UTICA, N.Y. (January 13, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team continued its conference road struggles on Tuesday evening in Utica, N.Y. with a 67-60 loss to the Utica College Pioneers. Stevens (7-5 overall, 0-3 Empire 8) held a 29-25 edge at the end of the first half, but Utica outscored the Ducks 42-31 over the game's final 20 minutes to earn its second conference win of the season. Stevens was led by senior captains Anthony Passalacqua and Virgil Gray who scored 17 and 15 points, respectively.
Stevens started the game playing well on both ends of the floor. The Ducks were able to build a six-point lead after senior guard Michael Baker set up a Passalacqua three to make the score 16-10 with 12:43 to go in the first half.
The Ducks extended their lead to 22-12 after a Bryan Franklin layup, but Utica (5-6 overall, 2-3 Empire 8) was able to cut the deficit to four with quick, 6-0 run.
A Gray jumper broke the scoring spurt by the Pioneers as Stevens now led 24-18 with 3:14 to go in the first. The two squads would trade baskets over the remainder of the half, and the Ducks went into the locker room holding a 29-25 lead. Stevens assisted on 10 of its 13 baskets first 20 minutes and forced nine Pioneer turnovers.
Utica came out strong in the second half and was able to take a 33-32 lead with 16:39 to go after a Doug Herring (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) layup, but the Ducks continued to battle. They regained the lead at 41-40 after another Passalacqua triple but the lead would not stick.
The two squads continued to go back and forth until the Pioneers were able to build a comfortable eight-point cushion with a 9-1 spurt over 3:47 of game time to take a 58-50 lead with 4:59 to go.
The Ducks were able to get within six several times but could not get the stops or the baskets they needed to get over the hump and ended up falling by the seven-point margin.
Freshman forward Simon Smith was solid again down low for Stevens, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds. Baker has five points, a team-high eight boards, and five assists. Passalacqua finished 5-for-9 from three, dished out five assists, and had four steals in his 35 minutes.
Stevens finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the floor but only made two of its seven free-throw attempts. The Pioneers shot 51.1 percent and went 14-for-22 from the line to offset the 16 turnovers they had as a team. They also went 7-for-10 from deep in the second half after hitting no triples in the first.
Utica had four players in double figures as senior forward James McClendon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had 12 points, a game-high nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Stevens will end its four-game conference road swing on Friday night at Alfred University. The Ducks will then return home Sunday to take on Elmira College at 2 p.m. Sunday's game is scheduled to be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv.
