HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 20, 2019) – Trailing by one at halftime, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team outscored Kean University 51-35 in the second half to move to 3-0 with a 78-63 victory Wednesday inside Canavan Arena.
Holding a 55-52 lead with 8:35 left to play, Stevens rattled off 16 consecutive points, 10 of which came from senior
JoJo Mosca, to extend the lead to 19 and put the contest out of reach.
The Ducks got a game-high 20 points from senior
Spencer Cook and a double-double from junior
Alec DiPietrantonio as they moved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Kean, meanwhile, had three players score in double figures as Jared Latane and Jeff Cooper produced 11 apiece and Mario Gunn added 10.
It was a tale of two halves for Stevens in the contest as they improved their shooting percentage from 31.4 percent to 52.8 percent and their 3-point shooting percentage from 15.4 percent to 45.5 percent from the first to the second half.
The two teams traded buckets back-and-forth in the opening stanza with neither team leading by more than four points.
With the score tied and less than 10 seconds remaining in the first, the Ducks were seemingly going to head into the locker room with a two-point lead thanks to a layup from DiPietrantonio. Kean responded, however, with a 3-pointer from Latane as time expired to close the first half to send the Cougars into the break with a 28-27 lead.
The beginning of the first half looked much like the first with neither team able to take control of the contest.
Tied at 44 apiece with just over 12 minutes to play, Cook and
Michael Zignorski were able to knock down back-to-back 3-pointers and DiPietrantonio added a layup as a part of an 8-0 run to give the Ducks their biggest lead of the contest at the time. Kean answered the bell once again with a pair of 3-pointers of their own from Latane and Myles Owens to cut the deficit to three.
Mosca took over the contest from there, scoring a season-high 10 points while adding two steals and an assists less than three minutes of game action to give Stevens a 52-71 lead. After starting 0 for 5, Mosca went 4 for 4 from the floor to close out the game.
Inside the Numbers
- Stevens forced the Cougars into 29 turnovers while committing just 11 and held a 24-10 advantage in points off those turnovers.
- The Ducks won the matchup despite being outrebounded 46-37 but were able to grab a 38-26 edge in points in the paint.
- The double-double for DiPietrantonio was his first of the season and the 12th of his career as he finished with 10 points and 10 boards while also tying a career-high with five blocks.
- Michael Zignorski joined Cook, DiPiertrantonio and Mosca in double figures as he produced 12 points while going 5 for 10 from the floor.
- The last time Stevens started a season 3-0 was in 2012-13 when they finished 22-6 overall and advanced to the Division III NCAA Tournament.
- Both Matt Crowley and Cook ran an efficient offense for the Ducks as they each had five assists in the win.
- The 51 points in the second half were the most points of any half this season and the most since the Ducks dropped 53 in the second stanza against Nazareth on Jan. 11, 2019.
Unsung Hero
- Despite playing just six minutes of game action, senior Tyler McShea was extremely effective, leading Stevens with eight first half points. The eight points for McShea were a career-high as he went a perfect 4 for 4 on the night.
Next Up
- The Ducks will travel to Washington, D.C. to face off against The Catholic University of America Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
- Stevens has won each of the last two matchups between the two teams, including an 84-73 win over the Cardinals on Dec. 7, 2018.
- Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.
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