ONEONTA, N.Y. (February 10, 2008) – Having already secured a berth to the Empire 8 Tournament following Utica College's loss at Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday, the 22nd-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team took one step closer to locking up the top overall seed for the postseason tourney with a 75-64 win at Hartwick College on Sunday afternoon in Oneonta, N.Y. Junior guard Virgil Gray led the way with 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor as the Ducks picked up their fourth win in a row to improve to 19-3 (12-2 Empire 8) on the year.

Gray, who scored 17 second-half points, shot 2-for-3 from downtown and 6-for-8 from the foul line against the Hawks (8-13, 3-9 Empire 8). Junior guard Anthony Passalacqua finished with 16 points and made four three-pointers in the victory. Passalacqua knocked down 6-of-12 field-goal attempts overall. Senior guard Waleed Farid had an outstanding all-around game and narrowly missed a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. He was 4-for-6 from the field and 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.

Junior guard Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) paced Hartwick with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) scored all 17 of his points in the second half as he knocked down five three-pointers for the Hawks. Junior forward Ramond Doyley (Yonkers, N.Y.) finished with 10 points in the loss.

Leading 10-9 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half, Stevens rattled off a 17-2 run over a seven-minute stretch to take control. Junior guard Michael Baker and Gray got things going with back-to-back three-pointers.

Following a jumper by Cocozziello that drew Hartwick to within 16-11, the Ducks scored 11 unanswered points. Sophomore guard George Greco, Passalacqua, and freshman guard Corey Lee hit three straight three-pointers during one juncture. Sophomore guard/forward Matt Higgins capped the spurt with a jumper as Stevens built a 27-11 lead with 5:52 remaining in the period.

The Ducks extended the margin to 19 points (32-13) on back-to-back baskets by Passalacqua and senior forward Tim Williams with 2:17 to play before the break. Stevens led 34-18 at halftime. The Ducks committed just three first-half turnovers.

Hartwick put together an 18-10 run over the first six-plus minutes of the second half to close to within eight points at 44-36. Cocozziello and Beaulieu combined to score 14 points in the rally. Farid responded by knocking down a pair of big free throws. Higgins added a lay-up as the Ducks reestablished a 12-point lead (48-36). Stevens maintained a double-digit advantage over the final 12-plus minutes of the game.

Overall, the Ducks shot 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field and knocked down nine three-pointers. Hartwick made 40.4 percent (21-for-52) of its field-goal attempts.

Stevens has only three games remaining in the regular season. The Ducks will return to action on Wednesday when they host Hunter College at 7 p.m. That game will be Senior Night at the Canavan Arena. After that, Stevens will head to Utica College next Sunday at 4 p.m. The Ducks close out the regular season at Ithaca College on February 22 at 8 p.m. Stevens potentially needs just one more conference win to lock up the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. The Empire 8's top seed will host a four-team tournament with the semifinals and finals being played on February 29 and March 1, respectively.