HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 19, 2022)  – Graduate student Alec DiPietrantonio recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team extended its winning streak to five with a 70-56 victory over Wilkes University Saturday in a MAC Freedom matchup at Canavan Arena. 

Junior Matt Crowley came off the bench with 16 points and three assists and graduate student Matt LaCorte sank three 3-pointers for the Ducks, who finished the regular season with a 13-8 record and a 12-4 mark in conference play. The Ducks are locked into the #2 seed in the upcoming MAC Freedom tournament and will face these same Colonels Wednesday night in Canavan Arena.

Drake Marshall matched DiPietrantonio with 21 points and Trent Fisher added 11 for the Colonels, who dropped to 8-16 on the year and to 5-11 in league play. The Ducks swept the season series between the teams, but the all-time series is tied at three. Stevens has won two of the three meetings at Canavan Arena. Wilkes closed out the regular season with losses in three of its final four games.

In his final regular season contest on Castle Point, DiPietrantonio powered the Ducks to a double-digit halftime lead, scoring nearly half of his 21 points in the opening period, while also grabbing eight of his 13 boards. The Ocean City, New Jersey native finished an impressive (and highly efficient) 9 of 11 from the floor and 3 of 5 from the line to post his 12th career game with 20 or more points. Over his last four games, DiPietrantonio is averaging 14.5 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting over 50% from the floor.

The Ducks shot 40% from the floor in the opening period and held Wilkes to 31% as Stevens opened a comfortable margin at the intermission. Wilkes finished the game shooting 35.7% (20 of 56) from the floor as Stevens moved into the Division III lead, holding teams to 35.9 on the season to rank first out of 411 teams ranked - Stevens leads St. Joseph's (Conn.) by .03 in the statistic.

Although Wilkes opened up an early lead on a pair of layups, the Ducks jumped in front courtesy of consecutive LaCorte fast-break threes. DiPietrantonio scored his first points of the game on a feed from graduate student David Dixon that pushed the Ducks' lead to four.

With the teams tied at eight, the Ducks would go on an 11-0 run, holding Wilkes scoreless for nearly five minutes in securing a bit of breathing room. 

Stevens continued to frustrate the Wilkes offense in the second half, especially from behind the arc. The Ducks forced Wilkes to shoot 13 of 34 from the floor and 4 of 13 (30.8%) in opening up as much as an 18-point lead. Nine different Ducks scored over the final 20 minutes as the Ducks secured their fifth straight win. 

Prior to the contest, the Ducks recognized the four-member senior class. 

Pivotal Point

• Marshall sank a pair of free throws to pull Wilkes within six at 37-31 early in the second half.
• Crowley came down the other end of the floor and connected on a driving layup.
• The Ducks forced a miss on the other end of the floor. 
• Junior Conor Coffey tracked down the rebound and beat Wilkes back down the floor for a fast-break layup, pushing the Ducks' lead back to double figures. 
• The consecutive easy layups over a 28-second span, forced a Wilkes timeout and the Ducks would maintain at least an eight-point lead over the final 16 minutes. 

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks won the battle of the boards, grabbing 45 against 30 for the Colonels. Of the Ducks' 45 rebounds, 11 came on the offensive end. Stevens held Wilkes to just three offensive rebounds - the lowest number for a Stevens opponent since Feb. 10, 2018.
• Stevens finished with a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points.
• Each side committed 17 turnovers, although Stevens held a sterling 19-2 edge in points off turnovers.
• The Ducks held a 14-11 edge in fast-break points.
• Coffey led all players with four assists.
• First-year Jack Spellman blocked two shots. The Westfield, New Jersey native ranks 10th in Division III with 2.65 blocks per contest. 
• Crowley went 5 for 6 from the line.

Unsung Hero

• Sophomore Mike Goodall came off the bench to fill the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds and three assists. The second-year guard finished +10 in just over 22 minutes of action.

Up Next

• Men's Basketball hosts Wilkes for the second time in five days on Feb. 23 in Canavan Arena.
• Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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