ELMIRA, N.Y. (January 15, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team improved to 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 with a dominating, 78-53, win at Elmira College on Friday night in Speidel Gymnasium. Sophomore forward Simon Smith led Stevens with 18 points on 8-of-14 from the floor as senior guard George Greco, freshman guard Sheldon Jones, and freshman guard Russ Thompson all finished in double figures.

Stevens started the game hot and never cooled, racing out to a 16-3 lead with 11:21 left in the first half. Smith had six points in the run that essentially ended the game before it even started. The Soaring Eagles (3-11 overall, 1-4 Empire 8) were able to get the lead under 10 at 18-11, but the Ducks ripped off a 16-1 run over a span of 4:44 to take a 34-12 lead with a little more than one minute to play in the half after a three from Thompson.

Stevens went into the locker room with a 34-15 advantage after holding Elmira to six first-half field goals on 29 attempts. Stevens went 13-for-28 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

The Soaring Eagles trimmed the Duck lead down to 17 on several occasions early in the second but that would be the closest they could get. Up 36-19 with 18:50 to play, Stevens put together a 19-5 spurt over 6:41 to take its largest lead of the night (33) at 55-22. Sophomore guard Eric Kessler capped the run with a three-pointer. The Ducks went up by as many as 34 points several times over the final 10 minutes of action before Elmira ended things with an 8-0 run.

The Ducks ended the game shooting 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field and 4-for-8 from long range. They converted 16-of-20 (80 percent) at the foul line and assisted on 16 of their 29 made baskets. Stevens only committed nine turnovers while blocking five shots and recording seven steals.

In addition to Smith's double-double (18 points and 12 rebounds), Greco finished with 13 points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Jones had 11 points, two boards, and two assists, and Thompson had 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting.

No Elmira player scored in double figures as the Soaring Eagles shot 31.7 percent (20-of-63) for the game and were 6-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Stevens will return to action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Ithaca College. The Bombers are 4-2 in the Empire 8 and directly behind the Ducks in the conference standings.