HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 6, 2011) – Sophomore guard Sheldon Jones poured in a career-high 34 points to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to an 84-71 win over Rutgers University – Newark in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Championship game on Sunday evening in Hoboken, N.J. It is the second ECAC Metro title for the Ducks who end the 2010-11 season with a 22-7 overall record.
Jones' 34 points came on 13-for-20 shooting from the floor and 7-for-7 from the line as his total was the most since February 20, 2009 when Anthony Passalacqua scored 39 points in a win over Elmira College. Jones added five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals to his line.
Junior forward Simon Smith recorded his 19th double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. He was 8-for-11 from the field and added four assists and two steals to his line. Junior guard Mike Cutri had 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists, while sophomore guard Russ Thompson totaled 11 points, a game-high seven assists, two rebounds, and a block. Senior center Bryan Franklin tallied five points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his career finale, and freshman guard Matt Skrelja gave Stevens solid minutes with five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot.
Like the last two contests, the early going was a back-and-forth with the Scarlet Raiders taking a three-point lead at 11-8 thanks to a triple from junior forward Jeremiah Rivers (Newark, N.J.) 5:58 into the game. A pair of layups from Smith staked the Ducks to a one-point lead, and after the Raiders knotted the score at 15-all, the Ducks scored eight-straight points to jump out to a 23-15 lead with 8:16 left in the first.
Newark battled back with five quick points to get within three (23-20) at the 7:03 mark, and following a Stevens free throw, junior guard Pedro Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J.) hit a three from the left wing to make it a one-point game.
The Scarlet Raiders took the took a brief lead thanks to a layup from sophomore guard Al'Don Muhammad (Irvington, N.J.) but the Ducks came back with seven of the half's final 10 points to take a 31-28 lead into the break.
Stevens was led by Jones' 14 points as the Ducks shot 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from the field and 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from the line. Rutgers-Newark was 11-for-37 (29.7 percent). There were six ties in the first 20 minutes.
Rutgers-Newark came out with the first four points in the second half, eventually opening up a three-point at 39-36 with 16:25 on the clock. After some back-and-forth, the Ducks made their move down three (45-42) with 13:38 on the clock. Stevens went on a 12-1 run over 3:07 to take control of the game and never looked back. Jones started the spurt with a jumper, and Cutri followed with a three from the right corner to give the Ducks a 47-45 edge. Two free throws from freshman forward Patrick Sabatino pushed the lead to four, and Cutri followed with another and a long three to put the Ducks up nine with 10:14 left.
Newark was able to cut the lead to five on several occasions but every time the Ducks needed a bucket, Jones was there with a big play.
A Thompson triple with 5:21 left gave Stevens its first double-digit lead of the game at 68-57, and the Scarlet Raiders could never get within single digits again as the Ducks went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
The Ducks shot 66.7 percent (18-for-27) from the field in the second half, and ended the game at 55.6 percent (30-for-54). The Ducks were 20-of-28 (71.4 percent) from the line and hit four three-pointers. The Ducks, led by Smith and Franklin, dominated the glass and ended the contest with a 46-29 rebounding advantage. Stevens had 19 assists as a team, totaled five blocks, and six steals.
Rutgers-Newark shot 37.3 percent (25-for-67) from the field, 24 percent (6-for-25) from three, and 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the line. Muhammad scored a game-high 24 points and junior forward Jeremiah Rivers (Newark, N.J.) added 19. Burgos had 21 points on 7-of-22 shooting.
The 22 wins for Stevens are the second most in program history. In 2006-07 and 2007-08 the Ducks had 23 victories. Jones earned MVP honors at the Stevens Tip-Off Tournament in late November and ended the season with Most Outstanding Performer honors for his performance in the ECAC's.
