HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 7, 2015) – Despite double-doubles from senior forward Patrick Sabatino and sophomore forward Otis Osman, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a 59-55 Empire 8 game to visiting Hartwick College Saturday evening at the Canavan Arena.
 
Stevens falls to 6-6 in the conference and 9-11 overall, while Hartwick moves to 12-8 overall and 6-4 in the Empire 8. The Ducks are one game out of fourth place in the conference standings, trailing the Hawks, with Alfred University, Ithaca College and St. John Fisher College holding places three, two and one, respectively.
 
Hartwick took a 31-29 margin into the intermission and the two teams traded blows over the first few minutes of the second half. Trailing by one (34-33) with 15:48 remaining, the Hawks went on an 11-0 run to open a 44-34 lead with 12:12 on the clock, forcing a Stevens timeout.
 
The lead hovered between six and nine points before the Ducks began to chip away, giving themselves a chance to pull out the win late. A jumper from freshman guard Chris Cosgrove pulled the Ducks within seven (50-43) with 6:39 remaining, and three-plus minutes later two free throws from Sabatino and a steal and layup from sophomore guard Patrick Barron had the Ducks within four points (53-49) with 2:04 left.
 
Stevens was able to get a stop on its next possession thanks to a steal from sophomore guard Michael Langford, getting within two points when Langford fed sophomore guard Thomas Ahern for a fastbreak layup. The Hawks received two huge second-chance points to go back up four with 52 seconds on the clock, but Osman found Gan underneath with a gorgeous feed to slice the lead in half with 38 seconds to play.
 
Hartwick hit a pair at the line with 12 seconds left to go back up four after each team stalled on a posseson, and the Ducks just ran out of time, eventually falling 59-55.
 
The Hawks shot 33.3 percent from the field (19-for-57) and were 11-for-30 (36.7 percent) from long range. Sophomore guard Joey Lufkin led Hartwick with 20 points, five assists and two rebounds.
 
The Ducks held a 46-42 margin on the glass, shooting 24-for-68 (35.3 percent) from the field and connecting on just four of their 24 attempts from deep. Stevens finished 3-for-9 at the line, but did dish out 15 assists against just nine turnovers, also compiling six blocked shots and five steals.
 
Osman finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, and Sabatino had 12 points, 10 boards, two helpers and two blocked shots. Cosgrove scored a career-high 10 points off the bench, also dishing out four assists, while senior forward Kenny Gan had four points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a theft.
 
Stevens will return to action Tuesday when it hosts non-conference rival United States Merchant Marine Academy. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Canavan Arena and all the action will be webcast live at www.StevensDucks.com.
 
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