Passalacqua's 10 Triples and 39 Points Fuel Men's Basketball Win Over Elmira

2/20/2009 12:00:00 AM

ELMIRA, N.Y. (February 20, 2009) – Senior tri-captain Anthony Passalacqua scored 39 points and hit a Stevens single-game record, 10 three-pointers to fuel a 96-70 win over Elmira for the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team on Friday night at Speidel Gymnasium in Elmira N.Y. Passalacqua hit seven triples and scored 26 of 52 first-half points for the Ducks as they improve to 6-9 in the Empire 8 and 13-11 overall. Senior guard Virgil Gray had 19 points and five rebounds, and sophomore forward Bryan Franklin scored a season-high 10 points for the Ducks.

Stevens fell behind early as Elmira scored eight of the game's first 10 points, but the Ducks went on a 14-6 run to take a 16-14 lead with 15:43 left in the contest after Passalacqua converted and old fashioned three-point play. The Stevens lead grew to six at 24-18 after Passalacqua hit from long range, but the Soaring Eagles (4-19 overall, 2-12 Empire 8) came back to take a 25-24 lead with 10:08 to go in the half.

Franklin converted a layup with the foul to ignite a 12-0 run in the span of 3:52 to put the Ducks on top 36-25. Five different players scored in the run that essentially decided the game as Elmira would never get any closer than nine the rest of the way.

The largest lead of the half came as time expired when freshman Michael Cutri drilled a three as the horn sounded. Stevens shot 53.1 percent in the half and was 8-for-14 from long range as Passalacqua hit seven of those threes. He scored his 26 points in just 16 minutes of action.

The Ducks opened the second half on fire, outscoring the Soaring Eagles 15-2 to build an insurmountable, 27-point lead with 16:13 to play. Senior guard Michael Baker, Gray, and Passalacqua keyed the offensive explosion.

Elmira was able to trim the lead to 15 with 7:53 to go, but Passalacqua took any chance of a rally away when he hit his 10th three. He finished 11-for-21 from the floor, 10-for-17 from three, and 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

In addition to Gray and Franklin, freshman forward Simon Smith was solid for the Ducks, netting eight points and pulling down 10 rebounds. The Ducks hit 20 of their 27 attempts from the line and won the battle of the boards, 43-35.

Stevens will return to action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it takes on Empire 8 foe Hartwick College in the final regular-season game of the season.
Print Friendly Version