10 in the first half.
Rutgers-Newark chipped away twice getting within three and the Ducks headed into the break with a 40-35 lead. Senior forward Smith led Stevens with 10 points and eight rebounds as the Ducks shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field and 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from three.
The Scarlet Raiders were led by senior guard Pedro Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J.) and senior forward Jeremiah Rivers (Newark, N.J.) who each scored 10 points. Rutgers shot 37.8 percent from the field and hit just two of its 10 attempts from long range.
he Scarlet Raiders opened the second half on a 9-0 run to open a four-point margin (44-40) 2:22 into the second period, and eventually pushed their lead to five with 13:16 to play.
The Ducks battled back, turning a 56-51 deficit into a 62-58 lead with an 11-2 run keyed by four points from sophomore Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Jones. On one occasion, Rutgers came back and got within one (66-65) with 5:34 to go, but the Ducks quickly responded with six-straight points from Smith and 10-straight overall to open up a 76-65 lead with under two minutes to go.
Stevens shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from three-point range. The Ducks ended with a 46-35 edge on the glass, tallied 18 assists and six thefts.
Smith shot 8-for-11, had 15 defensive rebounds, four offensive rebounds and notched a pair of blocked shots. Thompson finished with 19 points on 6-for-9 from the field (5-for-8 from three) and five assists, and Jones tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and a pair of helpers. Senior guard Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) had five points, five boards, and two assists, and Meszaros was strong off the bench with six points (3-for-4 shooting) and a helper.
Rutgers shot 36 percent (27-for-75) from the floor and 24 percent (6-for-25) from three. Burgos finished with 22 points and three rebounds, with Rivers tallying 14 and pulling down six boards.
Stevens will return to action at home this weekend. The Ducks will welcome Empire 8 rival Elmira College on Friday at 8 p.m. for Senior Night, and Alfred University will come to town Saturday afternoon for Alumni Day. Both contests will be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv.
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