HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 16, 2007) – Junior guard Virgil Gray scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the 24th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 72-55 win over Skidmore College during the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament on Friday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks advanced to Saturday's championship game where they will take on Middlebury College at 7 p.m. The Panthers defeated the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 113-67, in Friday's other game.

Stevens (1-0) also received a solid performance from senior forward Tim Williams, who recorded a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) in his first game back after missing last season due to injury. Sophomore guard George Greco chipped in with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor. Junior guard Michael Baker finished with eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

The Thoroughbreds (0-1) were led by sophomore guard Ivan Paladin (Split, Croatia), who totaled 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Ryan Fischer-Werner (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added eight points, three assists and two steals in the loss.

Trailing 10-8 after the first six minutes of the contest, the Ducks opened a 15-12 lead with less than nine minutes to go in the half. Stevens extended the margin to 22-12 with a 7-0 run in the span of 70 seconds. Williams capped the burst by making a basket inside with 7:21 left before intermission. Greco hit a big three-pointer in the run.

After Skidmore climbed to within 22-18, the Ducks scored 10 unanswered points to open a 32-18 advantage on a breakaway dunk by Gray with 2:10 remaining on the clock. Gray scored all 10 points in the spurt. Stevens led 35-22 at the break.

Leading 38-27 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the contest, the Ducks ripped off a 9-0 run to extend their margin to 20 points (47-27). Williams nailed four free throws in that stretch.

Skidmore would not go away though as the Thoroughbreds moved to within 54-45 on a lay-up by Paladin with less than eight minutes remaining. Steven put the game away for good with a 9-2 burst to claim a 63-47 lead with 3:43 remaining.

For the game, the Ducks shot 36.5 percent (23-for-63) from the field. Skidmore was 18-for-59 (30.5 percent) from the floor. The Thoroughbreds were done in by 24 turnovers and 28 personal fouls though.

Middlebury used a dominating first-half performance to cruise to its victory over the Mariners. The Panthers shot 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes as they led 53-18 at the break. Senior guard Andrew Harris (Waterbury Center, Vt.) scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. For the game, he shot 7-for-12 from the floor and nailed four three-pointers.

Freshman guard Ashton Coghlan (New York, N.Y.) ended up with 15 points in his first collegiate game. Sophomore forward Tim Edwards (Greenwich, Conn.) added 13 points. Six different players scored in double-figures for Middlebury, which made 17 three-pointers in the game.

Freshman forward Quincy Doffen (San Antonio, Texas) had 11 points and eight rebounds for USMMA. Freshman center Ben Sturtevant (Scotland, Ariz.) totaled 10 points in the loss.

The Panthers shot 51.4 percent (37-for-72) in the game. The Merchant Marine connected on just 34.3 percent of its field-goal attempts (24-for-70) and turned the ball over 21 times. The game was decided early in the first half as Middlebury used a 20-0 run over a seven-minute stretch to break open a one-point game. Harris scored the final 15 points of the spurt.

Saturday's Stevens-Middlebury game will be carried live at www.Empire8.tv. Skidmore and USMMA will meet in the consolation game at 5 p.m.