Sophomore guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to its 20th win of the season Wednesday night in Canavan Arena. The Ducks downed familiar foe Baruch College, 82-72, in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Championship quarterfinal game.
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Skrelja finished with 20 points on 5-for-6 from the field and 9-for-10 from the line. He had nine boards, six steals and two assists in a superb all-around performance. Senior forward Simon Smith (Cranford, N.J.) finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) had 14 points. Senior guard Michael Cutri (West Caldwell, N.J.) had nine points, while junior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) finished with eight points, five assists and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Phil DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.) was strong off the bench with seven points and a pair of helpers as the Ducks shot over 75 percent in the second half, connecting on five of six attempts from three.

For the game Stevens shot 57.8 percent (26-for-45) from the floor and 6-for-12 (50 percent) from three. The Ducks hit 24 of their 32 attempts from the line and ended with a 34-25 edge on the glass. Stevens tallied 19 assists and 13 steals on the night.

Baruch was led bysenior guard Chris Beauchamp (Glendale, N.Y.) with 16 points and four assists. Junior guard Jason Berliner (Long Island City, N.Y.) was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 11. Baruch shot 49.1 percent (28-for-57) from the field and 6-for-20 (30 percent) from long range.

With the win, Stevens improves to 20-7 and has won 20 games in back-to-back years for the second time in program history. The Ducks have won 20 games four times in their history (2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11, 2011-12). Baruch ends it season with a record of 14-14.

Despite being non-conference foes, Stevens has played Baruch twice each of the last three season with the Ducks winning the last three.

The Ducks jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage, but the Bearcats came back and eventually tied things at 18 with 7:49 left in the first. Stevens went back up six following a Skrelja layup, and eventually took a 33-31 lead into the locker room.

Baruch turned the tables early in the second half, outscoring the Ducks 12-5 over the first 4:17 of the period to open up a 43-38 edge following a three-pointer from freshman guard Rob Goldstein (Seaford, N.Y.).

After a Stevens timeout, the Ducks made the five-point deficit history, exploding on a 17-1 run over a span of 5:42 to put the game out of reach. Smith started the spurt with a three-point play, and sophomore guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) followed with a three-ball. A Skrelja three-pointer with 13:58 left gave the Ducks the lead for good, then DeSeignora followed with a long ball of his own and the Ducks were off, never allowing Baruch closer than six the rest of the way.

Stevens received 12 points off the bench, 18 points in the paint and only trailed for 1:33 of game time.

The defending ECAC Metro champs will head to Richard Stockton College on Saturday to play Mount Saint Mary College in the semifinals at a time to be determined. Visit www.StevensDucks.com Thursday for more information.