HOUGHTON, N.Y. (January 4, 2013) –  Sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds to lead five players in double figures as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team improved to 7-1 with an 80-61 win at Houghton College Friday evening.

The meeting between the two schools is the first of many as Houghton is in its first year as a member of the Empire 8.

After falling behind 9-4 early, the Ducks used an 11-0 run over a span of 3:14 to open a 15-9 margin with 9:13 left in the first half. Senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) started the run with a jumper, with junior guard Phillip DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.) and Sabatino tallying five and four points, respectively to give Stevens the lead for good.

Stevens pushed the margin to 10 (21-11) behind a layup from freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.), and after the Highlanders fought back to within seven (23-16), the Duck lead swelled to 18 at the end of the first courtesy of a 15-4 spurt over the final 4:17 of the period. Five-straight points from senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) ignited things and sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) converted a Thompson feed into two points as time expired.

Thompson found Sabatino for another layup 1:11 into the second half to push the Stevens lead to 20 (42-22), but the hosts did not go quietly, battling back to within 10 points at the 15:36 mark of the second. Stevens was able to withstand the charge, turning an 11-point margin to 18 after another DeSeignora three.

Houghton again fought back to within 10 with 8:06 to play, but three-straight buckets around two stops pushed the lead back to 16 for the Ducks at 70-54. The margin expanded to 24 – the largest lead of the game for Stevens – with 2:04 in regulation as the Ducks cruised over the final five minutes to their fourth double-digit win of the season.

Stevens shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) from the field but connected on just five of their 17 three-pointers (29.4 percent).  The Ducks shot 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) at the line and ended the contest with a 27-22 margin on the glass including 13 on the offensive end. In addition, Stevens totaled 12 assists, seven blocks and seven steals.

In addition to Sabatino, Jones, Thompson, DeSeignora and Klimchak all scored in double figures, while junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) and Gan each had five rebounds. Skrelja added three steals, while Gan had seven points and a pair of blocks. Freshman Logan McDonald (Lacey Township, N.J.) tied for a team-high in rebounds with six.

Senior guard Seth Shay (Andover, N.Y.) led Houghton (0-10) with 12 points, while senior forward Chris Confair (Rancho Cucamongo, Calif.), senior guard Mark O'Brien (Seven Hills, Ohio) and junior guard Andrew Makori (Seattle, Wash.) all scored in double figures. O'Brien also tallied a game-high seven rebounds.

Stevens will return to action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when it visits conference rival Nazareth College in a key Empire 8 matchup. All the action can be seen live at www.Empire8.TV.

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