HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 1, 2013) – Senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) scored 29 points on just 17 shots to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 85-77 win over Utica College Friday night.
With the win, the Ducks move to 17-3 overall and 8-2 in the conference. The Ducks are now tied with Ithaca College for first place in the Empire standings as the Bombers dropped a 62-61 heartbreaker at Nazareth College Friday. Utica falls to 5-6 in the league and 8-13 overall.
The Ducks jumped out to a 12-5 advantage following three-pointers from Jones and fellow senior Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.), and after the Pioneers cut the lead to four (12-8), Stevens ran off eight-straight points to push the margin to 12 with 11:59 left in the half. Jones scored all eight of the Ducks points with a pair of triples and a driving layup.
Utica came back to get within five points (21-16) with 7:14 left in first thanks to a pair three-point plays, but Stevens exploded to close the period, tallying 26 points over the final seven minutes to take a 47-31 lead into the break.
After increasing the lead to 20 points with an Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) layup, the Ducks seemed to let up a bit and the Pioneers took advantage to make it a game. Leading 59-39 at the 15:47 mark, the Ducks looked up at the scoreboard less than five minutes later and were only up 12.
A three-pointer from senior guard Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, N.Y.) brought Utica within nine (63-54) at the midway point of the second and another Baldwin three made it a six-point game with 9:08 to play.
Utica was able to whittle the lead all the way down to four points on two occasions, the final time being at 67-63 with 5:33 on the clock, but the Ducks were able to do enough to get the win. After seeing his team's 20-point margin all but evaporate, Thompson pumped faked to free himself for a huge three-pointer from the top of the key to push Stevens back up seven, and a turnover and layup from junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) seemed to turn the momentum with 4:29 left.
Down the stretch, Utica fought within seven points several times but the Ducks hit some big shots – namely a tough 15-footer from Skrelja and a nifty layup from Jones – and made their free throws to close out the win.
In addition to Jones, sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) had a nice game with 18 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots, with Thompson scoring 11 points and dishing out four assists. Skrelja had 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) tallied six points, three rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Four of the Stevens starters were in double figures, with the Ducks getting five points and four points from junior guard Phillip DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.) and Klimchak off the bench.
Stevens shot 50.8 percent (32-for-63) from the field and 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from three. The Ducks were 11-for-15 at the line, had 10 steals and nine blocked shots. Each team grabbed 32 rebounds.
Utica shot 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the field and 7-for-13 from three. The Pioneers were 12-for-19 at the line and committed 22 turnovers compared to just 13 for the Ducks.
Baldwin, sophomore guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, N.Y.), junior forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, N.Y.), junior forward Conor Maisch (Kingston, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Marion Lewis (Bronx, N.Y.) all scored in double figures for Utica with Jeffers grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Stevens will return to action Wednesday night, February 6, when it visits Baruch College in the Battle of Lexington. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
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