ELMIRA, N.Y. (January 27, 2008) – Junior guard Anthony Passalacqua scored the final 11 points over the last 2:47 of the game for the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team as the 21st-ranked Ducks posted a 50-46 victory over Elmira College on Sunday in Elmira, N.Y. Passalacqua finished with a game-high 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor and connected on 3-of-6 shots from downtown as Stevens improved to 15-2 overall and 9-2 in the Empire 8.
With the Ducks trailing 40-39 with less than three minutes to go, Passalacqua (four steals on the evening) began his scoring outburst with a pair of free throws. Following a steal by junior guard Virgil Gray, Passalacqua drained a three-pointer to extend the margin to 44-40 with 2:07 remaining.
Down by three points (44-41) with just under a minute to go, the Soaring Eagles (5-13, 2-8 Empire 8) had a chance to tie the game, but sophomore guard/forward David Nelson (Bainbridge, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer. Passalacqua came up with the rebound off of Nelson's game-tying attempt. After Stevens burned up almost the entire shot clock, Passalacqua knocked down a jumper to put the Ducks ahead 46-41 with 21 seconds left on the clock.
After a pair of free throws by Elmira closed the margin to 46-43, Passalacqua made two free throws with eight seconds to go to push the lead back to five points (48-43). Freshman guard Evan Taylor (Naples, Fla.) answered with a three-pointer to bring the Soaring Eagles to within 48-46 with two seconds remaining. Passalacqua sealed the Ducks' victory by making two more free throws.
Gray was the only other player for Stevens to score in double-figures. He collected 10 points and four rebounds. Taylor led Elmira with 11 points and three rebounds. Sophomore forward/center Palen Andreozzi (Albany, N.Y.) added 10 points and four blocked shots in the loss.
Both teams shot 36.4 percent (16-for-44) from the floor. Stevens made 14 of its 18 attempts (77.8 percent) at the foul line. The Soaring Eagles connected on 9-of-12 free throws (75 percent). The Ducks owned a 31-25 rebounding advantage.
Stevens will resume play on Tuesday with a non-conference game at Baruch College at 7 p.m. Then, on Friday, the Ducks will host Empire 8 rival Nazareth College at 8 p.m. Stevens won a 100-97 double-overtime thriller at Nazareth on January 5. Rochester Institute of Technology will visit Hoboken on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Tigers handed Stevens its first loss of the season on January 4. RIT won that game 91-85 in Rochester, N.Y.
