KING'S POINT, N.Y. (January 7, 2014) – Junior forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) scored a career-high 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to an 81-69 road win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy Tuesday night.
The win is the fifth-straight for Stevens, as the Ducks improve to 7-3 overall. Merchant Marine falls to 5-7 in defeat.
Sabatino tallied his 27 points in just 23 minutes and on just 15 shots. He hit two three-pointers, pulled down eight rebounds, notched five blocked shots, dished out three assists and pocketed two steals in a marvelous all-around performance for the three-year veteran.
Stevens jumped on top 9-2 thanks to seven Sabatino points in the first 2:42 of the game, and the Ducks never relinquished the lead in the win for the second time in as many outings.
The Mariners pulled within four, but Stevens quickly responded with a 6-1 spurt to open a 15-6 edge with 13:09 to play in the opening period. The guests lead moved into double digits when sophomore guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) converted 1-of-2 at the line to make it a 23-13 contest, and after Merchant Marine fought back within three points, seven-straight points from the Ducks pushed the advantage back to 10 points (32-22) with 4:04 to play in the first. A three-point play from Sabatino capped the 7-0 run for Stevens as it ended up taking a 34-29 lead into intermission.
USMMA came all the way back to tie the game at 36 just 2:50 into the second, but four quick points from junior forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) gave the lead back to Stevens.
Up two with 15:02 left, Stevens ran off eight-straight points on the back of a pair of three-pointers from Klimchak to push the lead back to 10 (49-39), and that edge swelled to 14 following another three-point play, this one from senior guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.), with 7:00 remaining.
Merchant Marine battled back within six points with 3:00 on the clock, but a big-time triple from Sabatino with 2:13 to play made it a 67-58 game, and the Mariners would not get closer than six the rest of the way. The Ducks went 12-for-12 from the foul line in the final 1:20 of game time.
Stevens shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from deep and 69.0 percent (20-for-29) at the line. The Ducks had 17 assists and just 14 turnovers, adding seven blocks and seven steals in a solid performance. They scored 36 points in the paint, and 28 points off 15 USMMA turnovers.
Gan finished with 16 points (8-for-10), seven rebounds and three assists, while Klimchak had 15 points and four assists. Meszaros had nine points, five boards and three assists, and senior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.) finished with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and two thefts.
Freshman guard Matthew Miller (Augusta, Ga.) led Merchant Marine with 20 points as the hosts shot 39.7 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three and 12-for-24 at the line (50 percent). The Mariners ended with a 41-40 margin on the glass.
Stevens will visit Nazareth College on Friday at 6 p.m. in an Empire 8 showdown.