HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 23, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team clinched a berth in the Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship with a 73-49 win over Elmira College in the final game of the 2009-10 regular season on Tuesday night. Three Ducks were in double figures with freshman guard Russ Thompson pouring in a game-high 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting. Sophomore forward Simon Smith recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Ducks improve to 18-7 overall and 10-6 in the conference. Stevens will take on top seed and tournament host St. John Fisher College on Friday evening at 6 p.m. in Pittsford, N.Y. in the semifinals
The Ducks opened the game by outscoring the Soaring Eagles 11-2. After an Elmira basket slowed the momentum, the Ducks ran off six-straight points to open up a 17-4 advantage after a long jump shot from sophomore guard Mike Cutri.
Elmira was able to cut the lead to nine (19-10) with 11:07 left in the first, but the Ducks responded with six of the game's next eight points to take a 25-12 lead after a long three from senior guard George Greco.
Stevens was able to open up a 17-point lead after a layup from Smith and eventually went into the locker room with a 35-20 edge.
The Ducks assisted on eight of their 12 made baskets and shot 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from the floor. Stevens connected on 4-of-7 from long range in addition to converting 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Greco and Thompson each scored nine points with Thompson going 3-for-3 from long range.
The Soaring Eagles went just 7-for-25 in the first half and were 2-of-13 from three. Junior guard Bobby DiPiazza (Wyckoff, N.J.) led Elmira with six points.
After Elmira (4-21, 2-14 Empire 8) trimmed the Duck lead to 13 with 17:32 left in the game, Stevens began to expand its lead and the Eagles would never get closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Thompson gave the Ducks a 21-point advantage with 12:49 remaining after he turned his own offensive rebound into a layup. The largest lead of the contest was 25 and it occurred on two separate occasions, the first coming after a Thompson triple with 5:18 left.
The Ducks ended the game shooting 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the floor and 50 percent (7-of-14) from three. They hit 12 of their 22 attempts from the free-throw line and held a 37-27 rebounding advantage. Stevens forced 24 Elmira turnovers and assisted on 17 buckets.
Greco scored 11 points, dished out four assists, and recorded three thefts for the Ducks, and in addition to his 16 points, Thompson handed out three helpers, and grabbed three rebounds. Smith had an assist and steal to go with his 11 points and 12 boards.
Elmira was led by 11 points from senior guard Nick Woitach (Vestal, N.Y.).
The winner of the Stevens-Fisher game will take on the winner of Nazareth College and Ithaca College in the conference championship game on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
Visit StevensDucks.com for a full preview of the tournament on Thursday.
