HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 17, 2007) – Trailing by 12 points with just over 16 minutes remaining, the 24th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team mounted a furious rally that culminated in a 73-63 win over Middlebury College in the championship game of the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Junior guard Virgil Gray was named the tournament's most valuable player as he tallied 23 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists to lead the Ducks to the victory.
Gray shot 9-for-13 from the floor in the game. Senior forward Tim Williams was selected to the all-tournament team after picking up his second-straight double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds). Williams was 6-for-7 from the field on the evening. Stevens (2-0) also received a solid performance from senior guard Waleed Farid, who totaled 14 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Junior guard Anthony Passalacqua contributed 11 points, three steals and two assists for the Ducks. Junior guard Michael Baker finished with four points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in 27 minutes off the bench.
Middlebury (1-1) was led by senior forward Mike Walsh (Needham, Mass.), who had 15 points, five rebounds and five steals. Walsh was named to the all-tournament team along with senior guard Andrew Harris (Waterbury Center, Vt.). In Friday's first-round game, Harris scored a game-high 20 points. He was limited to just eight points on 3-for-17 shooting from the floor in the championship game though.
Freshman guard Ashton Coghlan (New York, N.Y.) collected 15 points and five rebounds against the Ducks. Junior guard Ben Rudin (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Panthers.
After shooting 1-for-9 from the foul line and committing 10 turnovers in the first half, Stevens was fortunate to find itself down by just five points (30-25) at the break. Middlebury extended its lead to 42-30 on a four-point play by Coghlan with 16:12 left in the contest.
The Ducks responded by scoring 17 unanswered points in the span of 5:36 to take a 47-42 lead with 10:27 remaining. Gray fueled the rally with six points in the spurt. Williams added a big three-point play and five total points in the burst. Farid also had a three-point play to spark the comeback. Senior forward Nate Williams gave Stevens some quality minutes off the bench and capped the run with a free throw to put the Ducks up by five.
The Panthers would not go away though as they clawed to within 51-50 on two free throws by Walsh with 8:21 left on the clock. Up by three points (58-55) with just over five minutes to go, Stevens put the game away with a 10-0 run. Gray got things going with a lay-up and added a clutch three-pointer. Farid finished off the rally with a three-point play to stake the Ducks to a 68-55 lead with 3:30 remaining.
Stevens out-scored Middlebury 48-33 in the second half as the Ducks shot 70.4 percent (19-for-27) from the field after intermission. For the game, Stevens connected on 30 of 55 field-goal attempts (54.5 percent). The Ducks owned a 44-38 edge in rebounds in the contest.
The Panthers shot 27.8 percent (10-for-36) in the second half and 31.1 percent (23-for-74) in the game. Middlebury was just 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from three-point range on the evening.
In Saturday's consolation game, Skidmore College captured an 81-64 win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy. All-tournament selection Ivan Paladin (Split, Croatia) led the way for the Thoroughbreds (1-1) with 20 points. The sophomore guard was 7-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-4 from downtown. Sophomore forward Jon Douglas (Amherst, Mass.) totaled 17 points and was 13-for-14 from the foul line.
Freshman center Ben Sturtevant (Scotland, Ariz.) paced the Mariners (0-2) with 12 points. Freshman forward Quincy Doffen (San Antonio, Texas) added nine points in the loss.
Skidmore jumped out to a 45-30 lead at the break. The Thoroughbreds connected on 10 of 20 three-pointers in the contest.
After two days off, Stevens will be right back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson University (Florham) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Stevens Tip-Off Tournament Recap
Friday, November 16
Middlebury College d. United States Merchant Marine Academy, 113-67
#24 Stevens Institute of Technology d. Skidmore College, 72-55
Saturday, November 17
Skidmore College d. United State Merchant Marine Academy, 81-64
#24 Stevens Institute of Technology d. Middlebury College, 73-63
All-Tournament Team
Tim Williams – Stevens Institute of Technology
Andrew Harris – Middlebury College
Mike Walsh – Middlebury College
Ivan Paladin – Skidmore College
Most Valuable Player
Virgil Gray – Stevens Institute of Technology
