ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Behind 34 points from sophomore Michael Stewart, the College of Staten Island rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to earn a 90-88 double-overtime victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday in the consolation game of the Scotty Wood Tournament at Muhlenberg College.
Stevens (0-2) led by 19 points on three occasions in the second half. A jumper by senior forward Jon Almonte (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) with 16:27 left in the second half gave the Ducks a 43-24 lead. The Ducks also led by 16 points, 55-39, on an Almonte layup with 8:32 remaining. Staten Island (1-1) continued to chip away, but two free throws by sophomore guard Pat McCann (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) gave Stevens an 11-point advantage, 61-50, with 3:32 left.
Staten Island used a 16-5 run over the final 3:11 to tie the game. Stewart led the charge with seven points and scored on a layup with one second remaining to pull the Dolphins even at 66-66 and force overtime.
Stevens scored the first seven points in the first overtime period. Almonte had four points and senior forward Eric Stanley (New York, N.Y./Solebury Prep) sank a free throw with 2:21 left to give the Ducks a 73-66 lead. But Stanley Etheridge scored four points and Stewart added a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, capping a 12-3 run that gave the Dolphins a 78-76 lead with 15 seconds left. Stanley answered with a layup with eight seconds left that tied the game at 78-78 and forced the second overtime.
Staten Island took a quick one-point lead in the second overtime on a free throw by Carlito Ulett at the 4:45 mark. The Dolphins maintained a slim lead for the next 4:31 until Stanley tied the game at 88-88 on a layup with 14 seconds remaining. But Stewart, who played 47 of the 50 minutes, won it for Staten Island with a jumper at the buzzer.
Stanley, who scored 20 points in the Ducks season opener against Muhlenberg on Friday night, led Stevens again with 28 points and nine rebounds. Almonte contributed 24 points and seven rebounds while playing 45 minutes. Senior guard Nik Rao (Franklin Park, NJ/Rutgers Prep) was the third Duck in double figures with 17 points. McCann finished with a career-high 13 assists.
Etheridge added 19 points while Ulett contributed 16 for Staten Island.
The Stevens men’s basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, November 26, when it travels to Madison, N.J., for a 7 p.m. game against FDU-Florham.
