Men's Basketball Falls in Overtime of ECAC Metro Quarterfinal to Rutgers-Newark; Ducks End Season at 13-13

3/4/2009 12:00:00 AM

NEWARK, N.J.. (March 4, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Metro Tournament quarterfinals to Rutgers University-Newark on Wednesday night in Newark, N.J. The Ducks held a 10-point lead with under four minutes to play in regulation but the Scarlet Raiders battled back to tie the score at 80 in the final seconds and went on to win it 91-89 with a put-back by junior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, N.J.) with two seconds to go overtime.

Rutgers controlled the action early on, taking a 20-11 lead after a three-pointer from sophomore Kenny Widgeon (Plainfield, N.J.) midway through the first half. Stevens battled to tie the score at 24 with a 13-4 run over 3:21 of game time, and the Ducks (13-13 overall) went into the break with a 41-37 lead after a fast-break layup by senior captain Michael Baker.

Stevens came out in the second half and controlled the action, building a 52-41 lead with 15:19 left. The Ducks kept the lead at or near double digits for the next five-plus minutes and took their largest advantage (12 points) after a layup by freshman guard Michael Cutri.

Senior captain Anthony Passalacqua hit a three to put the Ducks up 70-60 with 3:45 to go, and it appeared they were in total control. However from that point on, the Scarlet Raiders went on to score 20 points in 3:33 to tie the score at 80 with three seconds to go. During that time the Ducks went 7-for-13 at the free-throw line and missed two in a row while up two with 16 seconds remaining.

In the overtime, Stevens took an 82-80 lead after a Passalacqua layup, but Barnes responded by converting an old-fashioned three-point play to put Rutgers on top 83-82. The Scarlet Raiders went on to score five of the next seven points to build a four-point edge with 1:55 to play, but the Ducks did not go away.

Cutri hit a triple to cut the lead to one and after Rutgers-Newark made one of their two free throws on the other end, Baker sliced through the lane and made a layup to tie the game at 89.

That however would be all for the Ducks as Barnes was able to put back a missed layup by junior guard Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, N.J.) for the win.

Baker and Cutri led Stevens with 17 apiece. Senior guard Virgil Gray added 16 and sophomore forward Bryan Franklin had 11 points and nine rebounds. Passalacqua had 11 points to go along with seven rebounds. Stevens ended the contest shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 6-for-18 from three. The Ducks were 17-of-26 from the charity stripe.

The Scarlet Raiders were led by 22 points and six rebounds from junior forward Deshawn Singleton (Passaic, N.J.). Barnes had a huge night, recording 19 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists, and Smith and junior guard James Johnson (Summit, N.J.) had 19 and 18, respectively.

Stevens ended the contest with a 43-38 advantage on the glass but turned the ball over 22 times.

Rutgers-Newark (17-12) will play at New York University in the ECAC Metro semifinals on Saturday night. Stevens ends its season with a mark of 13-13.

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