ITHACA, N.Y. (January 21, 2011) – Despite a gritty comeback and strong performances from junior forward Simon Smith and sophomore guard Sheldon Jones, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a 73-68 heartbreaker to No. 21 Ithaca College on Friday night at Ben Light Gymnasium in Ithaca, N.Y. With the loss, Stevens falls to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the Empire 8, while the Bombers improve to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in the conference.
Ithaca came out firing from the opening tip in this one, jumping out to an early 10-4 lead just 2:41 into the action. Back-to-back layups from Jones and Smith brought the Ducks within two (10-8) but the Bombers responded with a 21-4 run over the next 7:59 to open up a 31-12 advantage with 8:24 left in the first half.
The Ducks, who looked a step slow to start, were able to respond and subtly chip away at the Ithaca lead. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Russ Thompson made the score 36-20 and the Ducks went on to close out the half outscoring the Bombers 22-12 to go into the locker room down 43-34.
Smith had six points and 11 rebounds, while Jones led the Ducks in scoring with eight. Thompson added seven as Stevens shot 40.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from long range in the opening half. The Ducks were outrebounded 23-20 but were able to keep the game close, committing just five turnovers.
Junior guard Jordan Marcus (West Orange, N.J.) led the Bombers with 10 points as senior center Phil Barera (Belmont, Mass.), sophomore guard Sean Rossi (Sparta, N.J.), senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (Syracuse, N.Y.), and freshman guard Miles Grier (Liburn, Ga.) all scored eight points. The Bombers shot 48.7 percent from the field and connected of four of their 12 three-pointers. The two teams combined to take just four total free throws.
Ithaca outscored the Duck 7-2 in the first two-plus minutes of the second to push its lead back to 14 and the two teams went back-and-forth over the next five minutes to bring the score to 60-46 with 12:58 to play.
After the Bombers pushed the lead to 16 with 10:35 left (62-46), Stevens ran off a big 14-4 run to trim the lead to six points (66-60) with just 6:46 in the game. Senior center Bryan Franklin and Smith keyed the spurt for the Ducks.
Ithaca converted two at the charity stripe on its next possession to push its lead back to eight and after two empty possessions for each team, a driving layup from Jones made it a six-point game with 4:42 to go. The Ducks then forced a Bomber turnover and turned it into two points thanks to a turnaround in the lane from Jones.
Jones then found Franklin cutting the hole to make it a two-point game with 3:14 left, but Barera pushed the lead back to four with a layup. Ferocious on the offensive glass, Jones was fouled on a put-back attempt and converted a pair at the line to make it 70-68 with 2:11 in the game.
Stevens buckled down on defense, forcing huge stops on the next two Ithaca possessions but could not convert on the offensive end, and the Bombers used a questionable foul call to essentially seal the game with 14 seconds left.
Smith ended the game with 16 points and 18 rebounds in a huge performance for the Ducks, while Jones had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Franklin was solid as well for Stevens, totaling 14 points and three boards, while freshman forward Patrick Sabatino added eight points, three rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots. Thompson ended with seven points and four assists.
The Ducks shot 41.7 percent from the field and were just 2-for-12 from long range. Stevens was outrebounded 43-38 but committed a season-low eight turnovers. The Ducks also only took seven free throws (6-for-7).
Ithaca shot 43.8 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from long range. The Bombers were 12-for-15 from line and had 14 assists.
Barera led Ithaca with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Marcus, Cruz-Rivas, and Rossi all scored in double figures. Rossi also handed out a game-high eight assists.
Stevens will return to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon at Elmira College. The game is set for a 4 p.m. tip.
