PITTSFORD, N.Y. (January 12, 2019) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team battled back from a 14-point second-half deficit before falling at the buzzer to St. John Fisher College 76-75 Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 Conference game on Bobby Wanzer Court.
Senior
Kevin Florio scored six of his 15 points on consecutive three-pointers in the final minute to bring the Ducks within one with seven seconds remaining. Fisher had opened its largest lead of the game on a Mark Valeriani jumper with 14:!4 remaining in the game. After Florio's second three of the sequence, junior
JoJo Mosca fouled Valeriani after the inbounds pass, to send the sophomore guard to the line for a one-and-one. Valeriani missed the front end, giving the Ducks a chance for the win.
Senior
Conor Barron rebounded the missed free throw with 5.8 seconds on the clock and quickly moved the ball to junior
Michael Zignorski. The Jefferson, New Jersey native previously defeated FDU-Florham with a driving layup at the buzzer earlier in the season. Zignorski deftly drove the length of the court, split two Fisher defenders near the free throw line and sent a layup towards the cylinder with one-and-a-half seconds remaining. The ball spun off the right side of the rim and bounced over to left the side, before falling off as time expired.
Sophomore
Alec DiPietrantonio recorded his second double-double in as many nights with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and senior
Ryan Coffey added 10 points for the Ducks, who fell to 11-4 on the year and 4-2 in conference play. Stevens has dropped two straight.
Ryan Henderson led four Cardinals in double figures with 14 points and Sammy Robinson added 11 points and seven rebounds. St. John Fisher won its second straight to improve to 9-4. The Cardinals remain perfect in the Empire 8 at 4-0. The victory snapped Stevens' two-game winning streak in the all-time series, which St. John Fisher now leads 13-12.
Inside the Numbers
- St. John Fisher outshot Stevens 52.7 percent to 40.6 percent.
- The Cardinals made three more three-pointers (10-7) than the Ducks.
- The Ducks held the rebounding edge (37-32), including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass. As a result, Stevens held the edge (16-14) in second-chance points. The Ducks have won the battle of the boards in all but two games this season.
- Senior Frank Amari led the Ducks with four assists. Fisher's James Leone led all players with five.
- DiPietrantonio and Coffey each recorded a block.
- The Ducks turned 14 Cardinal turnovers into 17 points.
- Each team scored 30 points in the paint.
- Neither side recorded a fast-break point. It's the second straight game that Stevens played in a contest without points scored on the break.
Unsung Hero
- Junior Dylan Walsh came off the bench to lead all players with a career-high 16 points. The Staten Island, New York native also pulled down five rebounds.
From the Court
- "I was pleased at how we competed tonight. We still need to improve defensively, but we battled down the stretch and gave ourselves a chance to win the game." - head coach Bobby Hurley
Up Next
- Stevens welcomes The Sage Colleges to Canavan Arena on Jan. 15 to open a three-game homestand.
- The Ducks topped the Gators 74-64 in December.
- Live stats and video links are available on StevensDucks.com.
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