Floyd Morris had a game-high eight assists against SUNY Old Westbury.

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (January 28, 2006) – SUNY Old Westbury junior guard Divine Jackson (Hempstead, N.Y.) drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to force overtime, and sophomore guard Ian Johnson (Jamaica, N.Y.) connected on two free throws in the closing seconds as the Panthers knocked off the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team, 66-64, in a Skyline Conference thriller on Saturday afternoon in Old Westbury, N.Y.  The Panthers (9-8, 3-4 Skyline) prevailed only after Jackson rejected a running leaner by freshman guard Virgil Gray II (Elmwood Park, N.J) as time expired.

During the overtime period, Stevens (10-8, 5-4) found itself trailing by one point with less than two minutes to play.  Senior guard Isaac Moore (Phoenix, Ariz.) converted on a lay-up to give the Ducks a 62-61 lead with 1:27 remaining.  Following a missed shot by senior guard Michael Garrett (Brooklyn, N.Y.), junior guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J.) extended the Ducks’ lead to three points with a pair of free throws with one minute left on the clock.

Old Westbury came right back as senior guard Ramel Phillips (Central Islip, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer to knot the score at 64-all with 49 seconds to go.

After a missed three-pointer by Morris, the Panthers ran the clock down before Johnson was fouled.  He stepped to the line and calmly sank both free throws with two seconds remaining.  On the final play of the game, Morris found Gray down court with a long pass.  Gray’s attempt was blocked out of bounds by Johnson as the clock ran out.

The Ducks nearly won the game in regulation thanks to a 7-0 run in the final two minutes.  Trailing 56-52, Moore scored on a lay-up to bring Stevens within two points.  After junior forward Tim Williams (Selden, N.Y.) tied the game with a pair of free throws, Gray gave the Ducks a 59-56 lead on a three-pointer with seven seconds to play.  Old Westbury sent the game into overtime as Garrett found Jackson for the tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

In what proved to be a tightly-contested game, neither team led by double-digits at any point.  Stevens opened its biggest lead of the game midway through the first half as the Ducks scored seven unanswered points to claim a 16-7 advantage on a tip-in by Williams with 11:38 remaining.

Leading 27-24 at the break, Stevens pushed its lead to as many as eight points in the second half.  Senior guard Ryan Kander (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) helped the Ducks claim a 37-29 advantage when he drained a free throw with 11:15 left in regulation.

Williams led the way for Stevens as three Ducks scored in double-figures.  Williams was 5-for-7 from the floor and connected on nine of 11 free throws for 19 points.  He added 14 rebounds in the contest.  Sophomore guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) also posted a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds).  Gray finished with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field.  Morris dished out eight assists.

Senior guard Russell Brereton (Amityville, N.Y.) collected a team-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Panthers.  Old Westbury also received 17 points and six rebounds from Jackson.  Junior forward Derek DeLoney (Amityville, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Even though the Ducks out-rebounded the Panthers by a wide margin (48-35), Stevens was done in by 31 turnovers, which led to 21 more field-goal attempts by Old Westbury.  The Ducks shot 38.8 percent (19-for-49) from the floor in the game.  The Panthers made 35.7 percent (25-for-70) of their shots.

Stevens will be back in action on Monday when it travels to Haverford College for a non-conference game.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Haverford, Pa.