ITHACA, N.Y. (January 25, 2013) – No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology fell to 14-3 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 with an 80-69 loss at Ithaca College on Friday night in Ben Light Gymnasium. Sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) led all scorers with 21 points and also grabbed nine rebounds.

Ithaca improved to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the Empire 8 with the win.

The first 10 minutes of the first half saw great shooting from the Ducks (9-for-13), but the Bombers  - namely senior guard Sean Rossi (Sparta, N.J.) – were on fire from three-point land, and held onto a one-point lead at 23-22. Rossi canned four of Ithaca's five triples in the early going, with the Ducks getting a pair of three-balls from freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.).

After a Bomber timeout, the Ducks went on a 9-1 run to take a five-point lead with 6:30 to play in the first. The spurt was keyed by junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) who had a three-point play, a steal and an assist to help Stevens to a 31-24 advantage.

Leading by four, a turnaround jumper on the left block from sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) and a layup from Skrelja gave the Ducks their largest lead of the night at eight. Ithaca countered, closing the first half with a 12-0 run to take a 41-37 lead into the break.

Sabatino finished with 11 points and three rebounds to lead the Ducks who shot 57.1 percent from the field and 4-for-10 from three. Rossi led Ithaca with 12 points as the bombers shot 11-for-27 from the field and 6-for-14 from long range. Amazingly, Ithaca ended the first half with a 20-1 advantage in attempted free throws in the first 20 minutes. Stevens had a 17-13 edge on the glass.

In the opening moments of the second, the Bombers received a pair of nice blocks from junior center Tom Sweeney (Ambler, Pa.) and two easy buckets to push their lead to eight, and following a Stevens miss, Sweeney scored on the left block for a 10 point Ithaca lead at 47-37.

Ithaca's lead swelled to 13 (51-38) before a Stevens timeout and Klimchak three-pointer slowed the hosts momentum, and the Ducks were able to trim the margin to seven thanks to a Sabatino put-back with 11:30 left. The Bombers quickly countered to get back to double figures, eventually opening a 63-49 advantage with 7:45 to play.

The Ducks' deficit stayed between 10-14 points until back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) and Sabatino suddenly had the Ducks within seven at the 3:27 mark. Stevens had a chance to get within five but could not convert a turnover into points and a Sweeney layup made it a nine-point game with 2:09 on the clock.

On the Ducks' next possession, Thompson hit a deep three to get the guests back within six points but that was as close as the Ducks would get as the Bombers sealed the win at the line.

Sabatino finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, with Skrelja getting 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and a pair of thefts. Klimchak had 11 points and three rebounds, and Thompson had eight points, five assists and two boards. Sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) had eight points and six boards.

Stevens shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from three-point land. The Ducks were 8-for-13 at the line and ended with a 41-35 edge on the glass.

Ithaca shot 45.5 percent for the game and 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three. The Bombers went 22-for-33 at the line.

Junior forward Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough, N.J.) scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Ithaca. Senior forward Andrei Oztemel (Westport, Conn.) tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, while Rossi added 12 points and five assists. Senior guard Eli Maravich (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 10 points and five rebounds, and senior forward Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J.) finished with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Ducks will return to action Saturday at Elmira College. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. Ithaca will host Hartwick College for a 4 p.m. start as well.

For your Stevens Athletics news "like" us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/StevensAthletics) and "follow" us on Twitter @stevensducks (www.Twitter.com/StevensDucks).