KINGS POINT, N.Y. (December 1, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team earned its fourth-straight win on Tuesday night in Kings Point, N.Y., defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 73-59. Senior guard George Greco scored a game-high 17 points and sophomore forward Simon Smith recorded his second double-double of the season as the Ducks scored first 1:02 into the action and never let go of the lead the rest of the way.
After sophomore Mike Cutri notched the first basket of the game, senior captain Matt Higgins hit a pair of buckets to put the Ducks up 6-0 with 17:52 to play in the opening half. Kings Point (2-1) was able to battle back early, scoring nine of the game's next 12 points to knot the game at nine apiece with 13:15 remaining.
After trading baskets for the next six-plus minutes the two teams were tied at 23 with 6:58 remaining in the first half. At that point, Stevens turned up the defensive intensity and went on a game-changing run to go into the break with a nine-point lead (36-27) and all the momentum. Greco and junior forward Christopher McNay each had four points in the 13-4 run that came over a span of 6:01.
Stevens pushed the lead to double-digits early in the second half after a put-back by Smith and played solid basketball with the lead the rest of the way. The Mariners were able to cut the lead to six at 46-40 with 11:00 to play but the Ducks answered with an 8-0 run over a span of 1:27 to push the lead back to 13 with 9:15 remaining in the game.
Kings Point did not let up and once again was able to trim the Stevens advantage down to six points, this time with 1:57 left, but the Ducks' defense and free-throw shooting came through in a big way down the stretch. With the scoreboard showing 65-59 in favor the Ducks, Greco grabbed a defensive rebound with 1:31 remaining and then converted a pair of foul shots on the other end. On the next possession, junior center Bryan Franklin came away with a defensive rebound and once again, Greco hit a pair on the other end of the floor to make it 69-59 Stevens.
On the final two possessions, Smith and Franklin grabbed defensive boards, and Greco and Cutri converted both of their attempts from the line for the final margin (73-59). Stevens scored the final eight points of the game and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the final 1:20.
A total of four Ducks scored in double figures with Greco leading with 17 points and three assists. Smith was solid with his 14 points, 11 rebounds, one block, and one steal, and Franklin finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Cutri ended his night with 11 points and four steals, and senior captain Ian Masone scored a pair, pulled down four rebounds, and had a team-high four assists.
The Ducks shot over 50 percent for the fourth-straight game (25-of-49) and hit a total of four three-pointers. They converted 19-of-30 from the line but the Mariners were only able to get to the line a total of 19 times.
Stevens, who has not trailed over the last 65:02 of game time, will return to action on December 5 at Alfred University at 4 p.m. It will be the Empire 8 opener for both schools.
