HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 16, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team earned a season-opening 88-62 win over Centenary College Friday night in the Comfort Inn Tip-Off Tournament in Hackettstown, N.J.
Three players scored in double figures led by a game-high 19 points from sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.).
Stevens came out strong, tallying the game's first eight points behind a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) and a fast-break layup from sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.).
After a Cyclone triple, Sabatino slammed home a missed layup to give the Ducks a 10-3 margin with 17:20 left in the first half and a three-pointer from senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) gave the visitors their first double-digit lead of the game.
After Thompson's second-straight three, Centenary ran off five-straight points to make it a 19-8 game with 13:36 left in the first, but a three-point play from junior captain Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) pushed the lead to 14.
Jones' third three-pointer and fifth field field-goal of the first half gave the Ducks a 33-16 lead with less than seven minutes to go in the opening half, and every time Centenary threatened to make a little bit of a run, Stevens had the answer with a bucket.
Junior guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) fed Thompson for a wide-open three-pointer from the left corner to give Ducks a 44-22 edge at the two-minute mark of the first and the Ducks went into the intermission with a 46-26 lead. Jones led all scorers with 13 points with Thompson and Sabatino tallying nine apiece.
The Ducks shot 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the field and 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from long range.
In the second, the Ducks saw their lead swell to 30 (63-33) with 14:20 to play after a pair of free throws from freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.), but the Cyclones were able to cut into the lead, getting within 18 at the 10:40 mark.
A three-pointer from freshman guard Kevin Zychowski (Mendham, N.J.) gave Stevens what would be its largest lead with of the game, 31 points, with 5:11remaining and the Ducks cruised the rest of the way to the victory.
Head Coach Bobby Hurley (Nutley, N.J.) was able to get 14 players into the action as the Ducks shot 51.5 percent (18-for-34) from the field and 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from long range. Stevens went 10-for-14 at the line and had 21 points off 15 Cyclone turnovers. The Ducks ended with a plus-18 tally on the glass (48-30) but did commit 18 turnovers. Stevens totaled seven steals – two each from Skrelja and Sabatino – and five blocks. Sophomore Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) led Stevens with two.
Sabatino's 19 points came on 8-of-12 shooting. He added seven rebounds and a block to his line in just 23 minutes. Jones and Thompson each went 6-for-10 with 15 points on the night with Thompson getting five assists, three boards and a steal. Jones had a block and three rebounds. Skrelja was excellent all-around with eight points, a game-high 10 rebounds, a game-high seven assists and two thefts. Gan had nine boards, five assists and two points to go along with his two blocks, while Klimchak scored eight points off the bench and had two helpers. Meszaros finished with four points and three boards as 11 players recorded points.
Centenary received 19 points from senior guard Max Hughes (Nazareth, N.J.) and 15 points from junior forward Andy Charles (West Orange, N.J.). The Cyclones shot 19-for-58 (32.8 percent) from the field and 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc. They connected on 16 of their 27 free-throw attempts (59.3 percent) and pulled down just 30 rebounds.
Stevens will return to action Saturday evening at 6 p.m. in the tournament title game against William Paterson University. Last year, the Pioneers won the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament with a remarkable triple overtime comeback win in Canavan Arena. WPU was able to erase a 20-point deficit with just 10 minutes on the clock.
Tonight's matchup between Stevens and Centenary featured Hurley's 74th career win. The win came against his former assistant and first-year Cyclones coach Brendan Twomey (Hoboken, N.J.). Twomey spent the last four years at Stevens.
Visit www.StevensDucks.com for links to live stats and live video for Saturday's action.
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