ROCHESTER, N.Y. (February 10, 2012) –Senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Stevens Institute of Technology to a 70-56 road win at St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 men's basketball action Friday night. With the win, Stevens improves to 19-4 overall and 10-2 in the conference. The Ducks are tied for first in the E8 standings with Hartwick College and lead Saturday's foe Nazareth College who is in third place at 8-4.
The Ducks shot extremely well from the opening tip but were unable to create much of a margin until an 11-3 run over a span of 2:27 turned a 21-20 deficit into a 31-24 lead with 4:35 left in the first. Sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) and Smith each scored four with junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) nailing a three-pointer to get the run started.
A Jones jumper a little more than two minutes later pushed the Stevens advantage to nine (37-28) with 2:12 left in the opening period, and the Ducks were able to take a 39-33 lead into the break.
Stevens shot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the floor as Smith led the way, going 6-for-6 from the field for 15 points. Jones and his 5-for-7 in the half was good for 11 points.
Fisher started the second period on a 10-2 run to take a 44-42 edge with 14:52 to play, but the Ducks maintained their collective cool and answered with a thunderous, 14-0 run to open a 56-44 lead with 9:02 on the clock. A Smith three-point play gave Stevens the upper hand and a three-pointer from junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) seemed to really swing the momentum back in the Ducks' favor. Smith again, and then Jones got in on the act, and before the Cardinals could blink, Stevens had its largest lead of the night (12). In total, the Ducks held Fisher without a point for 6:35.
The Cardinals were able to get the lead down to 10 at 58-48 but a Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) triple and a three-point play from Jones helped push the margin to 15 with 5:13 to go, and the hosts did not threaten the rest of the way.
Senior guard Jordan Gettings (Cohoes, N.Y.) and junior forward Justin Plata (Wheatley, N.Y.) led Fisher in double figures. The Cardinals shot 38 percent (22-for-58) from the field and hit nine of their 23 attempts from three. They were 3-for-8 at the line and had10 assists.
The Ducks shot 53 percent (28-for-53) from the floor and 33 percent (4-for-12) from three-point range. They were 10-for-12 from the line and ended the game with a 33-31 edge on the glass. The Ducks totaled 12 assists and seven steals.
Smith went 9-for-11 from the floor for his 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the year. The senior also had a pair of assists. Jones scored 16 points , grabbed seven boards and had a pair of helpers, while Thompson had 10 points and four assists. Skrelja tallied nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Ducks will visit Nazareth at 4 p.m. Saturday. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv.
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