WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 23, 2019)  – Graduate student Kevin Florio led four players in double figures with a season-high 19 points as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated The Catholic University of America 80-69 in a non-conference game played on Franny Murray Court.

Senior Spencer Cook added 18 points and junior Alec DiPietrantonio added 11 points and matched Florio with a team-high six rebounds for the Ducks, who improved to 4-0 in the best start for the program since the 2012-13 season. 

Riley Hayes registered a game-high 23 points and Will Mulquin came off the bench to score 17, to lead the Cardinals, who have dropped two straight in falling to 1-4. Stevens has won all three meetings between the programs.

Cook netted the first points of the game on a driving layup, while drawing contact from Collin Hartmann. The Washington Township, New Jersey native made the accompanying free throw to give the Ducks an early 3-0 lead. Cook has made 27 of his 30 attempts from the line.

Justin Pryor broke the seal for Catholic on the next trip down the court and Hayes made a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals their only lead of the game. Catholic made 24 of its 29 free throws.

Freshman Matt Crowley quickly put the Ducks back in front with a three and after a Hartmann turnover, DiPietrantonio made a strong move in the post to give the guests an 8-4 lead.

Despite hot shooting, the Ducks held just an eight-point lead at the intermission because 10 turnovers and 12 fouls led to Catholic taking 16 attempts from the line, including Hayes, who went 10 for 10.

Looking for separation in the second half, Florio shot 3 for 6 from the floor and 5 for 5 from the line to net 12 of his 19 points as the Ducks used a 10-3 run to secure a double-digit lead, with the Stamford, Connecticut native tallying eight of the 10 points during the game-changing run. The Ducks scored 10 of their final 16 points from the line, with Cook, DiPietrantonio, Florio and senior JoJo Mosca all sinking free throws to secure the victory.

Pivotal Point

• Mulquin's layup trimmed Stevens' lead to 20-18 with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening half.
• Catholic's Zach Spooner missed a three-pointer and Zignorski grabbed the long rebound and beat the defense down the court for a fast-break layup to push the lead to four.
• Florio stripped Mulquin on the next possession and fed senior Dylan Walsh for a transition three to give the Ducks a 25-18 lead and force a Catholic timeout.
• The Ducks would lead by at least three points over the remainder of the game.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens had four players reach double figures for the second straight game.
• The Ducks continue to be efficient from the field, shooting 57.8 percent from the floor, including a blistering 15 for 25 (60%) in the first half.
• In building their early lead, the Ducks held the Cardinals to under 27 percent shooting in the opening half. All four of Stevens' opponents have shot under 40 percent.
• Stevens made six of its 12 attempts from behind the arc (50%) and finished with eight threes.
• Senior Michael Zignorski came off the bench to score 11 points with a team-high three assists. He also nabbed a game-high three steals.
• DiPietrantonio had Stevens' lone block and recorded at least one rejection in six straight games dating back to last season and in 28 of his last 31 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
• Senior Tyler McShea made his lone attempt from the floor and has connected on each of his last six field-goal attempts.
• The Ducks won the battle of the boards, 31-29, although Catholic snagged nine offensive rebounds to just two for the Ducks. The Cardinals used that advantage to earn a 6-5 margin in second-chance points.
• Stevens held a 10-5 edge in fast break points and a 33-16 advantage in points in the paint.

Unsung Hero

• Walsh finished with a season-high nine points on an efficient 4 for 6 from the field over a career-high 39 minutes. The Staten Island, New York native also pulled down four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists to go along with two steals.

From the Court (Head Coach Bobby Hurley)

• "A great team win for our program. I thought Kevin gave us great energy on both ends of the floor, but he gave us a big boost with scoring the ball today. I was pleased with our balanced scoring with four in double digits, but we need to cut down on turnovers. We continue to compete on the defensive end, which helped us secure the win."

Up Next

• Men's Basketball plays its second of three straight games away from Canavan Arena on Nov. 26, when the Ducks cross the Hudson River to play Baruch College.
• The teams last played on Dec. 6, 2016, with the Ducks earning a 78-57 victory in Canavan Arena and have won six of the last seven meetings between the programs.
• Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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