MADISON, N.J. (November 25, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team continued its great start with a blowout win at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham on Tuesday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, N.J. The Ducks jumped out to a 50-37 halftime lead and eventually won 87-63 as they are now 5-0 to begin the 2008-09 season. Senior guard Virgil Gray scored a game-high 22 points, and junior guard Matt Higgins scored 19 points on 9-for-10 from the floor. Stevens forced a season-high 29 turnovers and had 17 steals in the win.
The road win was the third-straight for the Ducks and first at FDU in nine tries. In addition to Gray and Higgins, senior guards Anthony Passalacqua and Michael Baker had 13 and 10 points, respectively, and freshman forward Simon Smith netted 11.
Stevens jumped out early, scoring the game's first eight points on two three balls from Passalacqua. The Devils were able to slice into the lead and eventually took a brief advantage mid-way through the first half. The Ducks took FDU's best punch and delivered their best with 6:59 remaining in the first. Leading by three, they scored nine-straight to build a 12-point lead. Baker had five points and a helper in the 1:48 spurt that ultimately decided the contest.
Senior guard Ryan McPerson (West Orange, N.J.) pulled the Devils within nine after a triple, but that was the closest they would get as Stevens cruised to the win.
The Ducks went into the locker room with a 50-37 lead on 50 percent shooting (18-36) as they ended up shooting 49.3 percent for the game. The Ducks scored 24 points in the paint and 21 points off turnovers in the first half alone.
FDU shot well in the first despite the big deficit but struggled mightily in the second, shooting 7-for-24 after the break.
In the second, FDU was able to cut the lead to 10 with 14:22 remaining after a Ricky Fetske (Galloway, N.J.) layup, but Stevens again used a nine-point run to extend its lead and put the game away.
Stevens ended with a 38-34 advantage on the glass, and the Ducks assisted on 17 of their 34 field goals. Baker, Higgins, and Passalacqua all had six boards to lead the Ducks as Baker led the way with five dimes. Smith had five rebounds, three on the offensive end, and three steals. This is the fourth double-digit win in five games for Stevens.
FDU was led by 18 points from Fetske and 15 from McPherson.
Stevens will return to the Canavan Arena in Hoboken to take on Baruch College on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
