HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 30, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team fell 75-68 to Baruch College on Sunday afternoon at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The Bearcats were able to build a 21-point advantage midway through second half, and Stevens (5-1) could not get closer than five the rest of the way. The loss snaps a 19-game home winning streak for the Ducks as senior guard Michael Baker led Stevens with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Tammer Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) paced Baruch with 23 points on 8-for-12 from the field, and junior forward George Kunkel (Glendale, N.Y.) had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Ducks opened up playing well as they took an early 7-2 lead, but Baruch battled back to a take 12-11 lead with 11:42 left remaining in the first half. That one-point lead ballooned to 11 with 2:00 minutes to go in the first after a Sean Loftus (Middle Village, N.Y.) layup, and the Bearcats ended up going into the break with a 33-24 edge.
Stevens was outrebounded 24-16 in the half and had nine turnovers compared to just four for Baruch. The Bearcats scored 24 of their 33 points in the paint.
Up 40-29 with a little more than 15 minutes left to play, Baruch used a 12-2 run over 2:32 to expand the lead to 21 and essentially put the game out of reach. Farid buried two triples in the run.
Trailing by 21 with 12:16 left, the Ducks clawed back and were within 10 at the 7:29 mark after a Baker three, but Baruch made some big shots to keep a comfortable margin. The Bearcats also did a nice job on at the free-throw line, making 24-of-32 attempts during the game.
The Ducks were able to force some turnovers late and got within five following a Baker layup, but sophomore Lionel Hillaire (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) hit two clutch foul shots to make it a three possession game with 22 seconds remaining (73-66).
Junior guard Matt Higgins had 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds and senior guard Virgil Gray had 11 points. Freshman forward Simon Smith netted nine points and pulled down six rebounds.
Stevens shot 35.8 percent from the floor and were a paltry 3-for-22 from deep. The Ducks had 17 turnovers and a season-low 11 assists.
Senior center Steven Bader (North Bergen, N.J.) had a solid game for Baruch (3-2) with nine points and 12 rebounds as the Bearcats ended the contest with a 51-37 advantage on the glass.
The Ducks will look to bounce back on the road at Drew University on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.
