Jon Almonte became the 10th player in Stevens history to score 1,000 points. |
Jon Almonte became the 10th player in Stevens history to score 1,000 points. |
BRONX, N.Y. – Freshman guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J./Peddie School) drove the length of the court for a layup with one second left to lift Stevens Institute of Technology to a 63-61 come-from-behind victory over Mount St. Vincent in a Skyline Conference men’s basketball game on Saturday.
Stevens earned its third straight win, improving to 6-15 overall and 6-7 in Skyline play. Mount St. Vincent falls to 9-11 overall and 3-9 in the conference.
Senior forward Jon Almonte (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen), who led all scorers with 15 points, scored his 1,000th career point on a free throw that completed a 3-point play with 13:33 left in the first half. Almonte, who now has 1,010 points, is the tenth player in Stevens men’s basketball history to reach the milestone. Classmate Eric Stanley (New York, N.Y./Solebury Prep) scored his 1,000th point in January.
Keyed by freshman guard Ryan Kander (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Xaverian), Stevens rallied from an eight-point deficit with 4:06 remaining. After Christopher Renna sank one free throw to give the Dolphins a 57-49 lead, Kander buried a 3-pointer with 3:48 left to cut the margin to five. He then came up with a steal and fed Stanley for a dunk with 3:32 left. Renna again made one free throw with 3:17 remaining to give Mount St. Vincent a 58-54 lead. Nine seconds later, Kander connected on another 3-pointer to pull Stevens within one.
After the teams traded baskets, Stanley put back an Almonte miss with 38 seconds left to give the Ducks a 61-60 lead. Mount St. Vincent guard Mike Celestin, who was fouled on a drive, missed the first of two free throws but made the second to tie the game at 61-61 with 25 seconds left. Renna came up with a steal with 12 seconds left and drove in for a layup but had his shot blocked by Stanley who corralled the rebound. Stanley sent an outlet pass to Morris who drove down the court and hit a short banker with one second left to give Stevens a 63-61 lead. The Dolphins called timeout, but weren’t able to get off a shot on their final possession.
Stevens led by as many as 14 points, 24-10, following a layup by sophomore forward Dan Jordan (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) with 4:29 left in the first half. The Ducks saw a seven-point halftime lead evaporate as the Dolphins scored the first eight points of the second half. Kander made both ends of a one-and-one with 11:59 left to tie the game at 44-44. Mount St. Vincent then scored on four straight possessions in a span of 1:54, including three 3-pointers to take an 11-point lead. Renna gave the Dolphins a 55-44 lead with 10:05 left.
Stevens received a double-double from Stanley who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan added nine points while Kander had eight – all in the second half. The Ducks also held a 42-35 rebounding advantage. Celestin and Pat Narciso led Mount St. Vincent with 10 points each.
Stevens returns to action on Monday, February 10, when it hosts Centenary College in a non-conference game beginning at 7 p.m.
