HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 7, 2017) – Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball freshman Spencer Cook poured in a career-high 20 points as the Ducks held on for a 69-64 Empire win over Elmira Saturday on a snowy evening in Hoboken. 

A pair of free throws from Cook put Stevens up seven with 38 seconds to go, but an Elmira three 18 seconds later pulled the Soaring Eagles to within three. Cook hit both of his free throws on the ensuing possession, before Stevens' defense forced a turnover with eight seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The win moved Stevens to 8-2 (2-0), while Elmira fell to 2-9 (0-2).

Cook went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and 8-for-10 from the line in the all-time best performance from the Stevens rookie, while seniors Evan Klimchak and Patrick Barron went for 13 and 12 points respectively. Senior Michael Signer and sophomore Ryan Coffey combined for 13 rebounds as the Ducks starting forwards. 

As a team Stevens shot 86 percent from the line and forced 16 Elmira turnovers. 

Freshman Michael Zignorski broke an 8-8 tie five minutes in with a three off a feed from sophomore Jayson Winick, but Elmira responded with a 9-0 run to go up six with 11:38 remaining. Stevens provided an answer of its own with six straight capped by a three from Cook, before back-to-back from Cook from beyond the arc put Stevens back in front by one with under two to play.

Stevens' defense went to work from there, holding Elmira scoreless over the final two minutes of action before another three from Cook in the closing seconds solidified a four-point halftime lead for the Ducks.

Klimchak and Barron pushed the Stevens lead to eight early in the second, before a three-point play from Klimchak six minutes later extended it to nine. Cook made it 10 with two from the line midway through half, giving the Ducks their largest lead of the day.

Elmira chipped away to get within four with 2:26 left in regulation, but it's as close as they would get until the final minute before Cook iced the game from the line. 

Stevens will hit the road once again with a Tuesday night matchup in Hartwick before kicking off a three-game homestand Friday against Houghton.

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