HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 15, 2023) - Graduate Stephen Braunstein reached 1,000 career points, scoring 16 on the evening, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated NJCU 70-44 Wednesday night inside Canavan Arena.

Braunstein reached 1,000 career points Wednesday night, as he has scored 34 as a Duck and scored 971 at Scranton. The Ducks (1-1) earned their first victory of the season. The margin of victory was the largest for the Ducks since February 12, 2021, when the Ducks beat Misericordia by 36. Stevens ended a two-game losing streak in the series against NJCU. The Gothic Knights drop to 1-1.

First-year Xander Singh scored the first basket of the game and the Ducks would lead the rest of the way. Singh and Braunstein combined to score the first 10 points for Stevens as they got out to a 10-2 lead. Braunstein would make another three at the 10:13 mark to give him seven total in the game and put the Ducks up 18-7. The graduate would hit another one at the 6:38 mark, and then again at the 5:18 mark, which gave him 13 in the game and 1,000 for his career at both Scranton and Stevens. The Ducks led 28-15 at that point. After the Gothic Knights cut the lead back to single digits, Spellman threw down a dunk on an assist from graduate Conor Coffey to put Stevens up 10 with just over a minute to go in the half. Singh would score the final three Stevens points down the stretch as the Ducks maintained a 33-22 lead at the break.

The Ducks opened up the second half with a 7-0 run, as Spellman and Coffey each hit jumpers and Braunstein banged home another three. With the score 43-26, Stevens held NJCU scoreless for over five minutes of game time, spanning from the 16:01 point to the 10:41 mark. Later with the score 57-37, the Ducks used a 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. First-year Kyle Maddison scored four points on the run. The Ducks continued to dominate, as sophomore Matt Leming hit a three with 1:12 remaining on the clock, as Stevens blew out NJCU in their home opener of the 2023-24 season. 

Top Performers

• Braunstein dropped 16 points and made four threes.
• Spellman came close to a triple-double as he scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked seven shots.
• Singh had career-highs in points (11) and rebounds (9).
• Coffey led the team in assists with six.
• Maddison scored a career-high 12 points.
• 13 Ducks saw game action.
• Stevens shot 41.4 percent (29-70) from the field and 27.3 percent (6-22) from three. The Ducks also went 6-18 (33.3%) from the line.

• Avante Gilbert had a team-high 14 points.
• Hakeem Wilson scored 11 points and added five rebounds.
• NJCU shot 27.0 percent (17-63) from the field and 10.0 percent (1-10) from three. They also went 9-20 from the free throw line (45.0%)

Around the MAC Freedom

• Lebanon Valley 73, Marymount (Va.) 85 F/SUN
• TCNJ 62, DeSales 72 F/TUE
• Susquehanna 60, Delaware Valley 54 F/TUE
• King's 85, Penn State Scranton 57 F/TUE
• Alfred 69, Misericordia 84
• Rutgers-Newark 63, FDU-Florham 46
• Wilkes 62, Lebanon Valley 51
• Gwynedd Mercy 74, Arcadia 80

Up Next: The Ducks are back in action on Saturday as they head to Pennsylvania to take on Scranton. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Ducks are 0-1 all-time against Scranton, losing 82-61 in last year's contest. Mike Goodall scored 15 points to lead the Ducks, while Stephen Braunstein, who transferred in from Scranton this season, scored 22 for the Royals in the game. Links for live stats and video are posted to stevensducks.com