HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 5, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team improved to 16-4 overall and 9-3 in the Empire 8 with a business-like, 68-53, win over Utica College on Friday night at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Sophomore guard Mike Cutri led the Ducks in scoring for the third-straight game with 20 points, including four three-pointers. Senior guard George Greco tallied 16 points for Stevens.
Cutri shot 7-for-13 from the floor and was 4-of-6 from three-point range in addition to his four steals, two assists, and two rebounds. Greco had 16 points, three assists, and a steal, and sophomore forward Simon Smith had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Stevens shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from three, and was 18-of-27 from the free-throw line. The Ducks tallied nine steals and 12 assists, but were outrebounded 41-34.
Utica was led by junior forward Will Abrams (Somerset, N.J.) and senior forward Patrick Goodman (Marcy, N.Y.) Abrams had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Goodman scored 11 and pulled down 10 boards. The Pioneers shot 33.3 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from three, and hit 14-of-18 at the line. They had 21 turnovers and just eight assists.
Down 4-2 3:38 into the game, Stevens went on a 18-2 run over the next 10:10 to take a 20-6 lead with 6:12 to play in the half. Greco had five points, Smith had three, as did Cutri, and the Pioneers were never able to recover. Utica cut the lead to 10 with a 6-0 spurt of its own, but Stevens outscored the Pioneers 13-7 over the first half's final 3:30 to take a 33-17 lead into the locker room.
Utica quickly cut the lead to 10 (35-25) with 17:28 to go thanks to an 8-2 run, but the Ducks rebounded and put the game out of reach in a hurry. Cutri buried a three, Greco converted a Cutri steal into two points with a fast-break layup, and Cutri followed a Goodman miss with a driving layup to give Stevens an 18-point lead with 13:59 left.
Senior forward Ian Masone gave the Ducks their largest lead of the game (23) with a jumper from the right side and they were able to cruise the rest of the way to the win.
Utica did not quit and went on an 11-0 run to slice the Duck advantage to 11 at 56-45 with 2:43 remaining, but Stevens hit nine of its 12 foul shots down the stretch to seal the deal.
The win is the Ducks' sixth in a row. Stevens is tied with Nazareth College for second place in the conference standings. Both team are chasing the St. John Fisher Cardinals who are 10-1 in the Empire 8.
Stevens will return to the hardwood on Monday when it visits Rutgers University-Camden at 7 p.m. The Ducks play at Hartwick College on February 14 in their next conference game.
