HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 28, 2021)  – First-year Jack Spellman was a perfect 4 for 4 from behind the arc to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 60-51 victory over Rutgers-Newark Sunday in a non-conference matchup at Canavan Arena.

Graduate student Alec DiPietrantonio added nine points and 11 rebounds and classmate Matt LaCorte filled the stat sheet with nine points, five boards and three steals for the Ducks, who won their second straight to move to 2-3. 

B.J. Honis and Abe Kromah each had 15 points and Dante Ralph pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for Rutgers-Newark, who saw their two-game winning streak come to end. The Scarlet Raiders (4-2) have dropped two straight to the Ducks in a series that dates back to at least 1975.

Spellman, who had five points and two rebounds in the first half, exploded for 17 points on 6 for 8 shooting in the second half to finish with a career-high 22 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked two shots. Included among the Westfield, New Jersey native's 17 second-half points was a perfect 3 for 3 performance from behind the arc. As a team, the Ducks shot 10 for 20 from behind the arc. 

While Spellman was pacing the offense, the Ducks really clamped down on the defensive end, holding the Scarlet Raiders to a season-low 51 points - 15 points lower than their previous low mark of the season. The Ducks forced Quincy Rutherford, Rutgers-Newark's leading scorer into totaling just three points on 1 for 8 shooting over a season-high 36 minutes, matching Rutherford's lowest point total since becoming a full-time starter at the start of the 2019-20 season. Rutherford had scored 32 points on 9 for 16 shooting in his last outing. Stevens entered the game 14th in Division III in opponents' field-goal percentage and held Rutgers-Newark to just 32% shooting.

After the teams engaged in a defensive struggle over the opening 20 minutes, the Ducks came alive offensively in the second half. With Stevens trailing by three, LaCorte and Spellman hit consecutive threes to put the Ducks back in front. The back-to-back triples sparked an 11-0 run that forced a Rutgers-Newark timeout. Spellman had a pair of threes in the run, with DiPietrantonio adding an easy layup off a beautiful feed from junior Matt Crowley providing an exclamation point on the sequence.

For the second straight meeting between the teams, the Ducks hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the victory. As they did in the Ducks' win over Baruch, sophomore Mike Goodall and junior Conor Coffey went 4 for 4 from the line with the final result somewhat hanging in the balance. Interestingly enough, the first free throw of the game didn't occur until midway through the second half, when junior Brett Bischoping was fouled while going for a layup after an offensive rebound.

Pivotal Point

• Kromah was able to force a turnover, which Rutgers-Newark was able to convert into a layup that trimmed the Ducks' lead to 10 with just over seven minutes left in regulation.
• Stevens came down the court and patiently ran their offense. Goodall fed a wide-open Maguire Sweeney for a corner three that bumped the Ducks' advantage back to a comfortable 13.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens outshot Rutgers-Newark 37.5% to 31.8%. Rutgers-Newark's shooting percentage was boosted by the Scarlet Raiders making six of their last eight shots. 
• The Ducks finished with a 45-40 advantage in rebounds, although Rutgers-Newark had an 11-9 edge in offensive boards. Despite Rutgers-Newark's advantage on the offensive glass, Stevens held a 9-8 margin in second-chance points.
• Stevens turned nine Rutgers-Newark turnovers into 11 points. 
• The Ducks did not allow any fast-break points. 
• Coffey dished out a career-high five assists to lead both teams. Two of Coffey's five assists came on Spellman second-half threes.
• Rutgers-Newark held a pair of three-points leads, but only led for a total of 52 seconds.
• Each side recorded two blocks.

Unsung Hero

• Although he only scored three points, Sweeney finished a plus-12 over 22 minutes.

From the Court - Head Coach Bobby Hurley

• "I was really happy with today's effort. We defended really well and we moved the ball much better than we have been on offense. This team continues to improve daily and we're excited for league play to begin on Wednesday."

Up Next

• Men's Basketball hits the road on Dec. 1 to take on Arcadia University in the MAC Freedom opener. 
• The teams have not met since Nov. 17, 2006, when the Ducks came away with a 59-54 victory over the Knights in the opening round of the Scotty Wood Tournament in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
• A link for live stats is available on StevensDucks.com.

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