ALFRED, N.Y. (February 15, 2013) – Senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) scored 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the 24th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 67-55 win at Alfred University. Stevens also clinched the regular-season Empire 8 title Friday with the win and some help from Utica College.
The Ducks locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament courtesy of the victory in Alfred and Ithaca College's loss to Utica College at the buzzer. The Ducks will host the Empire 8 Championship Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23 in Canavan Arena. Stevens will play at 6 p.m. on Friday against an opponent to be determined in one semifinal. Ithaca and St. John Fisher College will play in the other semifinal at 8 p.m., though seeding is yet to be determined. The two winners will play Sunday at 3 p.m. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.TV.
Stevens moves to 11-2 in the Empire 8 and 21-3 overall with the triumph. Alfred drops to 2-11 and 6-18 overall.
Stevens raced out to a 12-4 lead 4:15 into the action following a three-pointer from Jones, and two foul shots from junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) put the Ducks up 10 before five minutes had elapsed. Skrelja played a strong all-around game with nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Saxons (6-18) trimmed the Ducks' lead to three points thanks to a three-pointer junior forward Jason Ruback (Pittsford, N.Y.), but the Ducks came back to extend the margin to eight points when junior Phillip DeSeignora (Boston, Mass.) buried a three-pointer thanks to an assist from Jones with 6:16 left in the first.
After senior forward Brett Dennis (Webster, N.Y.) converted a layup on Alfred's next trip down, Stevens scored five-straight to close the opening period to take a 33-22 edge into the intermission.
The Saxons hung around in the second half, getting within seven points when Ruback connected again from long range to make the score 53-46 Ducks with 8:34 to play. Junior guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) found freshman guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) open for a three-pointer to get the lead back to 10 points and ignite a 12-0 run to seal the game for Stevens. Klimchak, Jones, Skrelja and sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) all had buckets in the game-deciding spurt.
Stevens shot 22-for-53 from the field (41.5 percent) and 9-for-20 from long range (45.0 percent). The Ducks were 14-for-19 at the line.
Senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) finished with 10 points, two assists and two rebounds, while sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) had four points, three rebounds, a steal and block. Sabatino had three points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, while Meszaros had six boards, two points, two assists and a rejection in 21 minutes off the bench.
Alfred shot 35.1 percent from the field, 4-for-19 from three and 11-of-17 at the line. The Saxons held a 31-29 edge on the glass and totaled nine steals. Dennis had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Ruback had 12 points.
Stevens will visit Fisher at 2 p.m. Saturday. All the action will be webcast live at www.Empire8.TV.
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