ITHACA, N.Y. (February 22, 2008) – Junior guard Virgil Gray scored a game-high 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting from the floor as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 93-82 loss to Ithaca College on Friday evening in Ithaca, N.Y. The loss prevented the Ducks from locking up the No. 1 seed for the Empire 8 Tournament. Stevens can still secure the top seed if Ithaca loses at home to Nazareth College on Saturday.
Senior guard Waleed Farid scored 22 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and had three assists. He shot 8-for-16 from the floor and 3-for-6 from downtown. Farid also surpassed the 1,500-point scoring plateau for his career in the game. Junior guard Anthony Passalacqua added 16 points in the loss. He was 6-for-12 from the field and made four three-pointers. Junior guard Michael Baker contributed eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
All five starters scored in double-figures for Ithaca (16-8, 11-4 Empire 8). Junior forward/center Jeff Bostic (Rochester, N.Y.) led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Junior guard Sean Burton (Yorkville, N.Y.) finished with 18 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. He was 10-for-10 from the line. Junior guard/forward Sean Leahy (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 16 points and eight rebounds. He made four three-pointers for the Bombers.
Leading 31-30 with less than five minutes to go in the first half, Ithaca put together a 12-2 run in the span of 2:45 to go up 43-32 with two minutes remaining. Bostic had seven points in the spurt. The Ducks (20-5, 12-4 Empire 8) climbed back into the game and cut the Bombers' lead to 45-39 on a three-pointer by Passalacqua with 40 seconds to play. Leahy answered with a big three-pointer from the wing in the closing seconds as Ithaca carried a 48-39 lead into the locker room.
Down by 12 points early in the second half, Stevens went on a quick run to get to within 59-52 on back-to-back lay-ups by Gray with 14:21 to play. Ithaca built the lead back up to 12 points shortly thereafter. Stevens answered right back and cut the margin to seven points on a three-pointer by Baker with just under nine minutes to go. The Ducks had a chance to get closer, but sophomore guard/forward Matt Higgins missed a pair of free throws. At the other end of the floor, junior guard/forward Brendan Rogers (Liverpool, N.Y.) went 2-for-2 at the line to build the lead back up to nine points (76-67).
Baker brought Stevens to within six points (76-70) on a three-pointer with 6:05 to play. That was the closest that the Ducks would get in the second half though as the Bombers scored the next six points to reestablish a 12-point lead (82-70) on a lay-up by Burton with 3:32 remaining.
For the game, Stevens shot 46.4 percent (32-for-69) from the floor. Ithaca made 30-of-69 (43.5 percent) of its field goals on the night. The Ducks were 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) at the foul line. The Bombers converted on 92.6 percent (25-for-27) of their free throws and committed a total of three turnovers in the game.
The Empire 8 Championship will be played on Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1 at the highest seed. The top-four teams make the postseason tournament.
