Men’s Basketball Falls to Randolph-Macon in NCAA First-Round Thriller

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BRONX, N.Y. (March 2, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team saw its season end Saturday afternoon in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Men's Basketball Championship, falling by a score of 69-60 to Randolph-Macon College. The game was played at the APEX at Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y.

 

The Yellow Jackets (20-9) scored the final five points of the first half and the first seven points of the second half for a 12-0 run to bridge the two periods and open a 42-26 lead with 17:59 left in regulation.

 

With the opponent holding a big lead and all the momentum, the Ducks easily could have folded, but did not, scratching all the way back for what turned out to be a great finish and exceptional game.

 

Sophomore forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) put in a layup to get Stevens on the board in the second and end the run at 12, and a pair at the line from senior guard Sheldon Jones (Queens, N.Y.) got the Ducks within 11. A bucket from junior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) brought Stevens within nine, and Skrelja found Jones for two more and all of a sudden the Ducks were within seven points at 42-35 with 14:51 to play. Senior guard Russ Thompson (West Orange, N.J.) scored on a second-chance opportunity created by Gan for 11-straight points, and following a steal from sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) another two tallies from Skrelja made it a 42-39 game with 14:09 on the clock.

 

Sophomore guard Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C.) ended the Stevens run at 13-0 with a free throw, but the Ducks continued to battle, knotting the game at 46-all when Gan sunk a turnaround in the lane.

 

The Yellow Jackets moved back in front by four points (50-46) when junior forward Andre Simon (Newport News, Va.) converted two free throws, but the Ducks countered with two Thompson free throws, a stop and a Jones layup to tie the game at 50, with Stevens pulling ahead briefly when Jones hit 1-of-2 at the line.

 

The two teams went back-and-forth for the next three minutes, and a Thompson triple tied the game at 56 at the 5:05 mark. Several empty possessions for each side and two free throws apiece had the game deadlocked at 58 with 3:13 left. Randolph-Macon pulled by three ahead behind 1-of-2 at the line from Simon and a jumper from senior forward Lamar Giggetts (Fredericksburg, Va.), and the Ducks made it 61-60 at the 1:47 mark when Thompson found Gan underneath, but a pull-up 15-footer from sophomore guard Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) and several stops for the Yellow Jackets sealed the thrilling 69-60 win.

 

Giggetts led all scorers with 19 points, also tallying four rebounds and two steals, while Badger and Sullivan each were in double figures for R-MC. Badger, Simon and sophomore forward Akeem Holmes (King William, Pa.) all had seven rebounds as the Yellow Jackets shot 22-for-56 from the field (39.3 percent), 3-for-11 from deep and 22-for-26 at the line (84.6 percent).

 

The Ducks shot 22-for-59 from the field (37.3 percent), 3-for-11 from three and 13-for-17 at the line (76.5 percent). Stevens held a 39-34 edge on the glass and scored 34 points in the paint compared to 22 for Randolph-Macon.

 

Skrelja led the Ducks with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, with Jones getting 18 points and four boards. Thompson had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Gan tallied 11 points, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and had one block.

 

After falling behind 11-6 early, Stevens came back to make it 11-10 after a Gan layup, but the Ducks would trail for much of the first half, eventually going into the locker room down by a score of 35-26.

 

The Ducks finish the year with an overall mark of 22-6 which is the second-most wins in the history of the program.

 

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