ONEONTA, N.Y. (February 24, 2012) – Nazareth College defeated Stevens Institute of Technology, 74-71 on Friday night in an Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship semifinal at Lambros Arena on the campus of Hartwick College. The Golden Flyers withstood a late run by the Ducks to advance to Saturday's final against the winner of top-seeded Hartwick College and fourth-seeded Ithaca College. Naz improves to 18-8 with the win, and the Ducks fall to 19-7 with the loss.
Both teams struggled in the early going, combining to start 10-for-28 from the field, but over the final 10 minutes of the first, the offenses got their footing. Despite the slow start, the first half was very entertaining with eight ties and four lead changes.
After Naz scored the game's first points, the Ducks took their first lead of the contest at 10-9 with 13:36 left, but neither team was able to create much separation until the Golden Flyers closed the half with five-straight points to take a 40-34 lead to the locker room. Junior forward Dan Waldbillig (Pittsford, N.Y.) hit a pair at the line and after the Ducks missed a layup on their next possession, sophomore forward Brad Ford (Victor, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer from the left wing with five seconds on the clock.
Naz shot 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from the field in the first half and hit six of its 15 attempts from three. The Golden Flyers were 8-for-11 from the line and tallied nine assists. Ford had 10 points with freshman guard Jamell Johnson (Rochester, N.Y.) scoring eight.
The Ducks were 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from the field and 2-for-6 (33 percent) from three. They went 8-for-9 at the line and ended the first with a 17-15 edge on the glass. Senior guard Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) led Stevens with 12 points and senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) had 11 points and seven rebounds,
Nazareth came out clicking in the second with seven-straight points to make it a 12-0 run bridging the two periods and opened a 47-34 lead. The Ducks came back with six-straight to cut the margin to seven (47-40), but the Golden Flyers answered, pushing their lad back to double figures (53-43) with 13 minutes to go.
Four points from Smith got the Ducks back within six at the 11-minute mark, but the Golden Flyers quickly extended the lead back to 11 less than one minute later thanks to a three-point play from Ford and a layup by junior guard Tyshun Stephens (Newark, N.Y.).
Nazareth continued to lead by six or more for the next seven minutes until the Ducks made a late run with 3:45 left. After two free throws put Nazareth on top 71-61, eight-straight Stevens points over a span of 2:50 cut the lead to two, 71-69, with 34 seconds on the clock. Junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.), Cutri, sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) and Smith all scored around three defensive stops.
Needing a stop, Stevens fouled on the next Golden Flyer possession with 18 seconds and Stephens converted a pair to make it 73-69. A Jones layup with six seconds left cut the margin to two and the Ducks would foul to put Stephens at the line with 5.2 remaining. Stephens converted the first, missed the second, but a shot at the buzzer did not go for the Ducks and Naz advanced to Saturday's final.
The Ducks finished shooting 43.1 percent (25-for-58) from the field and 5-for-15 (33 percent) from three-point land. They were 16-for-18 (88.9 percent) at the line. Smith finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, while Cutri had 17 points and five rebounds. Jones had 14 points, eight boards and three assists, with Thompson getting 10 points and two boards. Skrelja had seven points, four boards and four steals.
Scaffidi was the high-man for Nazareth with 17 points, while Ford finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Stephens had 11 points and four assists, while senior center Greg Lothridge (East Syracuse, N.Y.) finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Saturday's conference final will tip at 4 p.m. and will be webcast at www.Empire8.TV.