UTICA, N.Y. (February 17, 2008) – Leading by three points with less than a minute to go in the game, the Utica College men's basketball team came up with two huge offensive rebounds and made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to secure a 65-59 win over Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday afternoon in Utica, N.Y. The loss dropped the 20th-ranked Ducks to 20-4 (12-3 Empire 8) on the year and prevented them from wrapping up the Empire 8 regular-season title.
Tied at 40-all with just over 12 minutes to go in the game, the Pioneers (14-9, 8-6 Empire 8) strung together a 14-4 run to grab a 10-point lead (54-44) on a three-pointer by junior guard Doug Herring (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) with 7:48 to play. Junior forward James McClendon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) scored four points in the spurt.
Trailing 54-45 with just over six minutes remaining, Stevens worked its way back into the game as sophomore guard George Greco and junior guard Anthony Passalacqua knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. Then, senior guard Waleed Farid made a reverse lay-up to draw the Ducks to within a point at 54-53 with 4:52 left. Stevens hurt itself by committing a pair of turnovers on its next two possessions. Utica took advantage and pushed the lead back to 60-55 on two free throws by Herring around the three-minute mark.
With the Pioneers in front 62-59 with less than a minute remaining, freshman guard/forward A.J. Trahms (Waterloo, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer, but senior guard Dennis Munch (West Babylon, N.Y.) tracked down a long rebound in the corner and called timeout. Unable to get a good look offensively, Utica was forced to call another timeout with 24.7 seconds left and four seconds on the shot clock.
After receiving an in-bounds pass near mid-court, junior guard Justin Maxwell (Schenectady, N.Y.) took several dribbles before launching a long three-pointer. Sophomore forward Patrick Goodman (Marcy, N.Y.) came up with a huge offensive rebound for Utica. Trahms and Munch sealed the victory by making 3-of-4 free throws in the final 16 seconds.
Farid led Stevens with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Senior forward Tim Williams contributed 10 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Virgil Gray added 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals in the loss.
McClendon led the Pioneers with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Munch had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Herring added 15 points.
Utica out-rebounded Stevens 39-27 in the game. The Pioneers shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the floor. The Ducks made 38.3 percent (18-for-47) of their shots from the field.
Having already clinched a spot in the postseason tournament, Stevens will attempt to secure the top overall seed when it closes out the regular season on Friday at Ithaca College. That game will be played at 8 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.
