HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 25, 2008) – For the second time in as many games, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker. On Friday night, it was a one-point loss to the top team in the Empire 8, Rochester Institute of Technology, and on Sunday, it was an 84-80 loss at the hands of the second-place team in the conference, Ithaca College. The Ducks held the lead for much of the second half, but Ithaca battled and made some big shots late to secure the win. Stevens (10-7 overall, 3-5 Empire 8) was led by 23 points, six assists, and five rebounds from senior guard Michael Baker.
With 11:45 to go in the second half and Ithaca on top 55-51, the Ducks exploded on the offensive end of the floor with a 17-3 run to build a 68-58 lead with 6:37 remaining in the contest. Senior guard Anthony Passalacqua had nine points to key the run.
The Bombers, ranked No. 12 in the country, chipped away at the Stevens lead over the next 3:26 to knot the score at 72 with 3:11 to go. Freshman Jordan Marcus (West Orange, N.J.) pulled Ithaca even with a three-pointer.
The two teams traded baskets over the next minute-plus before Marcus hit an enormous three with 1:28 on the clock after senior forward Jeff Bostic (Geneva, N.Y.) was able to get an offensive rebound on a missed Ithaca free-throw attempt.
Trailing by one with less than a minute to play, Baker was able to hit a three from the left side as the shot clock expired to put the Ducks up one (78-77), but senior guard Sean Burton (Yorkville, N.Y.) canned two free throws the following trip down the floor to put Ithaca up for good. The Bombers went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe over the game's final 42 seconds to help seal the win.
Both teams played well in the first half. Stevens jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but Ithaca came back to tie with a 5-0 run. The Ducks were able to build a solid, 23-16 lead with 10:31 to go in first but once again, the Bombers responded, going on an 8-0 run in 63 seconds to take a one-point lead.
The two teams continued going blow-for blow-the remainder of the half, with Baker hitting a three to knot the score at 41 going into the break.
Stevens had one of its better offensive performances of the year, shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 7-for-13 from long range. The Ducks made seven of their 10 attempts from the foul line as well. In addition to Baker, senior guard Virgil Gray had 20 points and a game-high eight assists, and Passalacqua had 17 points on seven of 12 from the floor and five steals.
The Ducks shared the ball nicely, totaling 17 assists but got beat on the glass, 39-33. Ithaca was led by Burton who scored a team-high 20 points and was 3-for-4 from three-point land. Senior guard Brendan Rogers (Liverpool, N.Y.) had 15 points, and Bostic had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Marcus finished the game with 16 points on five big three-pointers and he also grabbed five rebounds.
The Ducks will return to action on January 30 when they host Nazareth College at 8 p.m. The game will be webcast live at www.Empire8.tv, and it will be staff & faculty appreciation night at Canavan Arena.
Prior to the game, Stevens honored Gray as the school's all-time leader in points scored. He scored his 1,563rd point late in the loss to RIT to break the record that was previously held by 2008 graduate Waleed Farid.
