NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 22, 2022)  – First-year Matt Leming had a career-high 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including seven 3-pointers, and sophomore Jack Spellman finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team erased a 30-point second-half deficit to defeat Baruch College 85-82 in overtime Tuesday in a non-conference matchup at the Baruch ARC. 

Junior Mike Goodall had 16 points and senior Conor Coffey added six points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Ducks, who notched their first win of the season in improving to 1-4. Stevens has won the last four meetings between the teams and nine of the last 10.

Mohamed Gueye led four Bearcats in double digits with 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting and Jehmehl Fair and Emil Purisic each added 14 for Baruch, who dropped to 3-3. Baruch has dropped two straight after winning three in a row.

The Ducks began their remarkable comeback with just under 13 minutes left in the game. Trailing 52-22 after a 3-pointer by Baruch's Devin Nicholson, Spellman converted a layup while also being fouled by Michael Gannon. The Westfield, New Jersey native made the accompanying free throw, which sparked a 12-0 run that brought the Ducks' deficit to 20.

The teams alternated baskets until a long three by Fair pushed the Ducks' deficit back to 22. Baruch called timeout after the basket, which seemed to spark the Ducks' offense. Out of the timeout, Leming made his first career 3-pointer after junior Alex Ratner kept the possession alive with back-to-back offensive rebounds. A pair of free throws expanded the margin back to 21 points, but the Ducks' next two baskets were threes and consecutive field goals from Spellman surrounded a Goodall steal that trimmed the deficit to 14.

With the clock becoming a factor, Leming hit another three to bring Stevens within 11. After Gueye had a fast-break dunk, the Baruch forward was whistled for a technical foul. Goodall made the free throw and back-to-back threes from Spellman closed the margin to just six. 

Gannon made two free throws, but the white-hot Ducks made two more threes to close within two. Leming's fifth three of the game came with just 12 seconds left in regulation and drew Stevens even with the hosts for the first time since early in the first half when the score was 3-3. Over the course of the 12:46 comeback, the Ducks outscored Baruch 50-20. The Bearcats had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but Sayeed Osorio's layup attempt fell off to the wayside.

In the second half, the Ducks scored 57 points on 22 of 42 shooting, which included a blistering  10 for 22 performance from behind the arc. Stevens also forced eight Baruch turnovers, while committing just two.

The overtime period began just as the second half ended, with another Leming three, giving the Ducks their first lead since a 3-1 advantage early in the first half. The Ducks would go ahead for good on back-to-back triples by Leming and Coffey. Ratner would hit one of his two free throws with 20 seconds left to seal the dramatic come-from-behind victory. 

Baruch built its double-digit lead on the strength of 14 for 30 shooting (46.7%), while only committing three turnovers. Conversely, the Ducks made only five baskets in the opening half, while also committing 10 turnovers. Numbers that certainly swung in the Ducks favor over the final 20 minutes. 

Inside the Numbers

• After shooting 15.6% from the floor in the first half, the Ducks shot 52.4% in the second half and 57.1% in overtime to win the game.
• The Ducks finished 15 for 40 from behind the arc. The 15 makes from long distance are the most for the program since Jan. 8, 2019 and the 40 attempts are the most for the Ducks since Nov. 15, 2016 (44).
• Leming finished 7 for 10 from behind the arc, nearly matching Baruch's eight 3's as a team.
• Stevens held a 51-45 advantage on the boards, including an 18-12 edge on the offensive glass. The rebounding advantage helped Stevens hold a 14-12 margin in second-chance points.
• In addition to his 10th career double-double (and second of the season), Spellman recorded a pair of blocks.
• Stevens had 22 assists on 31 baskets. 
• Goodall led the team with four steals.
• Junior Xiyuan Zhang made his Stevens debut.

From the Court - Head Coach Bobby Hurley

• "Really happy for our group to get this win. We didn't play well in the first half, but we battled in the second half. It was great to see the fight that we showed down the stretch."

Up Next

• Men's Basketball welcomes Rutgers-Newark to Canavan Arena on Nov. 27 in the teams' annual matchup. 
• The Ducks have won the last two meetings between the programs and three of the last five.
• Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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