NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 20, 2010) – Sophomore forward Simon Smith recorded his fifth double-double of the season and sophomore guard Mike Cutri poured in a team-high 18 points to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to an 86-83 overtime win over Baruch College on Wednesday night at ARC Arena in New York, N.Y. With the win, the Ducks improve to 11-4 overall. Baruch, who has now lost two consecutive overtime affairs, is 13-4 on the season.

The first 7:42 of the game saw a lot of back-and-forth with four ties and six lead changes but Stevens was able to build a working lead through much of the first half's final 10 minutes. Tied at 11 with 12:18 left in the first, the Ducks went on a 9-2 run to take a 20-13 lead after a three-pointer by sophomore guard Eric Kessler. Baruch was able to stop the momentum for a moment with a dunk on the ensuing possession, but senior guard George Greco followed with a triple to give the Ducks their largest lead of the game (23-15) with 7:56 left in the first.

The Ducks bumped that advantage to nine and then 10 after a Greco free throw 5:24 later, but the Bearcats were able to chip away in the final moments of the opening half, and the Ducks took a 33-29 edge into the locker room. Neither team shot well in the first, with the Ducks sinking 38.9 percent of their attempts and Baruch connecting on 35.7 percent from the floor. Stevens had a slight advantage in rebounds (24-22) and assisted on 10 of its 14 made field goals.

Baruch was able to knot the score after a free throw 2:23 into the half and the back-and-forth that was in the first returned in the second.

With 12:36 remaining in the game, the Bearcats took their largest lead after a triple from junior guard Lionel Hilaire (Far Rockaway, N.Y.). The Ducks were able to battle back, slowly but surely, and they regained the lead 2:35 later after a three-pointer from freshman guard Russ Thompson made it 59-57 Stevens.

The two teams continued the see-saw affair over the next five minutes before Stevens was able to go on a 6-0 run over 1:35 of game time to take a five-point lead with 2:43 left. Senior forward Ian Masone, Greco, and Smith notched baskets in the spurt.

Baruch battled back with a 6-0 run of its own to regain the lead at 73-72 with 1:05 remaining in regulation. Smith was able to convert one of his two free-throw shots with 41 seconds to go to tie things up, but neither team could find net on its final possession and the game went into overtime.

The Ducks scored the first three points in OT thanks to a free throw from Smith and a jumper from Masone. After Baruch hit 1-of-2 at the line, Greco buried a three to give the Ducks a five-point edge and some breathing room. Baruch's Sean Loftus (Middle Village, N.Y.) answered with a layup on its next possession but the Ducks seemed to have enough in this one.

With 2:29 to go, Cutri hit a layup to put the Ducks back up five (81-76). The two teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, Baruch converted 1-of-2 at the line on its next time down the floor to make it a four-point game with 1:30 left, and Stevens came up empty on its opportunity. Senior forward George Kunkel (Glendale, N.Y.) made a pair at the line to cut the Duck lead to two, 83-81, with 47 seconds remaining, and senior forward Matt Higgins made one of his two free-throw attempts on the next possession to make it 84-81 Stevens with 14 seconds left. Hilaire made a layup to cut the Stevens lead to one but left just three seconds on the clock. Greco was fouled immediately and converted both his chances and Baruch could not hit the prayer at the buzzer.

In addition to his double-double, Smith added four assists, one block, and one steal. Cutri put in 18, pulled down three rebounds, and dished out two assists, and Greco was strong with 15 points, seven assists, and two steals. Masone had a solid game with 12 points, nine boards, and two assists as Higgins netted 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and notched three assists. The Ducks shot 34-of-65 (52.3 percent) from the floor and 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from long range. They were 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from the foul line. Stevens ended with 23 assists against just 11 turnovers, and each squad totaled 41 rebounds.

Hilaire poured in a game-high 26 points for Baruch. Kunkel broke the Baruch all-time rebounding record on his way to 15 points and 11 boards, and Loftus scored 15. The Bearcats shot 28-of-64 (43.8 percent) from the field and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from deep. They converted 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) at the line.

Stevens will return to the hardwood with an Empire 8 game on Friday night in Hoboken. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. and for those unable to attend, the game will be webcast live at www.PennAtlantic.com/main.php.