HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 23, 2017) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team will be seeking its first ever Empire 8 Championship this weekend as it takes the floor for the 2017 tournament on the campus of St. John Fisher. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Stevens earned the two seed with an 11-5 conference mark, placing them four games behind top-seeded Fisher and one game ahead of third-seeded Utica. Stevens beat every E8 team at least once except for Fisher.

SEMIFINAL MATCHUP
Stevens will battle Utica in the semifinal Friday at 8 p.m. for a chance to play the winner of Fisher and Nazareth Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Ducks topped Utica in both matchups this season with a 91-73 win in Utica, and a 78-77 win on January 28 in Hoboken.

SCOUTING REPORT
Utica is led offensively by first team all-conference selection Ivan Iton who averaged 17 points and 9.9 rebounds while starting all 25 games for the Pioneers this season. Bennito Ayarza is Utica's only other double-digit scorer, as overall as a team, Utica averages just 67.9 points per game.

It's on the defensive end where the Pioneers earned their tournament spot, leading the league in scoring defense and blocks. 

MEET THE DUCKS
Stevens is led offensively by first team all-conference performer senior Evan Klimchak who leads the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game, while newly crowned E8 rookie of the year freshman Spencer Cook averages 13.2 Senior Patrick Barron provides a lethal scoring option as well averaging 11.3 points per game, in addition to the rebounding ability of sophomore Ryan Coffey who pulls down 6.9 per game.

Stevens is second in the E8 in scoring, and first in scoring margin, but also sits top five in defense allowing just 74.5 points per game.

NEWS AND NOTES
Fisher is hosting the championship for the third-straight year where it last won in 2015. 

The No. 2 seed is the highest for Stevens since 2014.

Stevens is looking for its first win in the championship since 2013 when it topped Utica 102-66 in the semifinal as the top seed. 

Stevens has made the championship all but two years it's been in the E8. The Ducks have been the second seed four times, the fourth seed twice, and the first and third seeds each once.

The No. 2 seed has won the championship twice in E8 history. 

WHERE TO FOLLOW
Fisher will be providing live stats and live stream for all games this weekend through links available on stevensducks.com.

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