HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 22, 2020)  – Senior Spencer Cook and graduate student Kevin Florio each scored a team-high 17 points to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to an 82-68 victory over King's (Pa.) College Saturday in a MAC Freedom contest at Canavan Arena.

Senior Michael Zignorski added 16 and classmate JoJo Mosca finished with 11 as the Ducks swept the season series with King's to improve to 21-4 on the year and to 12-2 in conference play. The victory secured the first regular-season title since the 2012-13 season for the Ducks, who have won eight straight. Stevens will host a semifinal contest with FDU-Florham, who topped Wilkes to secure the final berth in the postseason tournament. Eastern and DeSales meet in the other semifinal with the winners playing Saturday for the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks' 21 wins are the second-most under head coach Bobby Hurley - Stevens won 22 games in both 2010-11 and 2012-13. The program record for wins is 23.

Andrew Hudak led all players with 19 points and Patrick Galvin added 11 for the Monarchs, who fell to 13-12 on the year and to 6-8 in league play. King's dropped each of its last two contests and will not wait for the ECAC matchups to be released to learn of the program's postseason fate.

Prior to the game, Stevens honored the five-member Class of 2020 (Cook, Zignorski, Mosca, Dylan Walsh and Tyler McShea) in a pregame ceremony. Over their time together, this year's senior class has reached the postseason four times and totaled a 74-30 record, including a 44-18 mark in conference play and a 39-7 record inside Canavan Arena. Florio was also acknowledged for his contributions as a fifth-year player after being honored with his classmates one season ago. 

Zignorski opened scoring with a driving layup, while absorbing contact from Joe Lonardi. The Jefferson, New Jersey native sank the ensuing free throw to give Stevens an early lead. The teams alternated the next three baskets before JJ Glinsky hit a three to give the Monarchs their only lead of the game at 7-5. For the game, King's fired 30 of its 55 shots from behind the arc, making just nine. The Ducks finished 12 of 27 on their 3-point attempts.

A concerted effort by King's kept Cook largely in check in the opening half, but it was Florio that had the hot hand, making all three of his 3-point attempts to power the Ducks to a 36-29 lead at the intermission. The Stamford, Connecticut native is 7 for 9 on three-point attempts over the combined first halves of his last two games in Canavan Arena.

Once the scoreboard turned to the second half, Cook took over offensively, scoring 13 points on 5 for 10 shooting. Cook was also a facilitator for the Ducks, leading all players in the second half with three assists. One of Cook's helpers was a pretty feed to junior center Alec DiPietrantonio for a fast-break layup. DiPietrantonio was a perfect 3 for 3 in the second half en route to a seven-point, six-rebound performance.

The Ducks closed out the contest by making each of their final two shots, including a layup by sophomore Sashank Sindhia.

Pivotal Point

• After a Josh Bailey three cut Stevens' lead to four three-and-a-half minutes into the second half, the Ducks responded with nine straight points to retake a double-digit lead and force a King's timeout.
• Cook, Zignorski and Mosca each sank long threes, while the Ducks forced two Monarch misses and three turnovers in the game-changing sequence.
• Galvin stopped the run with a short jumper, but the Ducks would be able to maintain at least a nine-point lead over the remainder of the contest.

Inside the Numbers

• McShea drew his first career start in his final regular-season contest, while Mosca found himself in the starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 11, 2017.
• DiPietrantonio finished with a game-high three blocks and concluded the regular season with a conference-leading 1.6 blocks per game.
• Cook and Zignorski each had a game-high four assists.
• Mosca finished with three steals.
• Cook finished the regular season fourth in the conference in scoring (18.8 points per game). The Washington Township, New Jersey native finished first in 3-point shooting (49.6 percent) and tied for ninth in field-goal percentage (50.2).
• As a team, the Ducks finished second in offense, scoring 75.5 points per game, while holding opponents to a conference-leading 65.6. The Ducks held opponents to 39% shooting from the floor, including just 29.9% on three-point attempts.
• Junior Ray Cortes pulled down his first career rebound for his first collegiate basketball statistic. The River Edge, New Jersey native spent his first two years on Castle Point playing baseball before joining the basketball program last October.

Unsung Hero

• Walsh finished with eight points and seven rebounds and helped the Ducks hold the Monarchs to just 2 for 15 shooting from behind the arc. He finished a team-high +14.

From the Court (Head Coach Bobby Hurley)

• "I'm happy for our team as they have worked very hard to put ourselves in this position moving forward. Our seniors have led this group and I couldn't be happier for what they've accomplished this season. It's exciting for every college basketball team to play postseason basketball and our seniors will make sure that we are ready to go on Wednesday."

Up Next

• Men's Basketball begins its quest for the program's first conference championship with a MAC Freedom semifinal matchup with FDU-Florham on Feb. 26 in Canavan Arena. 
• The Ducks swept the season series with the Devils and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the teams.
• Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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