HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 11, 2013) – Sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) had a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 72-48 rout over visiting Alfred University Friday night at the Canavan Arena in Empire 8 men's basketball action.
With the win, Stevens improves to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while the Saxons drop to 3-10 and 1-4.
Junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) found Sabatino with a gorgeous, rim-shaking alley-oop on the first possession of the game, and after the Saxons took a brief 3-2 lead, the Ducks took the lead for good on another Sabatino layup and never looked back, cruising to a 24-point win in their first home game since November 25.
Leading 9-7 with 13:55 left in the opening period, Stevens went on what turned out to be a game-deciding 15-1 run over a span of 4:29. Skrelja started things with a driving layup and Sabatino followed with four-straight points of his own to make it 15-7. Junior guard Phillip DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.) then converted a pair of turnovers into four points. On the latter, he knifed his way through the lane and sunk a pretty left-handed layup with a foul to make it 20-7 Ducks with 9:19 left in the first. Another DeSeignora steal led to a fast-break bucket from senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.J.) and Stevens was rolling.
The lead ballooned to 22 when Skrelja tallied an old fashioned three-point play, and the Ducks went into the intermission leading 37-17, outscoring the Saxons 28-10 over the final 13-plus minutes.
Another Skrelja basket gave Stevens a 25-point margin 3:34 into the second period, and a pair at the line from Sabatino made it 50-24 Ducks with 14:14 left. Alfred then chipped away, getting within 17 with eight and change to go, but five-straight points from Jones pushed the lead back to 22, and Stevens cruised the rest of the way.
Sabatino was 8-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 at the line, netting 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Jones finished with 17 points in 17 minutes, while Skrelja had 11 tallies, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Junior forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) finished with a game-high 11 boards, four points and two blocks, with DeSeignora leading the Stevens reserves with seven points and a pair of thefts. Freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) had six points and a steal as well.
The Ducks shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the field and 7-for-21 (33 percent) from three-point land. They hit 13 of their 18 free-throw attempts (72.2 percent) and finished the contest with a 35-24 edge on the glass. Stevens assisted on 17 of its 26 made baskets and had nine steals as a team. The Ducks also had 22 points off 17 Saxon turnovers, held a 38-24 advantage in the paint and a 10-0 margin in fast-break points.
Alfred shot just 34 percent for the game and hit four of their 20 attempts from three. The Saxons were 8-for-15 at the line and finished with 11 steals.
Stevens will return to action Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it hosts a strong St. John Fisher College team in a key E8 showdown. All the action can be seen live from the Canavan Arena on www.Empire8.TV.
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