HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 8, 2020) – Senior
Spencer Cook scored 28 points to reach 1,000 for his career as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated Delaware Valley University 85-73 Wednesday in a MAC Freedom contest at Canavan Arena.
Junior
Alec DiPietrantonio had eight points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks and senior
Kevin Florio chipped in with 10 points and a career-high eight assists for the Ducks, who opened their tenure in the MAC Freedom and received 28 votes in the latest D3Hoops.com poll, with a victory to move to 10-2 and 1-0 in conference play.
Damian Washington had 22 points and nine rebounds for Delaware Valley, who dropped its second straight to fall to 4-7 on the year and 0-1 in league games.
Needing 19 points to become the 22nd player in program history to eclipse the milestone, Cook shot 9 for 13 from the floor over the game's first 20 minutes as the Ducks built a 54-36 advantage at the intermission. The Washington Township, New Jersey native crossed the 1,000-point mark with 3:36 left in the first half after converting a
Matt Crowley feed for a long three to reach. Cook was successful on five of his seven tries from behind the arc and scored 23 of his game-high 28 points in the first half.
As a team, the Ducks shot a blistering 10 for 14 (71.4%) from behind the arc in the first half in securing a double-digit lead. Half of Stevens' 54 first-half points came on threes. Delaware Valley outscored Stevens 37-31 over the final 20 minutes, including a 7-0 run to close out the game.
The victory was the 200th career win for 12th-year head coach
Bobby Hurley.
Pivotal Point
- Leading 12-10 five minutes into the game, the Ducks went on a 13-0 run over the next 3:17 to take a 15-point advantage.
- Three different players scored during the game-changing run, including Florio, who accounted for seven of the 13 points. Senior JoJo Mosca and sophomore Sashank Sindhia sank threes to account for the remaining points.
- The push gave Stevens a comfortable cushion over the remainder of the game.
Inside the Numbers
- Stevens shot 44.6 percent from the floor, including 14 for 30 from behind the arc. DelVal, who took 29 shots in each half, finished 50 percent from the floor.
- The Ducks sank a season-high 14 threes.
- Stevens made all five of its free throws.
- Delaware Valley won the battle of the boards, 38-35, although Stevens had an 8-5 lead on the offensive glass. The Ducks turned their edge in offensive rebounding into a 10-4 margin in second-chance points.
- 12 different players scored as the Ducks built a 30-15 margin in points off the bench.
- Stevens had a 22-16 edge in fast-break points.
- Freshmen Jacob Krantz and Andrew Abujawdeh each recorded their first collegiate points.
- Freshman Peter White pulled down his first collegiate rebound.
Unsung Hero
- Mosca came off the bench to score nine points on 3 for 4 shooting from behind the arc. The Branchburg, New Jersey native also pulled down four rebounds, dished three assists and had a steal and finished +8 for the game.
From the Court (Head Coach Bobby Hurley)
- "It's great to start conference play with a win. I think each game is going to present new challenges and our team needs to be ready to handle each of those challenges. At times tonight, we were very good, but we still need to focus on competing for a full 40 minutes."
- "I am happy for Spencer on reaching the 1,000-point milestone. He was locked in tonight and he put the team on his back. His approach every day is consistent and it's no surprise that he has reached this milestone in just three seasons."
Up Next
- Men's Basketball travels to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for the first of back-to-back games in the Keystone State. The Ducks take on Wilkes on Jan. 11, followed by a matchup with King's (Pa.) on Jan. 15.
- Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.
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