HOBOKEN, N.J. – Senior forward Jon Almonte (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) scored a game-high 20 points, and freshman guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J./Peddie School) added 19 points and five assists to lead Stevens Institute of Technology to an 80-69 win over St. Joseph’s-Patchogue on Saturday in a Skyline Conference men’s basketball game at the Canavan Arena.
Stevens, which has won four of its last seven games, improves to 4-15 overall and 4-7 in Skyline play. St. Joseph’s falls to 7-9 and 5-5 in the conference.
The Ducks led nearly the entire way. St. Joseph’s held a 5-2 lead just 3:25 into the game on a driving layup by Steven Drury. But Stevens scored 11 straight points in a span of four minutes and never relinquished the lead.
With senior forward Eric Stanley (New York, N.Y./Solebury Prep), the Ducks top scorer and rebounder, saddled with three fouls in the first 10 minutes, St. Joseph’s appeared to gain momentum. The Golden Eagles pulled to within 16-12 on a drive by Tim Trava with 8:30 left in the first half, but Stevens then scored nine straight points with Stanley on the bench to push its lead to double figures. Junior forward Jordan Clark (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) came off the bench and scored the first four points from the free throw line. Almonte added four points while Morris connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:21 left to increase the lead to 25-12. Stevens, which held a 32-18 lead at the break, held St. Joseph’s to just 32.1 percent shooting for the game (26-for-81).
Leading by 12 points early in the second half (34-22), the Ducks used a 16-3 run in a span of five minutes to extend their lead to 25. Almonte had five points while Stanley added four. A jumper by freshman guard Ryan Lynch (Medford, N.J./St. Joseph’s Prep) gave Stevens a 50-25 lead with 13:05 left.
Stevens held a 68-49 lead with 6:08 left, but St. Joseph’s used a late 9-0 run to cut the lead to 10 points. The Ducks cemented the victory by going 7-for-10 at the free throw line in the final 2:26. Almonte was a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe in the final 45 seconds.
Stanley also finished in double figures for Stevens with 15 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Sophomore forward Dan Jordan (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) scored four points, but pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.
St. Joseph’s was led by junior guard Tim Trava who scored 18 points off the bench – 16 in the second half.
Stevens returns to action on Tuesday, February 4, when it hosts the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a 7:30 p.m. game at the Canavan Arena.
