HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 10, 2015) – Behind six three-pointers from sophomore guard Patrick Barron and a strong defensive performance in the first half, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team earned its 10th win of the season, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 78-59, Tuesday night in the Canavan Arena.

With the win, Stevens moves to 10-11 overall. Merchant Marine drops to 6-15 in defeat.

Despite shooting just 25 percent over the first 12-plus minutes of action, the Ducks were able to build a 22-7 lead with 8:13 remaining in the opening period after a put-back from senior forward Kenny Gan. The Ducks, who dominated the glass early, doubled up the Mariners at 10-5 with a second-chance bucket from sophomore forward Otis Osman, and built their first double-digit margin of the night 8:34 into the action following two at the line from senior forward Patrick Sabatino.

A quick 4-0 run from the Mariners trimmed the Stevens lead to 11, but two at the line from Osman and a three-pointer from Barron resulted in a 31-15 lead with less than five minutes to go in the first. Freshman forward Thomas Cook found freshman guard Chris Cosgrove slicing to the hoop for two to give the Ducks their largest lead of the half (18), forcing Merchant Marine's fourth timeout of the half.

Another second-chance bucket, this one a three-pointer from Barron resulted in a 19-point lead with 1:22 on the clock with the Ducks settling on a 42-25 margin heading into the break. Sabatino led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds, with Barron and Osman pouring in nine points apiece.

A drive along the left baseline from Barron put the Ducks up 21 for the first time with 18:10 in the second, and three Barron three-pointers later gave him six for the game (6-for-8) and lifted the Ducks to a 25-point margin at 64-39.

Stevens' lead swelled to as many as 29 (74-45), but the Mariners closed strong to get within 19 at the final horn.
The Ducks' defense held the guests to 33.8 percent shooting (22-for-65), including 20 percent (4-for-20) from long range. Stevens was plus-10 on the glass (44-34), and never trailed in the game, holding the lead for the final 38:40.

Barron finished with 20 points on 6-for-8 from deep, with Sabatino getting 16 points and eight rebounds. Osman had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists, with junior forward Alex Lorenz scoring seven points off the bench to go along with three rebounds. Sophomore guard Michael Langford had five points and four assists, and freshman guard Chris Cosgrove added a team-high five assists, four rebounds and two points to his line. Senior forward Kenny Gan was also solid for the Ducks, scoring five points, grabbing three boards and tallying a pair of assists and thefts.

Stevens will return to conference play this weekend, visiting Ithaca College and Elmira College on Friday and Saturday. The Ducks are currently 6-6 in the conference, looking to move into the top-four in the standings in order to earn a berth in the Empire 8 Championship slated for February 27 and 28 at the regular-season conference champ.

Tuesday's game against Merchant Marine featured former Stevens head coach Steve Hayn coaching against his former assistant Bobby Hurley – Stevens' current coach in his seventh season at the helm. Hayn brought Hurley to Stevens as an assistant coach in 2002-03 and this was the first meeting between the two as Hayn moved on to Division II Dowling College before being named the head coach at King's Point prior to the 2014-15 season. Coach Hurley is 123-63 since taking over the Stevens program for the 2008-09 season.

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