HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 12, 2019)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team is set to open its 104th season later today with a matchup with New Jersey City University.

With nine returning players from last season's 16-10 squad, the Ducks will face a challenging schedule, including matchups with two nationally-ranked teams to go along with the Gothic Knights, who received votes in the D3Hoops.com Preseason Poll. Coach Hurley, entering his 12th season manning the bench, also brought in six freshmen as the program enters its first season of competition in the MAC Freedom. 

Scheduling Snippets
The Ducks face a challenging 25-game schedule, including 12 games in Canavan Arena, where the Ducks are 102-38 under Coach Hurley. The season opens with what's become an annual meeting with the Hudson County-rival Gothic Knights, whom the Ducks rallied from a 17-point deficit to upend then-No. 16 NJCU 76-72 for Stevens' first victory over the Gothic Knights since 1934.

"We are excited with the early test that NJCU presents to us," Hurley said. "They have been an NCAA Tournament team over the last few years and that is something we aspire to be. They have great players, they are very well coached and it's a tough place to play."

The Ducks face non-conference challenges from Skidmore (Nov. 16), Kean (Nov. 20), Cathlolic (Nov. 23), Baruch (Nov. 26), Rutgers-Newark (Dec. 1), Brooklyn (Dec. 5) and No. 13 Middlebury (Dec. 8). The matchups with the Cougars, the Scarlet Raiders and the Bulldogs have become annual contests, while the matchups with the Cardinals appears on the schedule for the third straight season. Baruch is returning to the slate of games for the first time since 2016 and the matchup at Skidmore is the first meeting between the programs since 2007. Additionally, the Ducks will host the inaugural Stevens Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament featuring the Ducks, The College of New Jersey, Drew University and Johns Hopkins University Dec.29-30. The non-conference portion of the schedule closes on Jan. 5 with a matchup with No. 1 Swarthmore College in Canavan Arena.

" We really wanted to challenge this group with our non-conference schedule," Hurley reflected. "I think this year's team is capable of competing against teams that have consistently competed in the NCAA Tournament. We will be tested on a nightly basis and our goal is to prepare them to compete for a conference championship."

MAC Freedom play begins on Jan. 8 against Delaware Valley in Hoboken. The Ducks will play 14 games in their first season in the league. The Ducks were selected third in the Preseason Coaches Poll behind unanimous top choice DeSales and Eastern. The matchups between Stevens and several of the MAC Freedom opponents will be the first meeting between the programs.

"The MAC Freedom will be a whole new landscape for us," Hurley offered. "We haven't seen or played many of these teams in the past so we do not know much about them. Our travel will be much improved in the MAC and we will no longer play back to back games on Friday and Saturdays.

"Each game will provide us with different challenges where we can look to improve on from game to game. We are hoping these challenging non-conference games will help prepare us for the MAC Freedom."

The MAC Freedom Championship will be contested on February 26 and 29 with semifinal matchups and the final being contested at the highest seed.

Regarding the Returners
The Ducks return 61 percent (1,174 points) of its offense (1,935) from one season ago. Leading the charge is junior center Alec DiPietrantonio, who finished one rebound shy of a double-double (12.5 points, 9.9 rebounds), while ranking among the nation's leaders in total rebounds (258) and blocks (42). The Second Team All-Empire 8 Conference performer ranked 73rd in Division III with 10 double-doubles and his 258 boards were fourth in a single season in program history. The Mount Laurel, New Jersey native poured in a career-high 36 points against Nazareth and pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds in an overtime win against Elmira. 

"The best part about Alec is [that] he wants to be a better player and he wants to win," Hurley said of his third-year post player. "He has put in the work and he has the drive to be great. Alec continues to improve every day and his off-season training was tremendous. He has greatly improved his athleticism and mobility, which will allow us to use him in different ways both offensively and defensively this year."

The team also welcomes back senior guard Spencer Cook, who scored 26 points in the season-opening victory over NJCU and totaled 13 points and four steals against Hobart before suffering a season-ending injury. Over his first two seasons on Castle Point, the Washington Township, New Jersey product totaled 737 points and should crack the 1,000-point mark midway through the season. The 2017 Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year, Cook was named to the D3Hoops.com Third Team All-East Region as a sophomore, while also earning All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Second Team honors.

"Yes, we are excited to have Spencer back this season," Hurley commented. "His approach with everything he does is top-notch, so his rehab went exactly how we expected. He's been great so far in practice and we expect that to continue throughout the season."

Other key returners include senior Michael Zignorski and Dylan Walsh, along with graduate student Kevin Florio. The trio accounted for 27.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while combining for 34 starts. Florio finished third on the team in scoring (11.6) and tied for the team lead with 25 steals, while sinking a team-high 43 three-pointers. Zignorski finished third on the team in minutes played despite only starting 13 of the team's 26 games. Walsh was often charged with guarding the opposing team's top offensive player and the Staten Island, New York native also chipped in offensively with 5.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. 

As a team, the Ducks 74.4 points per game, while holding opponents to 70.7. At one point during the 2018-19 season, the Ducks were ranked among the Division III leaders in opponent field-goal percentage, allowing just one team to shoot higher than 46 percent from the field over the first 13 games. 

"We are hoping to be improved on both ends of the floor from a year ago," Hurley added. "Offensively, we will look to attack for advantage opportunities while our improved shooting should stretch the floor to allow for easier inside play. We return some pretty good defenders that we will look upon to anchor our defense."

Additionally, senior sharpshooter JoJo Mosca returns. The Somerville, New Jersey native made 24 of 33 baskets from behind the arc and has 60 threes over the course of his career. Also in the mix for playing time will be junior Maguire Sweeney and sophomore Sashank Sindhia, who will be expected to provide valuable depth for the program. 
Senior Tyler McShea also returns to the program after a two-year absence. The Hainesport, New Jersey native saw action in six games as a freshman and will provide experience behind DiPietrantonio in the post.

"I have been very pleased [with] how our returning players have approached the preseason," Hurley offered. "Seniors Michael Zignorski and Jojo Mosca are in the gym constantly putting in additional work. Both will be relied on heavily this season for their outside shooting and defense.

"Sophomore Sashank Sindhia is much improved this season and will provide depth in the frontcourt while Junior Maguire Sweeney will see time at the forward, wing and point guard position. We welcome back Senior Tyler McShea, who last played in his freshman season. Ty has been a great addition and he will see minutes at the center position."

Nice to Meet You
Seven newcomers arrive on Castle Point, including freshman point guard Matt Crowely and forward Brett Bischoping, who are immediately expected to compete for minutes. The influx of first-year student-athletes will provide Coach Hurley and staff with the opportunity to push the tempo more offensively, while having the ability to pressure the opponent a little more liberally because of a deeper roster.

"We are excited about our group of freshmen this year," Hurley said. "They all have different skill sets and each one of them could compete right away if needed. In such a short time, they have all shown flashes of how good they will be on the court. There is an adjustment from high school, but this group has transitioned really well to our team and the college level.

"Matt Crowley has been really good for us at the point guard position. We have not had great depth at that position in recent years so having a pure point guard really elevates this team. Brett Bischoping has had a great preseason and will provide us with much needed depth up front. He has exceeded our expectations so far as he continues to improve each day. We've been impressed with Conor Coffey's length and his ability to score the basketball, while Andrew Abujawdeh and Peter White have both transitioned well to the college game and will provide us with great depth at the wing position.

If Coffey's name sounds familiar to Stevens basketball fans, it should - he's the younger brother of 2019 alumnus Ryan Coffey, who provided a steady presence in the post for the program throughout his four years on Castle Point.

The group of first-year student-athletes will be expected to help lessen the blow of losing Coffey and classmates Conor Barron, Frank Amari and Jayson Winick to graduation. The quartet accounted for the program's top-two three-point threats in Winick and Coffey, the Ducks' top assist man in Amari and a valuable role player in Barron. Collectively, the graduated seniors reached the postseason in each of their four seasons together.

At Your Service, Captain
Florio, Walsh and Cook will serve as team captains and will provide valuable leadership both on the court and in the locker room.

"Our captains this season are Kevin Florio, Dylan Walsh and Spencer Cook," Hurley shared. "Kevin Florio is one of our best defenders and outside shooters; we expect him to guard the opposing team's best guard and on offense we need him to be a threat to score on every catch. Dylan Walsh will anchor our defense. He's one of the best defenders I have ever coached and he does all the little things to help his team win. Spencer Cook is a talented scorer, who can score from many different areas on the floor. He's a fierce competitor and our leader on the court."

Closing Thought
With a challenging non-conference slate and high expectations, the will certainly need to rely on its blend of experience and youth to reach the team's fourth straight winning season. 

"We have a pretty talented roster this year, so it will be important for our group come to play each game and to compete for a full 40 minutes" Hurley concluded. "If we give great effort, we will put ourselves in a position to win a lot of games."

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