MANHATTAN, N.Y. (December 9, 2012) – The No. 25 Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team fell at 21st-ranked New York University Sunday afternoon. The Ducks close the 2012 portion of their schedule with a record of 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8.

The Ducks were led by 19 points, four rebounds and four assists from senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.).

Trailing 57-50 with 9:44 in the second half, the Ducks went on a 10-0 run to take a 60-57 lead with 7:16 to play. Jones started it with a three-point play and then registered a steal which led to a layup from sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.). Junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) found senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) for a three-pointer to give Stevens its first lead since the 2:11 mark of the first half, with Jones finding Gan underneath to cap the run at 10.

The Violets answered, regaining the lead at 61-60 behind a layup from sophomore forward Adam Xu (Hong Kong), but Skrelja found Gan again to give the Ducks a one-point edge with 4:58 in the second.

Freshman center Evan Kupferberg (Athens, Greece) gave the hosts the lead with a jumper, and sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) knotted things at 63 with a free throw with less than two minutes to play.

Each team failed to score on their next offensive possession, and the Violets broke the tie with a pair at the line and the clock showing just 58 seconds. Stevens could not hit a three-pointer on its next possession, and Kupferberg hit another two at the stripe to make it a 67-63 NYU lead with 29 seconds left. Stevens could not connect from long range again, and NYU made its final four free throws to seal the eventual 71-65 win.

The first half saw four ties and five lead changes. The Ducks took an early 9-5 lead after a three-pointer from junior guard Phillip DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.), and again led by four (11-7) following a DeSeignora layup.

NYU responded with a 9-0 run to open a 16-11 lead following a triple from senior forward Carl Yaffe (Bethesda, Md.), and the Ducks came back to knot things at 17 behind a jumper from freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.). Stevens extended its margin to six (25-19) with five minutes to play in the opening period, however the Violets outscored the visitors 15-6 to close out the half and took a 34-31 edge into the break. Jones ended the first with a jumper as time expired.

Stevens shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the field, but the Ducks were just 3-for-18 from three-point range and 4-for-9 at the line. NYU shot 22-for-51 (43.1 percent) from the field, but connected on nine three-pointers (9-for-21) and hit 18 of its 26 free throws.

In addition to Jones, the Ducks were led by 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks from Sabatino, and 10 points and five boards from Thompson. Gan finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, with Skrelja tallying eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. DeSeignora had five points and two rebounds off the bench for Stevens.

Yaffe and Kupferberg each had 18 points for the Violets (6-1). Kupferberg had a team-high eight rebounds and Yaffe led NYU with four assists.

Stevens will return to the hardwood in 2013 when it visits Empire 8 foes Houghton College and Nazareth College January 4 and 5.

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